MS-13
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Finally managed to finish my film from the project I did in El Salvador about the gang MS-13. Back in 2012-13 the senior leadership of the gangs realised that the cycle of violence between themselves and the authorities would continue with them making a fundamental change and calling for a stop to the fighting.--break-- In 2012 both gangs, MS-13 and 18 Street, called for a truce and asked the authorities to work with them.
Initally the murder rate dropped and the fighting between them subsided. As part of my long-term project on slums I decided that this would give me an opportunity to talk to members of the community and the gang members about why they join the gangs and the situation they find themselves in. What I found was that in these desperately poor communities there was little else for young teenagers to do except join the gang, very poorly paid work or unemployment.
After my visit I planned to return six weeks later. When the time came my fixer, Alex, told me it was not safe to come and see if it's get better in a couple of months. Unfortunately the situation got steadily worse and I was not about to return.
Now the situation has got so bad that El Salvador has to the top of the table as the the country with the highest per capita murder rate in the world.

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