Other Side of Paradise

“New Zealand, a country that routinely tops international lifestyle indexes, may not be the first place you would associate with gang culture – but violent gangs have deep roots in society,” Rebecca Kesby writes for the BBC World Service. “There are thought to be more than 40 different street gangs in New Zealand. Around 40 per cent of inmates at Waikato’s Spring Hill prison are in a gang. And integration manager Gerry Smith says getting out of a gang is very difficult. ‘Some gangs you’ll have to pay money to get out, or commit a crime,’ he says. Eugene Ryder, a member of Black Power in Wellington, is one of a number of older members who want to steer youngsters away from a life of crime. ‘We know where that behaviour leads and that’s prison, and we don’t want that for our children. We’ve done that, and it’s not a good place for them to be. We want to change that.’”