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 C U LT U R A L
P ER S P E C T I V ES O N
YO U T H J U S T I C E
Connecting Theory, Policy
and International Practice

Edited by EL A I N E A R N U LL
and DA R R ELL F OX
Cultural Perspectives on Youth Justice
 Elaine Arnull • Darrell Fox
Editors

Cultural Perspectives
on Youth Justice
Connecting Theory, Policy
and International Practice
Editors
Elaine Arnull Darrell Fox
Nottingham Trent University University of the Fraser Valley
United Kingdom Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada

ISBN 978-1-137-43396-1 ISBN 978-1-137-43397-8 (eBook)

DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-43397-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016941482

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans-
mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or
the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any
errors or omissions that may have been made.

Cover illustraion: © Design Pics Inc / Alamy

Printed on acid-free paper

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Macmillan Publishers Ltd. London
 Contents

1 Introduction 1
Elaine Arnull

2 Theoretical Perspectives: Delinquency 17

Elaine Arnull and Darrell Fox

Part I Europe 53

3 England and Wales: Risk and Responsibility 55

Elaine Arnull

4 Croatia: From Welfare to Responsibility 87

Dalibor Dolezal

Part II American Subcontinent 109

5 Canada: Community, Reintegration, Restoration and

Aboriginal Responses 111
Darrell Fox
v
vi Contents

6 The USA: Staying Close to Home—Justice Reform in

New York City 131
Judith Ryder

Part III Developing Economies and Youth Justice Systems 159

7 The Philippines: Ensuring Inclusion to

Community Responses to Youth Justice 161
Nicamil K. Sanchez

8 The Juvenile Justice System in India: Observation Homes

and Current Debates 185
Meghna Vesvikar and Renu Sharma

9 Concluding Remarks: Youth Justice in a Global World 209

Elaine Arnull

Index 219
 Notes on Contributors

Elaine Arnull is a Reader in Social Policy and Social Work at Nottingham

Trent University, UK. Her work has been concerned with the experiences
of those affected by the Youth Justice System, Criminal Justice System
and other social policy systems and includes large-scale international and
national studies. Her current work is focused on girls and young people
and the narrative voice.

Dalibor Dolezal is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Education and

Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Criminology, University of
Zagreb. She is also a qualified social pedagogue.

Darrell Fox is Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of the

Fraser Valley, Canada. He is a qualified social worker and has many years’
experience with the youth justice systems of the UK and Canada. He is
an expert in restorative justice approaches in both jurisdictions.

Judith Ryder is Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at St

John’s University, New York, USA. She specialises in gender and family
violence, and has a broad background in criminology, with a concentra-
tion on violence and trauma among adolescents. Her work principally
draws on psychosocial and feminist theoretical frameworks.

vii
viii Notes on Contributors

Nicamil K. Sanchez is Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University

of the Philippines College of Social Work and Community Development,
the Philippines. He is a registered social worker in the Philippines and a
qualified social worker in Australia and the UK. He is also a consultant of
the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council and the first Geriatric Social Worker
in the Philippines with an extensive research background in children and
older persons.

Renu Sharma is Assistant Professor at the College of Social Work,

Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai, India. Her Research interests focus on the
areas of children in vulnerable situations, criminology and correctional
administration. She has over ten years of teaching experience.

Meghna Vesvikar is Assistant Professor at the College of Social Work,

Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai, India. She completed her MA in Social Work
with a specialisation in Criminology and Correctional Administration
from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. For two years,
she worked for Aangan, a non-governmental organisation working for
the psychosocial rehabilitation of children in state-run institutions.
 1
Introduction
Elaine Arnull

Young people, crime, justice and delinquency have been at the forefront
of social concern across the world throughout much of history and the
trajectory has not changed. These concerns have not only been a consis-
tent historical feature but have also been a common pattern across many
societies. We love our babies and children. We need future generations
to develop and further our societies and to keep us in our old age. But
we also appear to fear the young, especially adolescents and young adults.
It would seem that we fear their enthusiasm, their challenge, their per-
ceived delinquency and their replacing of us. They are often blamed for
social ills, and their deviancy and its threat to social control has been
held to be a social fact from Plato (Byron 2009) to the current period
(Barnado’s 2008: Vidali 1998).

E. Arnull
Nottingham Trent University,
Nottingham, UK

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 1

E. Arnull, D. Fox (eds.), Cultural Perspectives on Youth Justice,
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-43397-8_1
2 E. Arnull

Young people are currently experiencing considerable social difficul-

ties and pressures in a fast-changing world. The current difficulties are
the result of economic circumstances which they did not create, but
which have impacted worldwide in a number of ways. Access to work
is problematic for many young people, with the International Labour
Organization (ILO) estimating worldwide unemployment rates for those
aged under 25 years at 12.5 per cent (Government of India 2013). But
those rates are much worse in some countries as the result of greater eco-
nomic recession. Eurostat (Eurostat Statistics Explained 2015) shows the
disparity within and across Europe:

In July 2015, 4.634 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in
the EU-28, of whom 3.093 million were in the euro area. Compared with
July 2014, youth unemployment decreased by 465,000 in the EU-28 and
by 336,000 in the euro area. In July 2015, the youth unemployment rate
was 20.4% in the EU-28 and 21.9% in the euro area, compared with
22.0% and 23.8% respectively in July 2014. In July 2015, the lowest rates
were observed in Germany (7.0%), Malta (8.7%) and Estonia (9.5% in
June 2015), and the highest in Greece (51.8% in May 2015), Spain
(48.6%), Croatia (43.1% in the second quarter 2015) and Italy (40.5%).

As the figures show, for some young people in Europe, there is a signifi-
cant probability that they will be unemployed, while in other countries
the opposite is true.1 The complexity of the picture is shown in develop-
ing countries like India, where the fast-changing international situation
and the impact of technological and other changes are reflected in the
unemployment statistics. Statistics in India are estimated across localities
and unemployment rates for 15-24 year olds show rates between 15 and
18 per cent (ref as before). The figures for the employed include those
in casual and unstable work (a work pattern that is an increasing feature
in the developed world too). The report also highlights that the pattern

1
Of the countries featured in this book, statistics regarding youth unemployment aged 15–24
show: youth unemployment was 13.10 per cent in Canada in August 2015; in the USA, it was 11
per cent in August 2015; in the Philippines 16.7 per cent, in Croatia 51.5 per cent and in the UK
20.3 per cent for 2013–14. Note the latter three sets of national statistics are taken from the World
Bank website, which shows the US at 15.8 per cent and Canada at 13.8 per cent.
 1 Introduction 3

of unemployment is worse for the educated young person as about one-

third of 15-29 year old graduates are unemployed (ref as before).
Many young people across the world now pay for their education and
this includes developed countries, such as the UK, in which education
had been free at the point of access up to postgraduate level. The level of
debt that many young people are now burdened with as a result of gradu-
ate education is something which is becoming an issue across the globe
(ref as before). And there is growing concern that a similar position to
that in India with regard to graduate unemployment is emerging in other
countries (ref as before).
The position is exacerbated for young people by the many financial
cuts and constraints that are being imposed worldwide. Neoliberal gov-
ernments argue that they are necessary because of economic recession or
difficult economic circumstances, although they rarely accept respon-
sibility for having created the situation in which these circumstances
arose (The Guardian 3 June 2015a). However, one of the outcomes
for young people is that the cuts limit the services available to sup-
port and assist them. This is in contradiction with the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UK has
been recently criticised for the way in which its cuts have impacted on
children and young people. The criticisms were reflected on in a gov-
ernment response that noted that submissions to it showed: ‘Particular
concern was expressed in evidence to us about the way the report dealt
with the impact of austerity on children’s rights’ (section 62 of the Joint
Committee on Human Rights 2015) and further that ‘analysis by the
Institute for Fiscal Studies has also reported that poor families with
children have been hardest hit’ (section 63 Joint Committee on Human
Rights 2015).
Economic pressures therefore add to the social and educational pres-
sures which young people experience across the world, across the world,
and add to their levels of dissatisfaction. These may become evident
in a number of ways; in the UK in 2011, there were riots and there is
increased expectation of social dislocation and unease as the financial
crisis deepens (The Guardian 29 September 2015b). Elsewhere in the
4 E. Arnull

