Criminal violence leaves a thousand collateral victims in Ecuador
In the windows of funeral homes in Guayaquil more and more white coffins are seen . They are wooden boxes exclusively for children and adolescents . Its commercialization has increased in recent years. This is especially the case in the most popular neighborhoods of the city, where there is currently a war between criminal gangs.
One of these sectors is Pascuales, north of the city. There the parents have forbidden the children to go out and play in the dirt streets. In the afternoons, evenings and weekends, children are no longer seen in parks or vacant lots , where they used to play soccer.
The fear that they could be injured or killed in shootings has spread to schools . Teachers during classes teach them to drop to the ground if they hear noises or gunshots. They are also told to stand behind walls, columns , or appliances.
These alerts have been going on for two years , but this month they intensified due to the murder of two children in a cooperative in the area. A group of armed men fired repeatedly at his block and wood house. The little ones, who were brothers, died after each receiving a bullet to the head . Neighbors in the sector say that the little boy was 10 years old and his little sister was eight.
The Police are still investigating the causes of the attack, but they suspect that it was a retaliation against their relatives. In the shooting a baby was also injured in his arm. Bullet marks still remain on the front of the house .
But the death of these children is not an isolated event . Neither is the increase in the sale of small chests in funeral homes. These show a reality that is repeated every time in the country. Official data corroborates this. In fact, the most violent year for minors has been 2022.
From January to July 2022 alone, 229 violent deaths are already recorded on a national scale . It is the highest figure since 2019. In fact, in all of 2021 there were 198.
The Police admit that they are collateral deaths from the violence that Guayaquil is experiencing . But the problem is repeated throughout Guayas, Esmeraldas, Manabí, El Oro and Los Ríos. This is precisely what happens in the provinces where violent deaths due to disputes between criminal gangs have grown exponentially in recent years.
Hence, in popular neighborhoods of Guayaquil , courts and parks have become dangerous places for children. For example, in Guasmos , parents prefer that their children not go out into the streets . In the last year, more than 15 children have been injured in shootings .
Doctors at a local hospital confirm this. They are the first to greet infants when they arrive with gunshot wounds . “They are bullets from pistols, revolvers and even automatics. The little ones heal, but the marks from the projectiles are going to be with them for life,” says a specialist who has treated three little ones.
Despite the fact that the Government has announced a social intervention -through the Ministries of Health, Economic and Social Inclusion, among others, to safeguard the lives of infants-, in the neighborhoods they say that help and protection do not arrive.
Human rights entities such as the Permanent Committee of Guayaquil are also aware of this. This entity has contact with community protectors who assert that state action in the neighborhoods is null. The Police and Armed Forces are the only entities that have a greater presence in the most conflictive areas .
An example of this reality is Cristo del Consuelo , where the last drug attack took place, leaving five people murdered and more than 20 injured. The latter indicate that they have not received psychological support from the State.
In that attack , all the people who died were collateral victims . One of them was Roxana M., 34 years old. Her body was found in the middle of the road in her nightclothes. Her relatives say the explosion caught her asleep.
Women are part of another group vulnerable to violence in the country. Although there is no consolidated data , human rights entities estimate that more than 500 women have been murdered in the last three years.
This means that in the country more than 1,000 children and women have lost their lives in clashes caused by members of criminal gangs.
To reduce the risks, the Police in the last month have intensified the tasks of investigation and intelligence of public threats. The idea is to anticipate possible attacks with explosives in neighborhoods.
The Armed Forces collaborates with this task through anti-weapon operations. Soldiers from the Army, Navy and Air Force have been deployed to the most dangerous areas of the city.
https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/seguridad/violencia-criminal-millar-victimas-ecuador.html