Pubdate: Sat, 03 Dec 2005 Source: Abbotsford News (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Hacker Press Ltd. Contact: http://www.abbynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1155 Author: Trudy Beyak GANG PROLIFERATION TROUBLING A teenage boy was beaten, and said he was tortured and threatened with death after the UN (United Nations) Gang abducted him near his high school in Abbotsford to force him to do their dirty work drug trafficking and collecting bad debts. The youth named John* and his parent, Gloria*, shared their troubling story with the Abbotsford News out of sheer desperation. They say they are upset the police told the boy "to move out of Abbotsford and to never come back" instead of cracking down and throwing the criminals in jail. The family asked Abbotsford (Conservative) MP Randy White to help them. He verified John's story and assisted him to escape and move to another province. Prior to the escape, White and the teenager spoke to Abbotsford Mayor Mary Reeves and to school board chairwoman Joanne Field, so they could hear his story with their own ears. The MP also met with Abbotsford Police Chief Ian Mackenzie and he asked the chief why the police aren't "busting the thugs in our town. "Why, instead, was a regular Abbotsford teenager forced to leave B.C.?" White asks. He is calling on the police, city council, the school board and law enforcement experts to have an emergency meeting to form an immediate action plan to crack down on the gangs in Abbotsford. "We don't need a ghetto in our city - we've got to fight back," White said. His public call for a gang action plan was welcomed by Mackenzie, Abbotsford Mayor-elect George Ferguson and Field. "Are we going to find our kids dead?" An Abbotsford woman repeatedly asks this haunting question during several interviews as she ponders the nightmare her teenage child is going through. She says she can no longer keep quiet. Teenagers are being coerced into committing crimes to save their lives after the UN Gang injures them and threatens to kill them or to seriously injure someone they love, she says. "Sound far-fetched? Think again," she says, motioning to the quiet teenage boy sitting on the couch in front of her. His young body is marked by open wounds, bruises and permanent injuries. He was treated at MSA General Hospital for his injuries. Wearing a white T-shirt and shorts, John talks about a torture ordeal that sounds like it should have occurred across the globe in a war-torn Third World country - not Abbotsford. John recounted his full story to the Abbotsford News, but this newspaper cannot, at this time, print all of the details because of the family's fears for their lives. "This has been a living hell for our family," Gloria says. "Yet, the police are telling our kids to leave town, instead of cleaning up our town so it can be safe again for our kids," she says. According to Gloria, John is not the only teen to suffer this kind of experience. John has no criminal record, doesn't do drugs and has no desire for violence, yet, he was recruited, involuntarily, into the UN Gang's clutches while he was standing outside an Abbotsford high school. But, more than his physical agony is the emotional pain of being disillusioned by the police and the high school where he had asked for help, he says. He's almost in tears. John has lived in Abbotsford all of his life. It was a huge shock to him to hear that kids were being recruited by the UN Gang, he says. But, he learned from experience that it's true. "Many of the kids don't have a choice, but to work for gangs in Abbotsford or else the gangs give the kids offers that are so great that they get into it, but, then, afterwards, they can't get out." John says there are many drug customers, dealers and big buyers in Abbotsford. "There are probably at least 100 teenagers working as drug dealers who've been recruited by the gangs in Abbotsford," he says. Working gangs include: the UN Gang, the Hells Angels and the Asian Gang. The kids can quit working for the Asians whenever they want, but the U.N. Gang is different, John says. "There are only two ways of leaving the UN Gang - either going to prison - or in a body bag." The UN Gang includes members of various ethnic groups such as Asians, blacks, whites or other nationalities, according to John. That's why they're called the UN Gang. he says. Gloria is wearing sneakers and jeans and she peppers the conversation with affectionate love and concern for John. "I'm tough, but I can hardly sleep. I wake up in cold sweats," Gloria says. "I taught him not to fight, but I do think about what might happen to him." The family added extra locks to their doors. Gloria asked the young teen to tell the Abbotsford Police about his ordeal, but she said she was horrified by their response. "The cops said they couldn't do anything for him," she says. "The police told him to leave Abbotsford and never to come back," Gloria said. "The cops said there is nothing we can do unless you testify and that may put you and your family in even more danger." The family is afraid of what will happen to John if a police investigation results in criminal charges. "I'll never testify, because, then I know I'll be dead," John says. He thinks there is a contract for his life because he knows too much. He spoke about his experience at the prompting of Gloria, because he wants Abbotsford to become a better place to live. "If it makes a difference for other kids, then that's good. I want to make it so that no kids have to go through what I did, ever again." To make matters worse, John wanted to attend a local high school, but was denied access to the school even though he didn't do anything wrong. "I just want to be a normal teenager, again," he says. Gloria and John say other kids have already moved out of this town, or are in hiding somewhere. Or they are the walking wounded - with scars that have no explanation. * This interview took place in an urban neighbourhood in Abbotsford earlier this fall. "John" and "Gloria" are not their real names, because they believe their lives may be in danger. - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPF Florida)