world, we have seen similar dislocations, with riots across Europe and in
factories in China, the growth of the far right and fundamentalist parties
and religious movements, high levels of youth unemployment, riots and
demonstrations in the USA in response to racist policing, and widespread
social movements across the Middle East.
In addition, at a psychosocial level, we have seen rising levels of men-
tal ill health and suicide rates amongst young people in many parts of
the developed world. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2014)
estimates that suicide rates are about 11.4 per 100,000 worldwide, with
the numbers higher for males than females (15 per 100,000 compared
to 8 per 100,000). They express concern that in many European coun-
tries, suicide is the main cause of death for those aged 15–29. But they
also note high suicide levels in India and particularly elevated deaths by
firearms in the Americas for this age group. Regional variations therefore
exist, but for many countries featured in this book, there are economic
and social issues which impact on the lives of young people, creating a
great sense of fragility and uncertainty, giving them little sense of control
and leading for some to untimely death.
Furthermore, in times of economic uncertainty and difficulties, there
can be considerable social dislocation that may manifest itself in foreseen
and unforeseen ways (The Guardian 29 September 2015b). The conflicts
within society that are thereby unleashed may mean that governments
look for someone to blame and young people have traditionally provided
such a focus within many societies.
In addition, tensions within social groups within and across societies
are exacerbated. We see in many parts of the world the denial of equal
human rights to girls and women, the denial of access to education
on the grounds of gender and the denial of access to medical support.
Further, these constrictions take place against a background of extreme
levels of violence, deprivation of liberty, and the use of kidnap, forced
sexual engagement and rape. These ‘techniques’ are currently regularly
used against young girls and women across the world, but form major
concerns in particular areas at this time, for example, in the north of
Nigeria, Burkina Faso, parts of Pakistan and parts of the Middle East,
especially under certain regimes such as that in Saudi Arabia and in areas
controlled by extreme Islamist groups.
 1 Introduction 5

The power of some young women to resist such tyranny was forcefully
thrust on the world in the person and experiences of Malala Yousafzai,
but every day millions of girls and young women are subjected to terror
and deprivation of rights on the basis of their gender. These acts are coun-
ter to direct stipulations in the UNCRC, for example, Articles 1 and 2,
which declare equality for all, or Article 35, which specifically pro-
hibits abduction. But those committing these acts either consider the
Convention irrelevant, challenge its validity and basis, or use their acts
to discipline and control others through the very real fear which their
behaviour engenders and spreads throughout those societies.
In societies which deny girls and women equal rights, their attempts
to gain equality are termed delinquent at best or are perhaps said to be
against their nature, while at worst they lead to their imprisonment, tor-
ture, kidnap, capture and death. Their ‘delinquency’ may range from their
attempts to receive an education like Mala, but may involve other social
behaviours such as attempting to discuss the constraints on their freedom
or actually attempting to exercise their social rights, such as attending a
sports match or driving a car (see, for example, The Guardian 25 June
2014). Challenging one’s society therefore has real and profound impli-
cations, and this is the daily reality for many young people worldwide.
Racism and its impacts also remain key factors in the lives of many
young people across the world. Racism impacts directly on the construc-
tion of delinquency through racialised imagery, stereotyping and the
labelling of individuals and communities, and this can lead to discrimi-
nation and over-policing. And, as for other structural inequalities, there
are clear intersections and interlinking factors and facets. Thus, in the
criminal and youth justice systems, race, gender and class are key factors.
In the societies featured within this book, racism impacts their youth jus-
tice systems and the ways in which they construct delinquency and crimi-
nality. Media coverage in Canada has, for example, dealt with both the
persistence of racism despite equality legislation and the way in which rac-
ism shapes their criminal justice system (Toronto Star 20 March 2012). In
the UK, public protest and riots followed the death of a young man at the
hands of police officers in Tottenham in 2011 and in the USA race riots arose
after the shooting dead of a young man in 2014 in Ferguson and the death
in custody of a young man in 2015 in Baltimore (Reuters 30 April 2015).
6 E. Arnull

In addition, an article in The Hindu (12 June 2012) reflected on the ways
in which racism and discrimination impacted the lives of particular ethnic
groups in India. The article considered how this affects the Indian justice sys-
tem, as well as other parts of social and cultural interaction. In Croatia, war is a
recent memory. Ethnic conflicts formed a significant factor in those wars and
as the Chap. 4 reflects had direct impacts on the youth justice system. And,
finally, a simple Google search using the terms ‘racism and ethnic discrimina-
tion in the Philippines’ produces a slew of articles, blogs, media coverage and
comment. The focus is related to discrimination within the Philippines and
how this impacts those of ethnic Chinese origin in particular. But the coverage
also discusses how internalised racist imagery has led many Filipinos to declare
that they prefer a ‘look’ that is tall, blond and blue-eyed. Other discussions on
those sites document discrimination based around religion (i.e. if someone
is a non-Catholic). What appeared similar in the live media and the cultural
debates captured on the Web is that in India and the Philippines, the debates
show a real sense of societies and cultures struggling to accept that they might
also be racist and discriminatory despite considering that the long-term effects
of colonialism would have ‘saved’ them from that.
The cultural complexities of racism and ethnic discrimination can there-
fore be seen to play out in each of the countries within the book and each
struggles with the issues in its own way. What each country has in com-
mon is that racism and ethnic discrimination can also be found to intersect
within that culture with other forms of structural discrimination. In turn,
this appears to lead to over-representation of those discriminated against
groups within the youth justice and criminal justice systems. For young
people from discriminated against groups, the reality is commonly that they
are over-policed and incarcerated; they may find it hard to have their voice
heard and represented by legitimate means and thus this frustration may
lead on occasions to violent protest (ref as before). (Reuters 30 April 2015).
Protest may lead one across the boundary between delinquent and
‘criminal’ behaviour (Rutter and Giller 1983), just as acts of theft or more
clearly accepted boundaries around ‘criminal’ behaviour may. The bound-
aries between the two are often blurred, but finding oneself at odds with
the legal system may have terrible consequences for many young people
worldwide where torture accompanies imprisonment and where the death
penalty may be imposed. Amnesty International has used the case of Moses
 1 Introduction 7

Akatugba to highlight how accusations of the theft of three mobile phones

led to his torture and imprisonment for ten years on death row, before his
final pardon and release (Amnesty International 2015). Moses was just 16
years old when he was arrested, tortured and sentenced to death.
The treatment of young people within youth justice systems can be
extreme and contrary to the UNCRC declarations to which most coun-
tries are signatories, whether or not their behaviour accords with those
conventions. The countries criticised by the UNCRC include the USA,
which was said to be the last country to use the death penalty against those
under 18 years (The Guardian 2 March 2005). But a number of countries
continue to retain a constitutional right to use the death penalty against
juveniles, even if they have not exercised it in recent years. The UK was
also criticised by the UNCRC for its treatment of young people in the
youth justice system. In a 2008 UN report, concerns included the use of
restraints on children in custodial settings and:

The low age of criminal responsibility

The Committee recommends raising the minimum age of criminal
responsibility.
Use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) for children
ASBOs are issued ‘too easily, a broad range of behaviour is prohibited
and breach of an order is a criminal offence with potentially serious conse-
quences. Instead of being a measure in the best interests of children, ASBOs
may in practice contribute to their entry into contact with the criminal
justice system and most children subject to them are from disadvantaged
backgrounds’. The Committee also found that ‘naming and shaming’ chil-
dren subject to an ASBO is in direct conflict with the Convention rights to
privacy. The Committee recommends an independent review of ASBOs
with a view to abolishing their application to children. (Equality and
Human Rights Commission 2015)

