Peru: Testimonies without frontiers
13 Jun 2012 Juvenile justicePeru
The Terre des hommes (Tdh) team in Peru, together with the Tdh delegation in Spain and other NGOs, organised an educational trip in Spain in the framework of the Programme of Education for Development. Two Peruvian teenagers took part in this to tell about their experiences in life and the socio-educational measures set up by Tdh. The two boys, Jerson and Marcos, had been integrated in this programme after having been arrested for aggravated theft.
“An unforgettable trip”
The stay in Spain was punctuated by numerous events. The trip was organised for the boys to talk about their experiences in life and the measures from which they had benefited, in schools, in the media and to city authorities. Each meeting with schoolchildren was an occasion to share their experiences with a large audience. The youngsters caught the full attention of their Spanish peers and gave them advice “so they don’t go through what I did”, explains Jerson, as “some of them are going through something like what happened to me”, concluded Marcos. This educational trip enabled the two boys to learn about other realities and social contexts with the young Spaniards and various local institutions.
A football match at the end of the trip
These Peruvian lads being passionate about football, the educational trip interested the sports press. It was after an interview that the boys were offered tickets for a Spanish league football match, where they appreciated the atmosphere of respect between the supporters, very far from the protective measures found in Peruvian stadiums: “We were surprised not to see a fence around the pitch”. Marcos could not hide his longing to see the final of Spain against Portugal in the Euro 2012. After having known the trials of life on the streets, Marcos had given up playing football but after his engagement in the Tdh programme, this was reintegrated into his life, next to his schooling. The day after the football match, the youngsters flew back home.
Balance of the trip
For Alexis Cucho, the youth worker who accompanied the boys in Spain, the interest in the adolescents shown by the media, schoolchildren and various institutions, left a positive image of the work done in Peru and its results: "Experiences like this should continue to develop at a national and international level, as the results are beneficial for those who tell their stories, for those who listen to them, and for the people interested in the subject of restorative juvenile justice ".
“This is all about construction and not destruction”
Teenagers assess the benefits of being integrated in a programme of restorative justice and are critical of repressive measures. When repressive law is limited to “condemning and punishing, without considering the consequences”, restorative measures enable the youngsters to find their self-respect and self-confidence again, to become aware of the errors committed and to put them right, and also to envisage a new future with targets to achieve. “I had friends who came out of prison with more tricks, strategies and the wish to steal and hurt people”, says Jerson. Today, these youngsters have given up drug abuse and bad company. They continue to study and want to go ahead with their lives. The work of reconstruction demanded a great deal of investment by the boys. The workshops “Plan for Life” or “Training and service”, set up by this programme, made it possible for them to take their lives into their own hands again. It was because of their participation in these various workshops that the two young Peruvians were chosen for the educational trip to Spain.
