New Book Unpacks Roots of Gang Violence in Belize

A powerful new book is shedding light on the complex realities of gang life in Belize City, and it’s sparking important conversations about violence, identity, and community. Today, sociologist Doctor Adam Baird officially launched his latest publication, From South Central to South Side, at the University of the West Indies. The book, published by Cubola, explores gang transnationalism, masculinity, and what Dr. Baird calls ‘disorganized violence’ in Belize City. Doctor Baird has spent years researching gang dynamics in Belize and beyond. His work connects the dots between local struggles and international patterns, offering a fresh perspective on how violence takes root, and how it might be addressed.

 

Dr. Adam Baird, Sociologist & Author

“The book is a history of gangs in Belize, particularly on the south side and it focuses on how gangs came, the Bloods and Crips, from the USA into Belize, how the gangs grew, how the violence escalated. Critically, what I am trying to do in the book is to provide some sustainable solutions and responses to gang violence because, as everybody knows, it’s a critical issue in the country and we’re struggling to find solutions.”

 

Isani Cayetano

“What was the motivation behind putting this book together? You said you’re a researcher, you’ve done extensive work here in the country. What brought you to the point where you decided to the point where you decided to put all of this in writing?”

 

Adam Baird

“Well I first came here in 2011 and I designed a gang intervention program for the UNDP called the South Side Youth Success Program. What really struck me were two things: the first thing was the very high levels of violence in the country; and the second thing, myself as a gang researcher, I went to the academic literature and said, what can I find on a history of gang violence in Belize and there were very few publications. These did begin to come out, Dr. Herbert Gayle, Nelma Mortis-Jones wrote that book, “Like Bushfire” and also, Nuri Muhammed wrote his book on insights into gang culture. For me, it was very important that a foreigner comes to the country and casts an eye over what’s happening to give you a bit of an outsider’s perspective on what’s going on inside the country. And in the first book launch here at the University of West Indies, I think there was a confirmation that we share a lot of the same type of analysis about the reasons that we have gang violence and what drives gang violence in this city. So I left that first session today feeling very hopeful that we can collaborate together and generate new ideas about how to solve gang violence.”

 

From South Central to South Side is now available through Cubola Publishers. It’s a timely and thought-provoking read for anyone interested in the deeper issues shaping our communities.