"They assaulted my son", "I was threatened", "Where are the parents?"

On Monday, a teenager was violently attacked in Esch-Belval. He was leaving school when he was harassed by three students who wanted his bag and his wireless headphones. When he refused, the three youngsters dragged him to the ground and beat him up.

An isolated incident? Not really. This kind of story is much more common than you might think. But because they involve young people, these assaults rarely make the headlines in the media.

A few days ago, our colleagues from RTL 5 Minutes asked their readers for their experiences with juvenile delinquency in Luxembourg. They received more than forty testimonies. Many of them are parents expressing their concern for their children or for the incivility of young people. Many people, however, also express their outrage at the school and legal system that have been overwhelmed by this violence, or at the responsibility of parents in their children's education.

Here is a selection of these testimonies (all anonymous or under a pseudonym).

Testimonies of youth violence

Lena: "I work in a supermarket, and at lunchtime we are swarmed by young people from the secondary school next door. Every day we have to intervene because of shoplifting, insults, verbal aggression, etc... Sometimes the police arrive in time, other times it's too late and they run away."

SR: "I see juvenile delinquency at Lycée Mathias Adam. Young people gather in the tunnel of the Lamadelaine station – where the rubbish left on the ground almost prevents them from passing – and attack the smallest ones in groups. They stand in a circle and throw themselves at the younger children, physically and verbally abusing them. The school says it can't do anything because it's not on school premises. Where are the police? The parents of these kids?"

MS: "I think it's also the government's fault, because for example the young people who are in Dreiborn (Editor's note: the municipality hosts a socio-educational centre designed to incarcerate young offenders) can go out every day. And in Wormeldange there are always incidents, such as vandalism (cars, shops), just last night (editor's note: 29 October) the police were called because of them."

Marko75: "They attacked my 14-year-old son at his secondary school".

Sand: "Some kids insulted me in the pedestrian zone when I was shopping with my 9-year-old son, they pushed me while playing football in the middle of the street [...]. I quickly left, out of fear that they would go even further, especially as I had my son with me, and I didn't want him to see this kind of scene. They were between 12 and 15 years old, one of them was smoking, and just looking at them seemed to provoke them."

Social injustice: "Yes, I was provoked and threatened with a bottle of alcohol by young people of about 17 years old. The reason? None, they came at me for no reason. By talking calmly and telling them that I knew how to smash their faces in before the blow hit me, they finally left. I avoid violence and dialogue, but if things kick off, I solve the problem without relying on our government, which talks, but does nothing, except harass the victims, who have no rights. But not everyone knows how to stay calm and control an attack and retaliate where it hurts a lot, but without breaking and without killing. Defending oneself is always legitimate, whatever our enlightened leaders say. What is unacceptable is the absence of police in the streets and on the roads. It is also unacceptable to harass the victim who defended himself. What's the point of doing investigations if the laws remain in favour of the good-for-nothing!"

Youth Gangs

Youth gangs in Luxembourg have been covered in a previous article, in particular a certain "Bloc 17", which is particularly violent and is said to have about forty members. The authorities count at least six large gangs, which recruit minors and are responsible for very serious acts against other children (persecution, ransom, physical and psychological violence). Unfortunately, not much is known about these gangs. Our colleagues from RTL 5 Minutes did obtain two testimonials:

(Anonymous): "I know the people who are involved. There is also a much older member I think he is 18 or older he is basically the group leader."

(Anonymous): "There is a gang that a certain "X" (Editor's note: name was removed by 5 Minutes) is part of, they have been robbing my brother-in-law, he has filed a complaint, but it's still unresolved. As a result, his mother was forced to send him to Portugal."

Criticism of the school environment

HH13: "Unfortunately it already starts in primary school! Despite several complaints to the teaching staff / the regional directorate of the Ministry of Education or even the municipality... repeated and proven facts, it is NEVER taken seriously! You are "just" advised to put your child in a private school... The scum stays... With impunity!"

Anonymous: "Hello, you mention juvenile delinquency, but it would also be very important to talk about harassment of children by teachers in primary schools, where parents have very limited means of recourse. The teachers are not sanctioned at all, and the children are subjected to very violent humiliation. Teachers who harass children are often known to the Ministry of Education, the mayor, and other teachers, and nobody takes action!"

Fluppes: "Nursery and primary school teachers do nothing if a child is abused. Parents are told to send their child to a school abroad."

Cool: "My child faced a lot of bullying in primary school, with other children pushing and hitting him. It happened during lessons when the teacher didn't notice, or when the child was leaving the classroom. I had to call the police who went to the youngster's home (the "leader" of this group)."

Are parents to blame for child violence?

Ecureuil: "It is absolutely necessary that the parents, especially those who have custody of the children, are punished very severely."

(Anonymous): "If we cannot punish the children, we must at all costs lecture them and condemn the parents who have custody of them (in this case, look for effective means, particularly financial, and for non-Luxembourgers, if there are repeat offences, they could be expelled from the country). We are not going to wait for this to become even more serious. Severe measures are needed."

Marcopolo: "For my part, parents are essentially responsible for their children, and I know some parents who are afraid of their children!"

Read also part 2 of this series right here.