By Allan Maki, The Globe and Mail | Link to Article
He has walked alone through some of the most unsafe neighbourhoods in Calgary in hopes he’d be stopped by gang bangers wanting to know what he was doing on their turf.
By Allan Maki, The Globe and Mail | Link to Article
He has walked alone through some of the most unsafe neighbourhoods in Calgary in hopes he’d be stopped by gang bangers wanting to know what he was doing on their turf.
That’s when the unassuming Hieu Ngo would go to work. He would tell them his story, how he went from being a Vietnamese refugee tempted by street life to a University of Calgary associate professor whose research on gangs and their behaviour has produced a pivotal study entitled The Unravelling of Identities and Belonging: Criminal Gang Involvement of Youth from Immigrant Families.
It’s a unique report driven by Prof. Ngo’s life experiences. He conducted interviews with more than 30 gangsters or former gangsters; some of whom were born abroad, others who were first-generation Canadians. Prof. Ngo chose this demographic as his subject matter because their numbers are increasing nationally and because not enough research has been done on what pulls these youth into gangs.
“It’s about the unravelling of who they are,” Prof. Ngo said. “In extreme cases, young people I talked to had people chasing them with a baseball bat. And for a 12-year-old who just came from a refugee camp, had traumatic experiences in Burundi where people were being killed, then comes to Canada thinking we have a safe place and he gets chased by other teenagers because he’s a black kid? That takes away their sense of identity and a chance to be a Canadian.”
The youth in that story ended up joining a gang for safety. Prof. Ngo’s approach is based on preventative action. He wants immigrant youth to stay clear of gangs and to choose other options. He arrived in Calgary at the age of 18 after being sponsored by a local church. He attended high school, learned to skate and cleaned downtown office buildings to make money. It not only helped him assimilate to Canadian culture, it kept him off the streets where his vulnerability and stature – he’s five-foot-six, 125 pounds – would have attracted gang recruiters.
With that in mind, Prof. Ngo’s study of immigrant youth outlined “the pathways towards criminal gang involvement” and what could be done to “support high-risk and gang-involved youth.” Thirty-two representatives from social service, education, health, justice and Citizen Immigration Canada took part in the process. The federal government was impressed enough by the information to ask Prof. Ngo to expand his research so it can be used in other cities. The request came with a $5.3-million grant to cover a five-year investigation.
Alberta, with its diverse population and booming economy, has had its share of gang violence. Statistics from the Canadian Centre for Justice show that in 1999, Quebec had the most gang-related homicides in the country with 30; Alberta had four. In 2000, Quebec again topped the list with 38 deaths, while Alberta had five. But by 2008, Alberta was No. 1 with 35 deaths. (That number has since come down.)