The Graffiti Gang

In the back streets where gangs roan free a mean rule had to be enforced by tribes of thugs .
It was a place without mercy or hope where crime and dope crept among the decent folk like a wild animal lurking in the shadows .
Gangs of thugs with iron fists and no brains had overrun the city like rats .
Every rat has a hole and they could disappear quickly into nowhere .
The police had lost all control and the lawbreakers soon became the lawmakers in the ghettos .

The gangs of thugs were feared by most people except for a new breed emerging from the ghetto . This new breed of teenage heroes were graffiti artists who started a war of their own against those who pushed drugs and burnt down pubs . The graffiti gang spoke for all those who had just about had of being pushed around . They spoke through vivid images that they splashes all over the ghetto . Amid the greed and destruction this art form was winning admiration . The appreciation of their work grew in the ghetto , in a place where life and death were a daily way of living .

The thugs head quarters were in an old abandoned factory behind the basketball courts .
Once a month they had a meeting there to discuss any matters of importance that were an issue . They also had to hand over monies and reports on the gangs involvement in the ghetto .

For quite some time A.K. the gang leader was concerned about the graffiti interference with thie running of things around town .

A special meeting was called to discuss ways of stopping the graffiti gangs work .
As the gang gathered in their headquarters A.K. stood up and said ,

“Who knows anything about the graffiti gang ?

Conker answered ,
“They’re like gone you know . When we get there . “

Docker jolined in ,
“Yeah like where they come from and where they go to nobody knows .”

A.K spoke,
“Things are not going well for us . We got to hit them hard .”

Big stood up and answered ,
“We’ve planned a hit before but it the same thing everytime . They’re always a step ahead of us . “

Docker said ,
“I think we have a rat among us . One of us is one of them . “

A.K. lifted a baseball bat from the corner of the room and brought it down upon the table smashing it in two . Then he spoke in a harsh loud voice .

“If I find out that is true I’ll make an example of him and I won’t be responsible for my actions .“

Sor shouted out ,
“Yeah . Lets tell them who is running the show around here A.K. “

After the meeting the thugs walked and talked their way out from their headquarters and were driven mad to see new artworks with simple statements and slogans all over their headquarters and even on the gangs cars that were parked in and around the basketball court .

A small army of artist had been very busy during the meeting .
The streets of a small town were deserted and once again the graffiti gang had disappeared into thin air .

They were smart all right and fast and always a step ahead .

As well as infiltrating their presence among the thugs members of the graffiti artists were also growing in size which gave rise to their confidence .
They were targeting close to home .
So strong were they in numbers that the graffiti gang had to delegate leaders to take various sections of the city as their territory .
These leaders had small armies of artists to work with . They were armed with professional equipment and could complete huge murals in a very short time

The thugs tried to destroy the murals and graffiti by blackening them out but as soon as they were covered a new mural would suddenly appear .

From every corner of the city new art works were appearing on gable walls in the open where they could be seen by everyone .
The messages were vivid and clear.
They had complex artworks of life in the ghetto alongside landscapes and sea scapes with the words peace and hope engraved into each of the scenes .

Other works included thug gang members in chains and cuffs and some locked behind bars in prison cells . These pictures included the thugs names with the words No glory here engraved into the work .
The gang was popular and before long journalists and cameramen appeared to run a special on the ghetto art .
There were TV crews and tourist now arriving frequently which gave more publicity to the cause .
A positive effect was rubbing off all around the city .
The grip of fear was leaving .
Slowly the tide was turning and even the police ventured back into the back streets .

The thugs were on the run .
The graffiti gang went all out now to expose names and address of their victims on gable walls .
The new murals were extreme in the shame game and this new technique was paying dividends .
Gang members had confronted the thugs with pictures of what they had been guilty of .
All over the city images of thugs and their victims were a deadly weapon .
Other murals began to show up the thugs for what they were really worth .

Life in the ghetto was now less of a struggle as shop owners refused to be harassed and stood up to the thugs who demanded protection money .
Parents formed vigilante groups to protect the district at night .

Teenage crime was decreasing and after a long hard battle the graffiti gang made their mark in life .

By Paul McCann

THE END