I can´t remember much about being 12. I certainly can´t remember having any life changing decisions to make.
Last week in the Guatemalan news, was the story that highlights just how different life can be, even for children as young as 12. A young lad called Angel, went missing. The alert was raised but police were unable to find him. The following morning, police were called to the Belice bridge in Guatemala city, where locals had seen a boy thrown from the bridge. Later the story of what had happened emerged. He was kidnapped by a local gang and held for over a day. The following morning, he was ordered to kill a bus driver - a request often made of youngsters to initiate new recruits into Guatemalas gangs. When he refused, he was given another choice; of how he would prefer to die; either cut into pieces (the spanish word used literally means to be quartered), or to be thrown from the bridge. (Puente Belice is a busy traffic bridge in the city, crossing a ravine hundreds of feet below). Amazingly he survived the fall, but is in critical condition.
It highlights the violence, manipulation and fear that characterize life in the marginal zones of Guatemala city but the fact that Angel choose not to kill - most likely, knowing that it may mean the end of his own life, is also a cause for hope.
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