This was stark criticism of a country that would like to see itself as socially
liberal, fair and just. Prior to this international shaming, ASBOs, restraints
on children and young people in secure and custodial settings, and the
age of criminal responsibility were all areas which campaigners within the
country had raised as being of concern (Fox and Arnull 2013). In a review
in 2015 of the most recent UNCRC 2014 report on the UK’s treatment of
8 E. Arnull

children and young people, the House of Lords and House of Commons
Joint Committee on Human Rights reflected on very similar issues that
were again raised. These included concerns about the use of force in cus-
tody, lack of privacy for young people and a lack of safeguards in the
judicial system (section 65 Joint Committee on Human Rights 2015).
Therefore, as we can see, the societies featured in this book include
those that struggle to meet the needs and rights of children and young
people, and this is not solely linked to societal wealth or levels of eco-
nomic development. This struggle to meet the needs of children and
young people is an important part of our reflection on our judicial sys-
tems and in itself says something about our cultures and the construc-
tions of childhood, youth and delinquency that we have formed. In an
interconnected world it is easier for us to learn more about one another,
and this includes the areas of delinquency and protest.
The numerous changes to our social and cultural lives at this time there-
fore present challenges and constraints, but they also provide many exciting
opportunities. Worldwide access to the Internet and social media has wrought
profound social change, and it is something with which young people are
often associated and at which they are usually portrayed as proficient. Young
people’s use of social media often reflects the way they interact socially, but
it may reinforce or subtly alter certain aspects, which has given rise for some
concern (see, for example, Sunday Times 10 November 2015). Furthermore,
social media can be used to galvanise and organise young people and social
movements, for example, the City of London sit-ins (2011–12), the riots
of 2011 in the UK and 2015 in the USA, the Middle East ‘Spring’ in 2012
and India’s response to the rising numbers of rape and brutal public assaults
on women and girls (ref as before) (Losh 2014). The role that social media
can play in giving a voice to young people’s versions of events or in organis-
ing social action is discussed on many Internet sites and one such is ‘Scenes
of Reason’ (28 April 2015). Numerous websites offer testimony that young
people care deeply about the worlds they inhabit, seek to voice those con-
cerns, and challenge boundaries and notions of what is acceptable.
Social media and in particular mobile phones are also used as a
means of communicating with young people, and youth justice systems
have sought to exploit this. They can be used as a means of engaging
young people, but in so doing there is the risk of further curtailment
 1 Introduction 9

of freedoms and privacy, which the UK, for example, is already seen
to infringe (section 65 Joint Committee on Human Rights 2015).
Furthermore, social media and mobile phones are also sites for crime to
occur; as Pitts (2015) notes, they appear to be sites of increasing criminal
activity, and young people are both victims and perpetrators.
For those who work in the fields of social work, social care, crimino-
logical and criminal justice, there is a need to engage with young people
within a context that they understand. There is also a need to be able
to advocate for and on behalf of young people. However, the economic
recession and the political orientation of many current governments mean
that there have been significant cuts to public and welfare services world-
wide, and these are discussed in the forthcoming chapters. Delivering
high-quality, caring, anti-oppressive, young person-centred services in a
climate of retrenchment can become increasingly difficult.
At the same time, the role of professionals is being questioned and
within the UK, for example, practitioners are being asked to be more
independent and critical (Munro 2011; YJB 2015, AssetPlus). In addi-
tion, there has been a move across the UK and Europe for more work
within the social care and criminal justice settings to be provided by pri-
vate or third sector organisations and, in some areas, such as the Probation
Service in the UK, for most work to be given to the private sector (see
Centre for Crime and Justice Studies 2014).
The concerns raised by bodies such as the UNCRC should therefore
resonate with us about the shortcomings which already exist and which
might be exacerbated by the forthcoming cuts and changes. Furthermore,
the Joint Committee on Human Rights (2015) has acknowledged that
in the UK, these can be seen to impact particularly on children, young
people and the poor. This pattern of social dislocation, with growth in
some areas but with little or no impact on the poor or, at worst, negative
impacts and therefore growing social exclusion, is noted in many reviews
of the economies for those countries featured within this book. Political
uncertainty is a feature of all of the countries at this time, either because of
forthcoming elections, an economic downturn, debates about migration
or concerns about the world’s political situation and conflicts in and about
the Middle East and Syria in particular. Reviews for all of the countries
featured show an uncertain future.
10 E. Arnull

It is probable that the uncertainty, economic concerns and instabil-

ity will affect young people. New economic and social situations such
as unemployment and underemployment for well-educated young peo-
ple are noted in the reviews of Croatia, the UK and India. And other
social dislocations are forecast for the Philippines (The Economist 21 May
2015), Canada (Huffington Post 29 September 2015), the USA (CNN 9
September 2015), Croatia (World Bank 2015 a) and India (World Bank
2015 b) (28 April 2015). No country it would seem is immune at this
time and, as the current reviews note and academic texts have argued,
at times of social dislocation and economic uncertainty, life frequently
becomes very difficult for young people and most especially for those at
the margins (Pitts 2015; Young 1998).

This Book
This book aims to engage the reader through the examination of youth
justice systems in six different countries across the world, drawing prin-
cipally on criminological and sociological analysis, expert opinion and
original research. Each chapter is written by an academic who is an expert
in the area of youth justice in the country that he or she is writing about.
All the chapter authors are also actively engaged in research in the area
of youth justice and some have practice-based knowledge and skills. In
this the authors model the book’s underpinning ethos, which is to bring
youth justice theory, policy and practice into an international dialogue in
which it is possible to critique that which exists and reimagine it.
This book presents new knowledge in the context of a global world. It
seeks to challenge the reader to think about and critique the similarities
and differences within and across countries, and the way in which each
in turn responds to delinquent behaviour and young people. As authors,
we draw on criminological explanations, social work and psychosocial
theories, expert testimony and sociological accounts to argue that the
way we engage with young people who might be behaving in ways that
our societies do not sanction says as much about our societies as it does
about the young person and his or her behaviour. The book is therefore
a representation of a changing world and of the way in which ‘global’,
 1 Introduction 11

‘international’, ‘national’, ‘country’ and ‘culture’ intersect and impact

each other. This whole-system approach of interdependence underpins
the cultural criminological thrust of the book.
It has been argued that critical skills are often under-utilised in public
and welfare practice (SCIE 2005; Teli 2011). Furthermore, that research is
often not utilised or not utilised effectively within a policy or practice set-
ting (Arnull 2014; Hemsley-Brown 2004; Levin 1997; Oliver et al. 2014).
However, at this time of deep cuts to public and welfare services across the
world, there is a very real need for those working with dispossessed young
people to be able to communicate effectively and to use the information
and resources at their disposal (Arnull 2014). Several of the chapters argue
for this utilisation. The call is to more effectively bring theoretical and
practice knowledge to the academic, policy and practice table in order
to analyse, discuss and understand what has been done and what might
be done to support, empower and enable young people who are, or have
been, in youth justice systems across the world. A perspective informed
by cultural (Ferrell 1999) and comparative (Szabo 1976) approaches to
criminology and sociology offers the opportunity to begin this engage-
ment afresh and is of particular importance in a globalised world.
Existing theoretical approaches are considered in some depth in Chap. 2
and in particular how these have shaped our notions of delinquency.
However, chapter two also seeks to extend the debate concerning con-
structions of delinquency. In so doing, Elaine Arnull poses new ques-
tions about the role of the World Wide Web and social media on those
constructions. Changing social mores and norms are also considered,
and questions are asked about how these impact constructions of delin-
quency, especially if these remain disputed or contested.
In Chaps. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, research on an aspect of youth jus-
tice functionality is considered in depth within a specified country. The
countries are arranged with some regard for geographical position and
relative wealth and development. Two European systems form the basis
of Chap. 3, in which Elaine Arnull considers the risk-based youth justice
system in England and Wales, and in Chap. 4, Dalibor Dolezal discusses
a system in transition in Croatia. The American subcontinent is featured
in Chap. 5, in which Darrell Fox talks about the use of restorative justice
approaches in Canada, while Judith Ryder in Chap. 6 presents a changing
12 E. Arnull

approach to the incarceration of girls in the USA. Finally, in Chaps. 7

and 8, the authors present research undertaken in two countries that are
emerging as more economically powerful and whose responses to young
people within their youth justice systems are developing and changing.
Thus, in Chap. 7, Nicamil K. Sanchez outlines the community-based
approach used in the Philippines, while in Chap. 8, Meghna Vesvikar and
Renu Sharma discuss India’s system that is struggling to implement its
own legislation for a variety of reasons that are fully considered.
The chapters draw out what is distinctive within each cultural and
national response, but what is shared and common across our cultures
can also be seen. We can see how, for example, a society might commonly
do one of two things: it might seek to place a young person outside of the
community for an act of perceived delinquency, whereas alternatively it
might seek to draw the young person in.
In Chap. 9, the threads are drawn together with the intention of think-
ing about how this body of knowledge can be used to influence policy
and practice, and to ask how might we collectively and globally use it
to construct a shared understanding of what would make a better, anti-
oppressive youth justice service for young people.
The UNCRC has many stipulations and prohibitions and much good
advice, but, as we have seen, the systems featured within this book con-
sistently flout it. The chapters offer evidence of international youth jus-
tice practice. We should consider how we might use this knowledge to
construct fairer and less discriminatory systems. We might also use this
knowledge to consider how we might build a shared understanding of
delinquency in a global and interconnected world and, in turn, use that
to shape our responses to young people who challenge us.

