National Peace Accord Trust

This is the key finding of a long-term research project into the changing behaviour of youths traumatised by the violent confrontation of opposing political groups in East Rand townships during the political transition.

The research, conducted by NPAT fieldworkers over the past eight years, shows that of 125 youth leaders who were engaged in violent criminal activity after the political transition, more than 80% have turned their backs on crime. Substance abuse among participants dropped by 65%, trauma was reduced by 70%, stable relationships increased by 20% and from zero employment before the NPAT intervention, 72% are now gainfully employed, the majority in uplifting their own communities.

Says Maggie Seiler, NPAT executive director, “We believe these findings are significant because the youths we surveyed all occupy leadership roles. While it is difficult to draw definitive conclusions, it is clear that our efforts to rehabilitate youths who turned to violent crime have had a positive impact on the youths themselves and on their communities”.

Sketching the background to the research, Seiler says that during the political conflict in East Rand townships in the early nineties, youths caught up in the violence – the 'young lions' as they were dubbed – either joined ANC-affiliated Self-Defence Units or Self-Protection Units affiliated to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

“As the conflict dissipated, the militarised youth in these townships became marginalised by their communities and felt abandoned, disempowered and disconnected from society. Many turned to violent crime as a consequence of the political violence that had engulfed them.”

She says NPAT began therapeutic interventions in these areas in 1996. It launched the ‘Katorus Wilderness Therapy Project’, which dealt with the trauma experienced by the youth in these areas and aimed at reducing their participation in criminal activities.

Between 1996 and 1999 NPAT’s trained guides ran eco-therapy wilderness trails in the Drakensberg for 125 traumatised youth leaders from East Rand townships. All were unemployed and 84% were engaged in serious criminal activities including murder, rape, armed robbery, bank heists, car hijacking and major drug dealing.

“Eco-therapy trails and the support provided by our psychologists have had a profound impact on nearly all the participants,” says Seiler. “At the personal level, most have given up crime and drug abuse, although it is not clear whether their alcohol consumption has stabilised. Many have are now involved in community work and some have made personal commitments to family, even taking on young children.

“Most encouraging is that some have started what might be called SMMEs, but by their own volition and without the stifling support afforded by government bureaucracies. A few have even gone into local public service as reserve policemen and firemen.”

She says that while these conclusions are tentative, she believes serious crime can be markedly reduced through the right interventions at community level.

“Crime can be reduced, drug abuse can be curtailed, personal commitments can be enhanced and a genuine sense of community can be developed in communities around the country that are struggling with the legacies of political and criminal violence, but it requires targeted professional interventions and that requires commitment and funding,” says Seiler.

To accelerate its work, NPAT has launched a one-year training course in conjunction with the Department of Health and Welfare. The training is an extension of the successful work that has been done in East Rand townships and will lead to certification of Restorative Community Workers. The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) will certify the course and public and private sector organisations will be approached to sponsor these workers as part of their social investment initiatives.

“While NPAT has the capacity to identify, recruit and train Restorative Community Workers for redeployment in their communities, we don’t have the resources to employ them. Government and public and private sector companies will need to sponsor them at R30 000 a year, or better still employ them.

“We are particularly hopeful that companies with roots in communities traumatised by violence or that draw labour from such communities will sponsor a youth leader to be trained as a Restorative Community Worker. On the back of our research findings, we are now certain of the positive impact these workers can have in traumatised communities,” says Seiler.

“NPAT believes that the future stability and prosperity of South Africa can only be built on stable community life and we are extremely encouraged by the findings of our research because it shows that, given the right interventions, criminally inclined youths can become positive agents for sustainable development.”