Youths joining gangs a growing concern for those in Hispanic ministry

Published: 2005-07-25

LANGLEY PARK, Md. (CNS) -- In this transplanted slice of Central America where street vendors sell vegetables, soft drinks and tacos in Spanish, the boys in black have become a dark chapter in the life of Carmelite Sister Amaya Duralde. The black-dressed youths are Hispanic gang members, and Sister Duralde is spending more and more time listening to parents with horror stories about gang recruitment of their children. One desperate mother offered money to a gang member to stay away from her son and another mother received threats after confronting a gang member who repeatedly followed her daughter to the school bus stop, she said. Mostly, parents are at a loss when it comes to gangs, she said. Many mothers and fathers in this immigrant working-class neighborhood work several jobs to stay economically afloat, leaving their children with a lot of unsupervised time, which makes them susceptible to gang recruitment, she explained. "I've become a bridge between parents and public school officials having problems with their children," Sister Duralde said.

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