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 1 Introduction 13

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 2
Theoretical Perspectives: Delinquency
Elaine Arnull and Darrell Fox

Section 1: Constructing Delinquency:

Culture and Community
Elaine Arnull

Youth crime is a perennial issue that pervades the media and the public
consciousness, and is inextricably linked to concerns about delinquent,
misbehaving and disorderly youth. This chapter will consider how and
when delinquency might be constructed and how this might be a static or
changing phenomenon, both local and global. It will explore how expla-
nations and accounts of delinquent behaviour might change over time,
between cultures or within different groups within society. It will also
discuss how theoretical explanations of delinquency enable us to critique

E. Arnull ( )
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
D. Fox
University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 17

E. Arnull, D. Fox (eds.), Cultural Perspectives on Youth Justice,
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-43397-8_2
18 E. Arnull and D. Fox

the concept in and of itself and to think about what is added by a global
as well as a local, individual country perspective.
How a society seeks to create commonly held notions of what consti-
tutes deviance and delinquency is considered. In addition, a critique is
formed which questions the boundaries that are permissible for young
people and the ‘spaces’ they are allowed to inhabit in a global and
interconnected world. How explanations of delinquency are influenced
by culture, history and social constructs, and what is particular (emic)
and what is universal (etic) in those constructions is also critiqued. A new
proposition is thereby advanced, which is that there are basic and univer-
sal notions of what is or is not delinquent, but that this is currently being
contested and shaped anew in light of the emergence of the Internet, the
World Wide Web and social media. Thus, these new forms of cultural
communication offer fresh opportunities for young people to contest and
shape constructions which largely impact them, and in so doing they pro-
vide a counter-hegemonic force which cannot be considered subcultural
because of the ubiquity of its global existence.

Delinquency
Like deviance, delinquency in this book is taken to be a constructed
phenomenon or concept and one which can only be created in rela-
tion to the ‘other’ or a concept of non-delinquency or proper behaviour
(Becker 1963; Downes and Rock 1998; Szabo 1976). Delinquency is
different from criminal behaviour in that whilst it might be disapproved
of or considered to be ‘outside’ of the ‘normal’, encouraged or acceptable
boundaries of behaviour, it is not necessarily illegal and engaging in it
might not make the perpetrator a ‘criminal’. It is similar to ‘deviant’, but,
unlike deviancy, it is associated much more strongly with youth/young
people and their behaviour than it is with older people. And the way in
which delinquency is constructed means it is often considered a ‘phase’
and some argue that it is a ‘normal’ part of a young person’s develop-
ment, i.e. that he or she tests out the boundaries and norms of his or her
society, social and peer group, and is thereby enabled to make decisions
for himself or herself about how he or she should or should not behave in
 2 Theoretical Perspectives: Delinquency 19

the future (Coleman 2011). This is also different from deviancy which it
is not always assumed one might ‘grow out’ of.
A definition of delinquency as a constructed phenomenon or concept
raises philosophical questions of whether one can be delinquent on one’s
own and whether delinquent behaviour matters if it is in a ‘private’ rather
than a ‘public’ space. These are important questions, and the latter has
been a key conceptual distinction for the law and has influenced much
law making, especially around issues of violence and sexual behaviour
and notions of ‘privacy’. Delinquent behaviour, like deviant behaviour,
might therefore be outside of the social norms, but does that of necessity
make it wrong? And what role does the concept of ‘harm’ play in estab-
lishing those boundaries? In addition, is ‘delinquency’ the same for every
young person within or across societies or is it a highly mediated experi-
ence, infused with patriarchal and class-based distinctions and construc-
tions of race and ethnicity, ability, gender and sexuality?
In order to think this through, it is worth exploring some examples
from UK society to really make these conceptual notions concrete. Thus,
in the UK for very many years, you might not behave violently towards
someone else in a public space and to do so might result in arrest, pros-
ecution and adjudication. But until quite recently in historical terms,
you might behave violently within your home, especially if the person
to whom you were violent was your ‘wife’ and you were male, and in
UK vernacular this was considered a ‘domestic’. And whilst ‘domestic’
violence was deplored by some, for others it was not of note, less ‘real’
and perhaps neither delinquent nor criminal (see, for example, Naffine’s
(1997: 65–66) critique of the approach of Left Realism within criminol-
ogy). The discussion about domestic violence is often complicated by the
fact that a man might also be assaulted by a female or same-sex partner
(Mirrless-Black 1999) as well as debates about prevalence, legal back-
ground, public perception and the range and extent of harm (Felmath
et al. 2014; Flood and Fergus n.d.; Foshee et al. 2014; García-Moreno
et al. 2006; Mirrless-Black 1999; Naffine 1997). The debates are only
tangentially relevant to us, although they help us to think through how
a society might seek to construct notions of delinquency and deviance,
and how these might be contested. Thus, whilst social attitudes towards
domestic or gendered violence have changed and are changing, the pat-
20 E. Arnull and D. Fox

tern of change has been slow and attitudes about domestic violence,
which run counter to prevailing laws, have persisted for over 100 years.
These disputed boundaries and definitions are persistent across the world,
and in Europe, the USA and India, gendered violence has remained rea-
sonably common, even though it is now considered criminal activity
(García-Moreno 2006; Kutchinsky 2014; Naffine 1997). Furthermore,
research studies indicate that as a form of behaviour, it can be hard to
influence (Felmath et al. 2014; Foshee et al. 2014). Thus, despite a change
in social attitudes concerning violence towards domestic/sexual partners,
there have been growing concerns about a rising level of dating-based
violence amongst young people in the UK. In the international context,
there have been concerns about group-based, gendered violence in India,
and reports from countries such as Australia highlight very high levels
of violence, with one-third of women said to have experienced violence
in a relationship and one-quarter of young people reporting witnessing
violence from their father or step-father towards their mother or step-
mother (Flood and Fergus, n.d.).
Thus, the issue of domestic violence, history, the effects of time and
societal attitudes are intertwined factors, and a consideration of how these
factors intersect helps us to consider whether or not violent behaviour
towards a partner is delinquent or deviant if a sizeable minority dispute
that. Further, are such questions even more pertinent if the behaviour
is said to be transmitted within the family and therefore hard to change
(see, for example, Foshee et al. 2014)? Does it matter if a form of behav-
iour was not formerly illegal or went unprosecuted and/or a sizeable
minority of a group hold that behaviour to be acceptable?
Using the UK as an example, we see that violence perpetrated by hus-
bands against their wives was not usually pursued in the law courts until
the Aggravated Assaults Act of 1853 and, in general, domestic violence
escaped prosecution until the 1970s. In addition, we can see that ‘domes-
tic’ violence continues to be regularly perpetrated by a sizeable minority
of people, especially males, worldwide. The question therefore must be as
follows: can this behaviour be considered delinquent or deviant?
Kutchinsky (2014) reported on a survey about violence against
women within Europe which suggested that a considerable number of
men, including young men, behave violently towards women, includ-
 2 Theoretical Perspectives: Delinquency 21

ing young women, and particularly their partners. García-Moreno et al.

undertook a study for the World Health Organization in 2006 that also
showed a high prevalence of domestic violence across a range of countries.
In addition, however, it showed significant variation within countries.
The question this therefore raises is both about culture and cultural
norms, but it also poses the question of dissonance. Thus, does a study
such as that by García-Moreno et al. (2006) mean that those who per-
petrate violence against a partner experience dissonance between their
actual behaviour and their social views? Or do they not consider their
behaviour to be outside of normal boundaries or criminal? Or does this
dissonance occur in some cultures and societies and it is this which effects
social change? If so, why, and why does it not occur in others? As such,
is violence against a domestic/sexual partner behaviour that is delinquent
or deviant? And if it is, at what point historically and culturally did it, or
does it, become so?
As Spencer-Oatey (2012: 10, drawing on Avruch) has argued, the rela-
tionship between society, culture and behaviour is a complex process:

It is by approaching mind—cognition and affect—that we can sort out the

ways in which culture is causal … But cultural representations—images
and encodements, schemas and models—are internalised by individuals.
They are not internalised equally or all at the same level.

