'Ja-fake-ans' blamed for glamorising Yardie gangs

A group of young people from the most deprived tenement yards of Jamaica have been flown to Britain to help fight the growing lure of the "Yardie" gangster lifestyle among British urban youth.

Police, community leaders and youth workers are concerned that the reputation of Jamaican criminals for fearlessness, fast living and expensive clothes and cars is drawing young Britons to seek to emulate them by turning to drugs and gun crime.

Increasingly, those responsible for so-called Yardie turf war shootings in cities such as London, Birmingham and Bristol are British-born, and the speech and mannerisms of the slums of west Kingston, Jamaica, are prevalent among black, white and Asian urban Britons, sometimes referred to as "Ja-fake-ans".

Backed by the British Council and the Jamaican Tourist Board, the Area Youth Foundation (AYF) has arrived to counteract this dangerous misinterpretation of Jamaican culture often espoused by those who have never visited the Caribbean island.

Their visit has taken them to some of London's poorest estates, to Caribbean carnivals and to inner-city districts in Yorkshire and the North-west.

Visiting Liverpool last week, Omaall Wright, 22, from the violence-torn Denham Town district of Kingston, said he was concerned by the attitude of some young men in Britain.

"I think they expected us to be ruffians. Bad boys out of Jamaica. Some of them were behaving like they were bad kids, they spoke with Jamaican accents but they weren't really Jamaicans," he said. "They thought that was how people were in Jamaica. That our drug culture was big, that everyone was a 'rudy' and loved to fight."

Mr Wright, who graduated from college as a drama teacher and is also a performing artist, said he hoped to show young people that most Jamaicans abhorred the violence that afflicts the country's poorest areas. He said: "I tell them they must count their blessings in this rich country, to grasp the positive and reach their goals."

Mr Wright's advice is credible on housing estates because he has come from a far harsher environment. "My brother was killed by the security forces. I've seen my friends and other relatives killed just like that in the gutter," he said. "When I share experiences like those, they believe me when I say there is a need for peace. My message is stronger because of my experiences."

Teenagers who have joined the AYF in Jamaica have managed to turn away from the gang culture to embark on careers in law, the police, the army and the media industries. Others have established their own businesses.

AYF students are drawn to the project by its reputation for arts productions, which provide a platform for building their confidence and introducing them to other skills.

Sheila Graham, joint founder and executive manager of the project, said the Jamaican young people were using their abilities in the performing arts to engage with British youth and put across a serious message. "The power of music is greatly under-estimated," she said.

In Liverpool, the AYF met up with other young artists from around the world, who were performing for the Queen and local people as part of the city's bid to be named European Capital of Culture.

Mr Wright and his compatriots sang a series of self-composed pieces, one of which included the lyrics: "You don't have to be a roughneck to get power and respect, you don't have to move along with the crowd ... I don't need a gun to be a man."

Among those listening was Leroy Ruglass, a rap group member and a visual artist from the inner-city Liverpool district of Toxteth.

Ruglass, whose father was Jamaican, said: "I have read so much publicity about Yardies and subconsciously you buy into the lie and expect Jamaicans to do the walk and talk.

"But [the AYF] are showcasing Jamaica; it's not about guns and rough, raw and ready. They have got the Jamaican accent but not the baggage you expect to come with it."