Les ghettomen

Les gangs de rue à Abidjan et San Pedro

Bibliographic Data

ID2956687
AuthorsEliane De Latour (corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume129
Issue1
Pages68-83
Publication date1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueActes de la recherche en sciences sociales (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0335-5322 • E-ISSN: 1955-2564
PublisherPERSEE Program (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3406/arss.1999.3306
OpenAlexW2092960864
LanguageEN
Citations received20

Ghettomen. The ghettos of Ivory Coast harbor the entire range of illegal practices, from theft to holdups, via drugs and fraud : the sciences. This undergound community is structured around an initiation cycle which turns fistons ("young sons" - inexperienced youths) into vieux pères ("old fathers" - seasoned veterans). The experience starts with a probationary period during which a man must show his heart, his courage, by his ability to go to extremes. He constantly risks death until life once again becomes primordial : the heart dies, and this is the downward phase. No one grows old in the ghetto, which is conceived as a passage where one learns to master a certain number of things : violence, the minss (mind), modern values. The constant swing between the law of the jungle and the law of blood weaves a gang into a tight-knit family. The reference codes revolve around honor and respect for the name - which must be defended under all circumstances. The burning desire for fame, much like that of the heroes of African history, espouses the contemporary vision of the world as a theater of images, where all that counts is media recognition. Fulfillment of the dream lies in the Eldorado of the West, seen as a land of wealth and freedom where all dreams can come true. Illegality is part of this journey through a blood-drenched, deadly utopia from which one emerges into adult society a different person

Aesthetics · Art · Courage · Criminology · Dream · Honor · Jungle · Political science · Sociology · Utopia · African Studies and Ethnography · Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · History · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology

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