The point is not to argue that domestic violence is acceptable social

behaviour or for the decriminalisation of ‘domestic’ violence. The (often
feminist) voices which raised concerns about domestic violence and cul-
tural attitudes to it were powerful in asserting that private behaviour was
as relevant as public behaviour (Naffine 1997); when they were originally
making these arguments, their views ran counter to cultural norms. The
feminist argument was that delinquent and criminal behaviour could
occur within the home and could therefore form part of ‘private’ behav-
iour rather than purely public or social behaviour (Naffine 1997).
Domestic violence therefore serves as an example of how concepts of
deviance, delinquency and criminality may be disputed and historically
sited. Furthermore, domestic violence highlights that even if a society
apparently agrees that a form of behaviour is not only deviant or delin-
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 X.
VERTREK.

Die maaltyd wat voorafgaan aan die vertrek van iemand uit ’n
famielie, kom in treurigheid ooreen met die eerste waaraan die
famielie weer deelneem nadat een van hul lede vir altyd uit hul kring
verdwyn het. Al is almal nog daar, die vreugde is al verban. Elkeen
probeer tevergeefs om vrolik te wees, en die aandoenlike, dog
vrugtelose pogings maak die smart nog dieper.
So is dit ook stil en gedruk in die eetkamer van Maupas, hoewel
die sonnetjie inskyn deur die rame. Marcel sal teen die aand vertrek
met die rytuig; hy moet van die stasie weggaan met die trein van
sesuur. As die gesprek val, dan neem niemand weer die draad
daarvan op nie—skaars lewensvatbaar flikker dit nou en dan op uit
’n onbeduidende woordjie om dan weer uit te gaan. Marie, die ou
huismeid, het dié kos klaargemaak wat die kaptein graag eet; maar
sy skud haar hoof en is self ook bedroef as sy die skottels terugdra
kombuis-toe nog amper heeltemal vol.
Na die maaltyd loop Marcel met sy suster buiten-toe, hy sê aan
haar:
—Kom, ek wil ons ou wandelpaadjies nog eenkeer sien.
Teen die hang op gaan hul deur die wingerd tot by die
kastaiingbome, waar hulle dikwels as kinders in die koelte gespeel
het. In die sluimerende water van die meertjie in die verte spieël die
berge hulle af—teen die aand is die tinte altyd die mooiste.
—Laat ons nou na die waterval gaan, sê Marcel.
Voor hy weggaan, wil hy nog ’n keer vars indrukke kry van al die
afgeleë en besielende plekkies wat bygedra het tot die vorming van
sy vurige gemoed.
Marcel bly staan as hy die waterval deur die bome sien—’n lang
dun sluier, vallende van ’n hoogte van honderd voet, ’n opslag van
silwere stof verspreiende in die sonlig. Hy glimlag van plesier.
 —Ons moenie verder na bo gaan nie, sê hy. Ons moet nog na die
bos en na die kloof gaan.
Die gronde het vroeër almal by Maupas behoor, maar deur die
ongeluk met hul fortuin, het hul dit moet afgee. Maar al is die plekke
verkoop, die bekoring daarvan bly nog dieselfde. Die skoonhede van
die aarde is nie te koop of te verkoop nie: hulle behoor aan dié wat ’n
ope oog het om te begryp en te geniet.
Die kloof van Foresan is diep; die kante is dig begroei met struike.
Op sommige plekke kan ’n mens langs die skuinste afgaan tot aan
die kristal-heldere stroompie in die diepte. Daar, onder ’n lang
blaredak, is die tuis van die vreedsame, diepe, allesvergetende stilte.
Marcel loop voor. Hy kyk om en sien hoe sy suster haar rok
vasgeraak het in die klimop-plante langs die voetpad. Voordat hy
haar gaan help, sê hy:
—Hoe mooi lyk jy, hier tussen die bome!
—Kom help my liewer in plaas van onsin te praat.
Maar hy maak nie gou nie. Die lewendige natuurlike bevalligheid
van die jongmeisie stem so volkome ooreen met die maagdelike en
frisse omgewing. Hy kan nie help om met bewondering te kyk na die
lenigheid van haar beweginge nie terwyl sy besig is om haar aan die
plante te ontworstel—die wandeling het ’n gloed van gesondheid in
haar wange gedryf. Voor hy nog by haar is, spring sy al vooruit, los
van die bossies wat haar vasgehou het:
—Jy is te laat!
—Bravo, Paula! Jy sal nie bang wees vir die bosse van die verre
lande nie. Miskien kom jy nog eendag daar. Jy is van dieselfde ras
as jou broers.
—Ek! sê sy, en die vlam in haar oë verdof, ek sal op Maupas bly
tot ek sterf.
Deur die bome klim hulle weer teen die skuinste uit. Die windjie
speel deur die bome, wat al half beroof is van hul somertooi. Die
blare wat hul nog dra, is van ’n rooiagtige goudkleur, net soos die dik
tapyt daarvan wat alreeds op die grond lê. Dit word aand en die hele
bos is gedompel in ’n violetkleurige newel wat daar iets
geheimsinnigs en plegtigs aan meedeel. In die vensters van ’n
plaashuis vlam die rooi gloed van die ondergaande son.
By ’n omgekapte boom bly Marcel en Paula staan, en gaan
daarop sit.
Onder hulle sien hul die voetpad wat hul uitgeklim het; die dooie
blare wat daarop lê, neem ’n rose en pers kleur aan. ’n Skotskar met
hooi, deur twee osse getrek, kom verby hulle. Teen die gloed van die
westerlug vertoon die asem, uit die osse se neusgate, hom elke keer
soos ’n ligtende wolkie. Dis of die aarde vreedsaam en met lang
asemhaling die groot winterslaap ingaan, treurig en beroof van al sy
groen weilande en blaretooi.
Marcel neem die hand van sy suster. Net soos sy sy handdruk
voel, bars sy in trane uit. Alvorens die uur van afskeidneem het hul al
te veel gevoelens in hul harte opgehoop. Hy dink aan die swakheid
van Alida, en Paula dink aan hom. ’n Oomblik bly hy stil, uit eerbied
vir Paula haar trane, hy laat die vrye loop daaraan, dan sê hy:
—Luister, jy moet ma mooi oppas: ek sal miskien baie lank
wegbly.
Sy het ’n onrustige voorgevoel van ’n nuwe ongeluk wat dreig.
Meteens oorwen sy haarself.
—Jy kom mos aanstaande jaar terug van Algiers, nie waar nie?
Hy sien haar liefderyk aan:
—Ek weet nie, sus; ek behoor by die kommando wat dwarsdeur
die Saharawoestyn gaan.
—O, sê sy, dit het ek wel gedink. Jy verg te veel van ons moed,
Marcel. Ma is al baie oud en gedaan. Die swaar druk vir haar net so
erg as vir ons. Jy moet haar spaar.
Hy kyk na die vreedsame veld en kry ’n gedagte dat dit wel soet
moet wees om hier te bly by sy ma en sy suster. Maar dis ’n
verbygaande begeerte, en hy hervat:
 —Maar jy, ons goeie sus, is mos hier. Ek moet baie vèr gaan . . . .
. en ek moet vergeet. Moet nog nie vir ma vertel nie. Ek vertel vir jou
alles. Ma sal maar alte gou ook hoor.
Sy vra eenvoudig:
—Sal die kommando lank wegbly?
—Met sekerheid kan niks gesê word nie—waarskynlik agtien
maande.
Sy probeer haar smart te verberg, maar sy beswyk:
—Jy weet nie hoe lief ma en ek jou het nie. Ag! as dit tog maar
moontlik was om daardie een wat nie gedurf het nie, aan jou te bind;
sy sou jou ten minste hier gehou het, wat ons nie kan doen nie.
Hy omarm haar en kus haar. Seker van haar vriendskap en
manhaftigheid, wag hy tot die bui van wanhoop verby is. Maar Alida
haar naam noem hy nie. Nooit sou die naam weer oor sy lippe kom
