JERICHO ECHO ARTICLE
May 1998
People complain about the youngsters in Jericho - that they cause trouble, that they do graffiti. Why is that? Because young people don't have much else to do. The public don't want the kids to go out and cause trouble, and the youngsters don't want that either. But when they meet up there is not much more to do than hang around the streets and smoke - and when they are older they risk getting mixed up in drugs. Also we get hassled by the police. One day I got stopped three times. The police come up to you and say that there has been a burglary and that you match the description. We don't need that. Some of the kids go in to town, but they don't have the money to go places. And it can be worse there since they might get together with others who are robbing students or foreigners. The Community Centre has a youth club for the younger kids but not for the older ones - say, 10-17. What we need are things to keep us busy here - activities like a multigym, as well as decks that the kids can use to make their own music. If they can work together they won't be thinking about anything else, they'll be keeping fit and thinking about music. But we do need someone to help us buy some equipment and organize activities at the Community Centre in Jericho. So if any of the adults can come forward with a way to help us set something up we'd like to hear from them.Author: Dilwar Ali