Gang Busters Ten years ago, the small conference room measuring no more than 10-by-10 feet, would not have been big enough for the five people sitting and waiting to confront each other, and their violent pasts.
'Friends' aim to reach troubled
youths with the message that
problems are solvableBy Nancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.comThe five, former gang members, were all rivals at one time.
"I was so nervous to come here today," said Zachary Castro, once a member of the Baby Hawaiian Brothers. "I used to be scared to go to school. One of them always used to be waiting for me and wanted to kill me."
He had not seen arch enemies Malakai Maumalanga or Greg Sadie, both from the Cross Sun gang, since their fighting days nearly a decade ago. Yet for Castro, the pain and wounds of the past were hauntingly fresh.Street fights, drive-by shootings, stealing, gambling, drugs, drinking, gas bombings, racketeering and harassing others were all part of their daily routine, until Adult Friends for Youth intervened with a new message. Where violence and fearing for their safety once was their expectation, goal-setting, education and peace became their new standards.
All of them said that in the past they didn't care whether they lived or died because they saw no other options. But things changed when they had children of their own.
"In the baby diaper bag, instead of bottles you would carry a gun for safety," Maumalanga recalled.
Adult Friends for Youth holds its annual fund-raiser Celebration of Youth
When: 4:45 p.m. Friday
Place: Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel, Hawaii Ballroom
Admission: $100; tables of 10, $1,000 to $2,500
Call: 848-7477 or 395-6008
Sid Rosen: Chief executive officer, Adult Friends for Youth
"We didn't want our own children to be exposed to all the things we had seen," said Sadie.
Added Maumalanga, "We know all about the life and ... to see our own kids experience it, that would be the worst thing.
"I was sucked into the lifestyle when I was only 8," Maumalanga said. "I'd walk out and see drug deals and gangsters. The Soles stole my money and stuff in elementary school, so I started fighting already."
He was an active gang member for 13 years. "I never thought I was going to live past 18, so I never cared. I was mad and blaming the world for my troubles waiting for death to claim me.
"I came from a real good family, but chose this life. We wore rags, bandanas and traveled in packs. If we went to Ala Moana, people would automatically move away from us. That hurt the pride."
When Castro was 11, his mother abandoned the family. "It crushed me. She always said she would come back, and I always hoped she would, but she never did. I met the gang and they were nice to me. ... That was my family.
"Doing the crime seemed like nothing. I had nowhere to go. I was hoping they would put me in jail so I could stop. We used to drink Mickeys and then fill the glass bottles up with gasoline ... gas-bomb cars and houses."
His sister, Jane Castro Tampon, was never initiated, but her brother's involvement made her an instant target for the rival Cross Sun gang. "People hated me just because I was his sister. Every time I would get off the bus, they would be there. They called me horrible names, threw beer bottles at me and spit at me."
They had no family support, she said. "Zach and I only had each other. So I was worried when my brother started staying out really late and had bruises all over his body."Poverty pushed Sam Corpuz into the Baby Hawaiian Brothers. "If people need a pair of new shoes they go buy them. If we wanted a pair of shoes, we had to steal them. I feel bad that I took things from people I don't know, but we didn't have much of a choice. ...
"Now, each time I walk in the neighborhood with my daughter, I think about the things I used to do. I'm lucky I never saw anyone shot or killed. I do remember ducking as bullets whizzed over our heads in the car."
The things these ex-gang members saw seem unimaginable, except on the big screen.
Sadie admits gas-bombing six homes in the rival Baby Hawaiian Brothers neighborhood. "We busted cars. If we could get inside, we would go in the house. Sometimes we would just patrol the hood looking for a fight. We would even fight with the school counselors if they got in the way of a rumble. We just whacked them."
He said the gang provided acceptance throughout his teen years, a time he was rebelling against the responsibility his single mother expected him to carry. The gang provided the security of numbers.
"Privacy was nonexistent. We couldn't go anywhere alone. If we watched movies, maybe only one guy had a date, but we would all have to go," Sadie said.
"When you stay with plenty people, you're not scared," added Castro.
But the time came to get out. "When my daughter was born, I just dropped out and got a job," Sadie said. "That kid is your life. I try my best to support her, try not to show my past and lead her in the right direction. We want our kids to be successful so they don't need to see the things we did."
"These kids demonstrate that the problem is solvable," said Sid Rosen, chief executive officer at Adult Friends for Youth. "They are living proof that change is possible even in what appears to be the bleakest situation."The impact of the program has been powerful. Groups that once terrorized each other and the community no longer exist. Kalihi was once a hotbed for gang activity and it's real quiet now. But there is an increasing amount of work to be done as gang activity is spreading in the Waipahu, Ewa, Mililani, Aiea and Pearl City areas."
Debbie Spencer, a social worker met with the gang members once a week on their turf. "Kids alone have little trust for adults. Gang members have even more issues. The kids I work with know I'm available 24/7. They call me all hours of the night. There is a mutual respect. They don't see me as a threat and I always want them to feel safe."Spencer said gang members share similar backgrounds. "They are poor minorities with low self-esteem. They feel they could never accomplish anything. The gang gives them an identity.
"Maybe they are immigrants that are picked on, are poor, or (join) just because of peer pressure. It doesn't mean they come from a broken home. Many parents work two jobs so there is a lack of guidance or supervision. All they really need is for someone to listen to them. ... They are angry because they are not heard and want to be respected for who they are."
Tampon said they all leaned on Spencer. "She wasn't scared and would even stop a fight if she had to. She was so tough. I used to call her at 3 a.m. for rides. Other gang members took full advantage as well. ...
"We can say we owe our lives to the agency. They taught us that we were somebody. I consider them my family. If not for them, we would still be on the streets, in prison or dead."
Maumalanga is now studying to be a social worker and hopes to earn his master's degree. "I want to work with the kids on the street and help them the same way the agency helped me."Tampon is an administrative assistant at Adult Friends, the organization she once turned to for help. Her brother, Castro, is majoring in radiology at Kapiolani Community College, taking care of his own family.
Corpuz no longer has to worry about stealing shoes. He is a sous chef at Roy's Restaurant in Kihei and is training for a position as executive chef. "I hope to open my own restaurant someday ... a catering service, or Sammy's Restaurant."
Sadie is now a receiving manager for Hawaii Nut and Bolt; runs his own business, M&M Screen Repair; and hopes to open his own hardware store one day.
With the reunion at an end, Tampon turned to her former enemy, Maumalanga, and said she was sorry for all that had gone before.
"Ten years ago, we would not have been sitting and talking to each other," she said. "I used to have a lot of fear and hate. Now I can see him on the street and hug him. It's so different."
"I love her like a sister now," Maumalanga said.
Castro was relieved by the end of the meeting. "I don't need to wake up scared anymore."
Maumalanga turned to him. "It's good we closed the final chapter. You can always use another friend."
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