nie. Hy verwaardig hom slegs om geringagtend van sy liefde te sê:
—Moenie daarvan praat nie, sus; die huwelik sou my minder
gemaak het. Ongelukkige vroue wat die lewenswerk van hul mans
belemmer! Die liefde is in ons dae nie meer sterk genoeg om
skeiding en smarte te kan verdra, of ’n offer te bring nie. Dis jammer,
want my pad lê deur die groot wêreld.
—Jy vergeet, sê sy, dat daar vroue is soos dié van ons broer
Etienne.
Hy gee haar ’n kus en sê:
—Ja, en ek vergeet een soos jy is ook. Jy sal die hart sterk maak
van hom wat jou sal liefhê.
Sy trek haar fier op:
—Nie vir my nie!
Haar woorde dui ’n inwendige terugstoting aan, wat hy begryp.
Te jonk het die teenhede van die lewe haar oorval op ’n leeftyd as
alles nog sonnig en vrolik wil wees; en sedert die dood van haar
vader het sy te veel lae ondank en kwetsende neerbuiendheid
ondervind—sy en haar moeder. Haar kragte is daardeur gehard,
maar ’n verbitterde trots het sy ook daarvan oorgehou. Sy verwag
niks meer van die toekoms nie; sy probeer om haarself te vergeet,
soos almal haar vergeet. Met haar liefde as suster en dogter, stel sy
haar tevrede. Fier in haar waardigheid en minagting van die wêreld,
wil sy die verborge roeringe wat in haar vurige hart ontkiem, nie
deurgrond nie. Hy weet dat sy net soos hy is, in haarself geslote en
nie graag haarself beklaende nie. Hy probeer haar af te lei en sy
groot liefde vir haar lê in sy woorde:
—Moenie ongerus wees nie, Paula: ééndag sal jy gelukkig word.
Dis ek wat jou dit vertel. Jy verdien dit.
Maar sy lei die gesprek op iets anders en vra hom omtrent sy
kommando.
—Ek het baie moeilikheid gehad, Paula, antwoord hy. Eindelik het
ek dit so ver gekry dat Jan Berlier ook meegaan.
—So, so, meneer Berlier!
—Ja, en hy kom terug as kaptein, met ’n ereteken op sy bors.
Bowenal sal hy gestaald terugkom. Die woestyn, soos die see, maak
hart en hoof ruimer. ’n Mens dink daar nie aan „flirtery” nie. Maar
hoekom noem jy hom nou meneer en nie Jan soos eers nie?
Sy antwoord nie. Hy kyk haar aan en staan op:
—Laat ons binne-toe gaan, dit word al donker; ons moet ma nie
meer alleen laat nie.
Mevrou Kibert sit voor die deur en wag al vir hulle. Sy brei ’n paar
kouse vir die dogtertjie van die boervrou. Elke keer kyk sy die laning
op, deur haar bril; sy sien Marcel en Paula aankom, en glimlag.
Terwyl hul die treedjies opstap, haal sy gou haar bril af om haar oë af
te vee.
—Eindelik terug, sê sy.
Marcel kus haar.
—Ons het te lank versuim in die bos. Maar hier is ons nou. Dit
word alte koud vir ma om nog buite te bly.
 Hulle gaan binne-toe, Marcel maak die deur toe. Hy gaan naas sy
ma sit op ’n laer stoeltjie, leun teen haar aan en neem haar hand. Hy
kyk na die arme gekerfde werkhand, met vormlose vingers, sonder
ringe, sprekende van ’n werksame lewe en van ouderdom. Mevrou
Kibert weet waar Marcel aan dink, en sy sê:
—Ja, ek het my trouring moet afhaal: dit het my seergemaak. ’n
Tydlank het ek die ring van jou vader gedra, maar die goud was al so
dun geslyt, dat dit eendag gebreek het, soos glas.
En sy voeg daarby asof sy net vir haarself praat:
—Dis maar niks. Wat ons voel, is tog maar alles—en dit kan selfs
die dood nie breek nie.
Marcel soek met sy oë aan die muur ’n ou portret van sy ma wat
hy goed ken. Sy staan daarop as jongmeisie, slank en skoon, met
iets teruggetrokkens in haar houding, en met ’n blom in haar mooi,
lang vingers.
Hy buig hom oor die verlepte ou hand, wat hy vashou, en druk
daar ’n soen op. Hy dink daaraan hoe sy moeg en terneergeslae
teruggeloop het van Chenée, na die ongunstige antwoord wat sy
daar gekry het, en hy onthou ook die onvriendelike woorde wat hy
haar gesê het:
—Ma, ek is somtyds haastig gewees met my woorde.
Sy trek haar hand saggies uit syne en streel sy wang. En op haar
gelaat lê die helder dog droewige glimlag wat spreek van ’n siel deur
lye gereinig.
—Stil! sê sy, bewoë. Ek verbied jou om jouself te berispe. Elke
dag dank ek die Heer vir die kinders wat Hy my gegee het.
Hulle is nou spraakloos. Die stilte omsluit hulle. Snel gaan die
minute verby, onverbiddelik. Hul is alreeds geskei voor die afskeid
nog daar is. Maar alles opsy skuiwende, geniet hul, tot martelens
toe, hul bedreigde samesyn. Daar is niks wat siele so
aanmekaarbind as gemeenskaplike sorge en smarte nie. Wanneer
sal hul ooit weer so bymekaar wees in die goudkleurige najaar, die
geel blare deur die venster sigbaar in hul sterwende skoonheid? Van
die drie wat hier bymekaar is, het twee ’n voorgevoel dat so ’n
samesyn nooit weer sou kom nie. Mevrou Kibert probeer tevergeefs
om, soos altyd, sterk te bly by die afskeid. Marcel se hart is swaar:
hy dink aan die eensame woestyne van Afrika van waar menigeen
nie weer terugkom nie.
Die bediende kom sê dat die rytuig ingespan is. Dis al nag as hul
vertrek.
Hulle ry deur Chamberie. Onder ’n veranda in die straat sien Paula
mevrou Delourens en haar dogter staan. Sy sien hoe Alida
doodsbleek word; maar as sy haar broer aankyk, dan is sy verbaas
om te sien dat hy heeltemal onverskillig is, hoewel sy voel dat hy
hulle ook gesien het.
By die stasie moet hul nog wag en bly bymekaar in die wagkamer.
Mevrou Kibert haar oë is net op haar seun, wat gaan vertrek. Sy sê
meteens:
—Van al die kinders lyk jy die meeste na jou pa.
—Sy geloof in die lewe het ek nie, sê Marcel. Hom het ek nooit
ontmoedig gesien nie. By teenspoed het hy laggend sy hoof opgehef
en gesê „So lank ’n mens nog nie dood is nie, is daar niks verlore.”
—Vandat hy dood is, sê die ou vrou, is my krag weg.
—Hy leef nog in U, ma. Vir ons is hy nog hier.
—In julle ook. Vir my wag hy.
Marcel kus haar.
—Nee, ma, ons het ma nog nodig.
’n Spoorwegbeampte kom aan die deur en waarsku hulle. Hul
gaan op die stoep en sien die twee lanterns van die naderende trein
soos oë wat hul aanstaar. Hul moet afskeid neem van mekaar. Nog
nooit het mevrou Kibert so bedroef gevoel nie. Sy omarm haar
Marcel, en hy glimlag om haar moed te gee. Haar laaste woord is ’n
seën-wens, ’n gebed:
—Dat God jou beskerm!
 Krom gebuie na die aarde, wat haar aantrek, so bereik sy, aan
Paula haar arm, die rytuig.
—Moenie ongerus wees nie, ma, sê Paula. Net ’n jaar bly hy weg.
Die vorige keer het U beter uitgehou.
Maar sy het ’n geheime voorgevoel wat haar martel. Swyend ry
hul terug na Maupas. Daar word die ou vrou nog ’n keer oorval deur
’n vreeslike aandoening van droefheid:
—O, ek is bang ek sal hom nooit weer sien nie.
Paula verbaas haar oor die wonderlike voorgevoel van gevaar, wat
haar ma alleen het.
—Ek weet nie waarom ek so voel nie, sê die ou vrou. Ek voel net
so bedroef, as die jaar toe jou pa gesterwe het.
Met grote selfbeheersing bedwing sy haar, om haar dogter ontwil.
Sy neem die hand van haar laaste kind, met die sagte bevalligheid
wat sy nog uit haar jong jare oorhou; en terwyl sy dink aan al die
skeidinge, sommige vir lange tyd en sommige vir altyd, sê sy:
—My liewe kind, jy is nou die laaste blommetjie wat oorbly in my
verlate tuin.
DEEL II.
 I.
DERTIEN AAN TAFEL.

