We’d barely arrived in Sweden when we found ourselves at a crime scene.
A 15-year-old boy has been shot dead outside his home. Two teenagers have been arrested for murder. The community is shocked, but not surprised. Gangs are recruiting children as young as 11 to run drugs, weapons, and carry out contract killings.
Beyond Borders meets the kids caught up in this crisis, and the people working tirelessly to give them a better path in life.
We hear from gang members, ex-offenders, community workers, teachers, and the families trying to rebuild from tragedy. “There’s no honour in it,” one ex-drug dealer tells us. “There’s only death and prison. And that’s the harsh truth.”
Sweden’s government wants to put children as young as 13 behind bars. But those who’ve lived this life say that won’t solve anything.
“Then the gangs will just recruit younger people.” Because the problem, as one youth worker puts it, isn’t the children: “The problem is the adults,” he adds.