Peckham ex-gang members reveal the secrets
of their transformation

Many reasons are given as to why young people join gangs - boredom, peer pressure, troubles at home... But Ashton Wright joined for a different reason. Although he came from a respectable and loving family who’d brought him up well, he still felt the need to join a gang.

“My family moved from Camberwell to Peckham when I was 11. I was happy to move there because we were moving out of a flat and into a bigger house. I didn’t really know about Peckham’s reputation or what kind of area it was. All I knew was that it was down the road from Camberwell.”

Though it was just a few blocks away, Peckham seemed like a completely different world for Ashton and his brother Bronson. Coming from an area where there wasn’t much street violence, they was exposed to a completely different lifestyle.

“My old area was just normal. It wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t that bad either. We used to just play football. People weren’t getting beaten up and stuff like that. It was nothing like what I saw when I started school. It was a bit of a shock actually.

“I started to hear much more slang, the youth’s behaviour was different - they were violent. Sometimes I’d see people randomly being rushed and having their phones jacked. I even saw teachers beating up students.

“I was worried and scared. I was thinking, ‘What have I got myself into?’ I wanted to leave the school but not my friends. I never told my parents so they didn’t know how bad it was at school. But after a while it was a part of everyday life.

“I didn’t want to do what the others were doing because my parents had taught me well - they’d always taught me to respect people and never to pick on anybody.

A wrong look meant trouble
“But as time passed things got worse. I had to plan my route home to avoid getting rushed or jacked. People would make us pay to leave school. They would come up to me on the street and try to take my phone. I had to put it in my sock or trainers to stop it from being stolen. I’d have people coming up to me asking which area I was from to try and pick a fight. I had to learn not to look at people because a wrong look was enough to get you beaten up. It was horrible.

“The fact that I lived between Yellow Brick and Acorn Estate didn’t help much. It’s one of the baddest areas and the gangs based there were always fighting each other. I used to see people selling drugs a lot, fighting, people getting rushed. That was like an everyday thing.

“I remember one day me and my friend were coming home from a party where I was robbed at gun point by someone. I was on my bike when he approached us from behind asking why we were looking at him. We said sorry but then he started asking if we had a phone. My friend ran off because he was scared. I tried to wheel off on my bike but he pulled out a gun. I was so scared.

“He took my bike and searched my pockets and said if I moved, he’d get me back. This was just 5 minutes from my house. My friend must have called my dad because he came, roughed him up and sent me home. When dad came in the house, he brought the guy with him and it turned out he was someone I was friends with back in school!

“I was so angry and felt really frustrated and violated. I wanted revenge but more than that, I wanted protection - that’s why I joined the gang MDK (Murder Death Kill / Merk Dem Crew).

“There were a lot of them so I thought I’d be protected. They were up and coming at the time and since I knew one of the guys, he brought me in.

“They originally formed as an MC crew. The idea was to make music and get famous. They used to MC about crime and life on the streets but some of the stuff like fighting other people and robbing people wasn’t just lyrics, they actually used to do this. I wasn’t really into the whole MCing thing. I just wanted to be protected.

“Some of the gang members joined with another gang called NLC and they would break into people’s houses and rob them at gun point. Most of them are in prison for armed robbery now. But back then, a typical day with MDK was us linking up and going down West to fight other crews or rob people. We’d basically go around looking for trouble.”

Protection at a price
Even though Ashton was surrounded by people who he felt protected by, things changed and the more the gang became known, the less protected he felt.

“There was a point when MDK had beef with Circle (another gang in the area). Many of our gang members were getting rushed regularly so I bought a knife for protection just in case they came after me.

“My parents never knew what was going on. At home they saw me as a responsible, calm, level- headed guy, but they didn’t know about the other stuff.

“But I was tired of it. I didn’t want to do what they were doing. I didn’t want to walk around looking over my shoulder with people asking, ‘Who are you and what area are you from?’ I didn’t feel comfortable walking the streets because if people found out I was from MDK, they’d want to fight me.

“Eventually, instead of being protected, I think I made myself more of a target because when you are in a gang, people are always looking to start a fight.

“I didn’t know how deep my brother was into the gang. We didn’t really talk - we just kept to ourselves but one’s thing for sure, I wanted out.”

Victory Youth Group
Ashton started to distance himself from the gang by making excuses as to why he was no longer with them. It wasn’t long before he started coming to the VYG.

“I wanted to impress a girl I knew so I started coming to the UCKG just because she did. She was a member of the Youth Group so I also attended but I wasn’t serious about it.

“One Thursday meeting the pastor was talking about the end times and salvation and I was scared because that’s when I realised I wasn’t saved. I believed in God but I’d never taken Him seriously.

“From there, I cut off from the gang completely. I didn’t call them anymore. I didn’t go to where they hung out. I started putting into practise what was said like being a good example. I started paying attention in school and changed my behaviour. I wanted to be better than what I’d ever been. “I felt happier and I had found true friends.

“Being in the Youth Group made me feel useful. I was more confident and didn’t even think about street stuff anymore - it just didn’t matter anymore and for some reason people had stopped bothering me. My protection now comes from God - and it’s real protection, not like the one gangs have to offer.

“I think what really helped me was the counselling. I also felt encouraged because I was given responsabilities within the Youth Group and felt trusted - so I developed confidence.

“If the Helpcentre was not there, I wouldn’t have the vision to do well in my life. I’d still be with the gang and probably would have ended up like one of the youths you read about in the papers: ‘He was such a good boy but was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’”

Ashton Wright, Peckham