—Ons sou miskien aan tafel kan gaan.

Meneer Delourens waag om dit te sê, met ’n bangerige stem.
Onder die geselskap van sy vrou haar oog maak hy dadelik dat hy
wegkom van die vuur, waar ’n paar groot eikeblokke vlam, en hy
neem die vlug na ’n alleenstaande stoel ver daarvandaan. Laggend
toon mevrou Delourens dan aan haar gaste ’n almanak wat in groot
syfers die datum dra: 25 Februarie.
Mejuffrou Sonjon, verdroog en verouderd, kom nader—’n mens
sou sê dat die verbygaande tyd haar besonder veel belang
inboesem. Maar ál waar sy aan dink, is om ’n plekkie te verower
naby die vuur. Sy kom net van Rome terug: in die winter skenk sy
net haar aandag aan die gestigte van die suide—waar dit warm is.
Om op laasgenoemde liefdadigheidstog te kan gaan, het sy skielik
die vee moet laat verkoop van ’n boer wat agterstallig was met sy
betaling. Sy maak haar groot voete warm en kyk na die almanak.
—Maar dis 25 Februarie 1898! sê sy, en dis vandag 25 Februarie
1901—dis net drie jaar te laat.
Al die vrouens, behalwe Alida, kom kyk of dit so is; die almanak
gaan van hand tot hand. Mevrou Orlandi hou Pistache op haar hart
gedruk—’n verouderde Pistache, vet, half kaal en lelik, met half
geslote ooglede oor sy tranerige oë; verwonderd en trots dat sy dit
agtergekom het, roep sy uit:
—A, ek verstaan! U het die datum van u dogter haar huwelik op
die almanak bewaar. Dis vandag net drie jaar gelede. Hoe vindingryk
en teer is tog ’n moeder haar liefde! Dis nou net soos ek is, mevrou,
ek onthou ook altyd sulke dae.
—Ek wil gerus wed, ma, sê Isabella—wat nou mevrou Landeau
geword het—dat U al vergeet het wanneer ek getroud is.
—Nee maar dié Isabella! sy het tog altyd iets snaaks om te sê.
 En, met alles behalwe fyne behendigheid, buig sy haar hoof oor
haar mopshondjie, met ’n vloed van soet woordjies.
Mevrou Delourens—siende dat almal aan gesels is—werp ’n
haastige blik op die klok, wat al kwart-voor-agt aanwys, en die
afspraak was dat hul om sewenuur sou aansit.
—My gravinnetjie, het jy jou broer Clement nie vanmiddag gesien
nie? vra sy aan haar dogter, wat afgetrokke en stil is.
—Nee, ma, antwoord Alida, fluisterend.
Vier of vyf maande na Marcel se vertrek was Alida—wanhopend,
oorwonne, onderdanig, volgens die wyse raad van haar moeder—
getroud met graaf Marthenay, wat toe luitenant was in Chamberie.
Vir die derde maal word nou die verjaardag van haar „geluk” gevier.
Haar bevallige jongmeisie-slapheid en slankheid was oorgegaan in
neergedruktheid en maerheid. Haar helder oë, haar neergetrokke
mondhoeke, getuig van ’n ingewortelde en diepe droefgeestigheid.
Die suiwerheid van haar gelaatstrekke was nie verlore gegaan nie,
maar deurdat haar wangbene meer uitsteek, haar neus vermaer en
haar wange kleurloos is, het die vroeëre uitdrukking van jeug en
onskuld plaas gemaak vir ’n aansien van pynlike gelatenheid en
swakheid. Op haar gelaat dra sy die tekens van ’n marteling wat elke
oomblik van haar lewe aan haar kou, en wat so seker deur haar man
nooit opgemerk word nie. Om daarvan oortuig te wees, is dit genoeg
om ’n oog op hom te slaan, soos hy daar agter haar staan, met sy
opgeblase en puisterige gesig, die gedagtelose gesig van ’n
vroegtydig afgeleefde man.
Mevrou Delourens kyk by die venster uit. Sy laat die gordyn weer
val en kyk dan weer haar gaste besluiteloos aan. Almal is so aan
gesels met mekaar, dat sy dink nog maar ’n bietjie te kan wag. En
nie sonder bitterheid nie dink sy by haarself:
—Mevrou Orlandi, wat anders altyd te laat kom, is nou tog betyds.
Om die vuur luister al die vrouens na mejuffrou Sonjon, wat met
geloofsywer vertel van die katakombe van Rome. Mevrou Orlandi—
openlik haar gebrek aan morele gevoel openbarende, en onhandig
om vergelykinge te maak—sê dat sy meer hou van die bouvalle van
Pompeii, omdat daar sulke vermaaklike muurskilderye te sien is.
Mevrou Lavernay en mevrou Ambelard—ouerige en plegstatige
verskyninge—het niks te sê nie. Mevrou Delourens hou hulle aan om
hulle adel, en praat altyd van hulle afkoms. Hulle is goed om die
geselskap vol te maak, en meet die lewe af na die aantal
uitnodiginge wat hul kry.
Hul mans is tafelskuimers van die eerste water en het iets
ouderwets-deftigs oor hulle, vol vooroordele waarmee hulle maklik
deur die wêreld rol, totaal onbekend met die moderne
gedagtewêreld, maar met ’n ingewortelde plesierlus. Baron
Ambelard, hoogrooi van kleur, hou van lekker eet; en graaf
Lavernay, jonk ondanks sy wit kop, skenk al sy neerbuiende aandag
aan die mooi dames. Hy kom net van die hofsittinge, en vertel aan
die klompie mense om hom heen wat hy as jurielid ondervind het.
—Julle veroordeel ’n dief, maar ’n kindermoordenaarster laat jul
vry, sê meneer Delourens; en, bang dat hy te veel gesê het, voeg die
mannetjie daar haastig aan toe:
—Let wel, ek kritiseer u glad nie.
Meneer Lavernay lag sonder terughouding.
—My waarde heer, as ons kindermoordenaarsters sou veroordeel,
dan sou ons geen diensmeisies meer kan kry nie.
—Hoe bespotlik ook, sê meneer Ambelard, om kinders te hê! ’n
Mens se beurs moet eers geraadpleeg word. Wat sê u daar nou van,
meneer Landeau?
Meneer Landeau beken dat hy daar geen gedagte oor het nie. Hy
is miljoenêr en voer ’n verskriklike stryd in die besigheidswêreld om
’n reën van goud oor sy vrou te kan uitstort, om sodoende—soos ’n
allesoortreffende tjek—haar trotse hart te win. Sy speel met hom
soos ’n dieretemmer maak met ’n brullende leeu wat dreig en sy rug
hoog maak. Onder voorwendsel van kinderpligte teenoor haar
onverskillige ma, het sy geweier om met hom mee te gaan na Lyon;
tweemaal in die week kom hy haar ’n besoek bring in die pragtige
„villa” wat hy vir haar laat bou het. Sy lei hom in in die geselskappe,
sy skouers is krom gebuig onder die las van sy besigheid, en sy
gelaatskleur is soos lood. En daar, in die geselskappe—onderworpe
en brommend—bewonder hy die bedwelmende skoonheid van
Isabella, in haar element; en sonder vreugde hoor hy haar harde lag
aan—die lag wat haar glansende wit tande laat sien.
Meneer Ambelard hou sy hand voor sy mond, want hy gaap van
ongeduld, hy verlang na die eetmaal.
Marthenay het totnogtoe stilgebly, maar word ook nou oproerig:
—Dis Clement se skuld: hy het seker ’n ongeluk gehad met sy
motorkar.
Die wysers van die horlosie staan al op agtuur.
—Hy het nog nooit ’n ongeluk gehad nie, sê meneer Delourens—
wat net na rustigheid verlang.
Marthenay is nou sonder medelye:
—Hy self nog nooit nie—daar is hy te slim voor. Maar daar is
genoeg wat onder sy kar verongeluk: hoenders, honde—en die
ander dag ’n ou vrou ook.
—Ons het daarvoor betaal, en selfs baie duur, sê mevrou
Delourens verontwaardig.
—Nou loop sy kreupel vir u geld.
Ruiterlik, en sonder bybedoeling, lê meneer Marthenay uit hoe die
arm mense baiemaal die motorkarre oor hulle laat ry om geldelike
vergoeding te kry.
Almal is eenstemmig in die verdediging van die modesport,
behalwe juffrou Sonjon, wat teen vooruitgang is. Daar kom die jong
Clement eindelik binne, uitgelate vrolik.
Sy ma beknor hom. Hy maak geen ekskuus nie en sê laggend:
—Ons het so lank versuim in die dorp. Die motorkar het uit orde
geraak—’n mooi grap!
Meneer Ambelard is kwaad, hy sê by homself: ’n Mooi grap! Ons
so laat wag vir die ete! Die jonkman praat gemaklik!
 Die here gee elk ’n arm aan ’n dame, en almal gaan na die
eetsaal. Clement gaan ander klere aantrek. Hy kom terug as die
soepborde al weggeneem is. Maar met gebiedende stem vra hy sy
soep, en maak glad nie gou om klaar te kom en die ander gaste nie
te laat wag nie.
Die verskillende geregte volg mekaar op. Almal is weer opgewek
en gesels deurmekaar. Clement het sy aptyt bevredig en brand nou
van verlange om ook deel te neem aan die gesprekke en die aandag
op hom te trek. Hy wag tot daar ’n oomblik stilte is, en basuin dan uit
oor die tafel:
—Ek het groot nuus te vertel.
—Wat, wat? word van al kante gevra.
Maar hy het daar plesier in om hulle te laat wag, en strooi
allerhande praatjies tussenin.
—Maar praat dan, sê verskillende ongeduldige stemme tegelyk.
Alle oë is op hom gerig. Maar hy wil nog ’n oomblik geniet van die
opmerksaamheid wat sy nuus hom skenk. Terwyl daar nog ’n
lekkerbek-gereg voorgedien word, sê mevrou Delourens nou uit
naam van almal:
—Vertel nou!
Clement kan hul nou nie meer om die tuin lei nie. Hy het hul ten
minste lank genoeg laat wag om sy lompheid te kan insien, maar op
sy gewone growwe manier sê hy meteens:
—Nou wel! kommandant Kibert is dood.
Dit lyk byna ongepas om sulke nuus somaarso in die middel van ’n
fees te gooi wat amper volmaak weelderig is—met die gloed, die
ligte, die pragtige blomme en skitterende juwele, die ryke
damesrokke en die opgewektheid van die geselskap. Dit moet wel ’n
ongemanierde, sportbedorwe vent soos Clement wees om soiets te
waag.
As die dood genoem word, dan beteken dit dat die plesier van die
aand nie sal stand hou nie. En om plesier te hê op die oomblik moet
’n mens hom kan voorstel dat die plesier sal aanhou. Was dit nou
nog maar iemand onbekend, wat somaar verbygegaan kon word!
Maar dit is onmoontlik in die geval van kommandant Kibert: die
bekendheid met sy famielie, sy persoon, en sy skitterende loopbaan
hou die geselskap onvermydelik besig. Almal voel half verslae.
Isabella Orlandi is die eerste wat praat, en dis om twyfel uit te
druk:
—Watter praatjies! Verlede jaar kon ’n mens soiets nog geglo het.
Hy was toe met sy kommando in Afrika; deur onbekende en
gevaarvolle landstreke. Maar hy is fris en gesond, en daarby
beroemd teruggekom. Hy is nog maar twee-en-dertig jaar, en nou al
kommandant, en met hoë eretekens. Hy is ons groot man. Julle is
almal jaloers op hom—daarom wil jul op hom sit.
Sy praat op ’n opgewonde manier, skuif heen en weer op haar
stoel, en kyk van links na regs, asof sy wil hê dat almal moet sien
hoe kwaad sy is. Toe Clement sy nuus vertel het, het haar oog
vanself op Alida geval, en sy het gesien hoe die bloed weggegaan
het uit Alida haar gelaat, asof haar lewe haar verlaat; en die dodelike
bleekheid gaat ook oor op haar hande, wat senueeagtig begin te
bewe, en so wit is as die tafellaken.
Clement maak ’n beweging met sy hand:
—Wat jul nou ook al sê, hy is dood. Ek bewonder hom, net soos
julle, maar dood is hy.
—O, vaderland! Hou jou mond! sê mevrou Orlandi—sy het
meteens met skrik gesien dat hul dertien aan tafel is, en tel nog ’n
keer, hopende dat sy fout gemaak het.
Plegtig klink die woord van mejuffrou Sonjon:
—Dat die Heer sy siel bewaar!
—Het hy in ons land gesterwe? vra meneer Delourens. Want die
kommando is al sedert ’n paar maande terug.
Meneer Ambelard is onverskillig en eet ’n happie op wat hy vir die
laaste op sy bord bewaar het. En meneer Laverney se oë rus op die
mooi hals van Isabella.
 Meneer Marthenay sit sy glas neer, wat hy elke keer leeg drink, en
sê:
—Skaars drie weke gelede het ek kommandant Kibert nog gesien.
Hy het toe by die stasie uit die trein gestap. Ek het na hom toe
gegaan, maar dit het gelyk of hy my nie meer ken nie.
—Waarskynlik het hy daar niks omgegee om jou te ontmoet nie,
sê Isabella. Sy kan dit nie laat nie: sy het ’n afkeer van Alida haar
man; hy hou aan om hom aan te stel as haar vryer, sodra hy nie
meer sy tyd verknoei met kaartspeel nie. Om die afjak nog duideliker
te maak, sê sy daarby:
—Ongetwyfeld voel hy minagting vir offisiere wat hul betrekking
bedank het.
Marthenay het naamlik die jaar vantevore uit die militêre diens
getree.
—Ja, so is dit, sê Clement, wreed. En nou die aandag weer op
hom gevestig is, gee hy ’n paar besonderhede:
—Swaer Marthenay is reg: Kommandant Kibert het verlede maand
teruggekom. Hy was twee dae by sy moeder en suster op Maupas
en het toe weer vertrek na die troepemag in die binnelande van
Algiers.
—Ja, sê Marthenay, maar vandag het generaal Servières by die
plek verbygetrek, en hy rapporteer dat die vyand die troepemag daar
aangeval het.
Clement sit sy oogglasie op en kyk die gewese luitenant brutaal
aan:
—Ou swaer, is dit jy? Stel jy waarlik eenkeer belang in militêre
sake?
Ná nog ’n kyk na die doodsbleek gelaat van Alida, sê Isabella:
—Maar ek verstaan daar niks van nie. Hy was skaars terug van
die tog oor die Saharawoestyn, wat ag-en-twintig maande of twee
jare geduur het. Ná sulke togte kry hul gewoonlik baie lank verlof. Hy
het dus glad geen rus geneem nie en het dadelik weer na die front
gegaan? Want as hy dood is, dan het hy in ’n geveg geval.
Alida neem ’n bos blomme in haar hand en ruik daaraan, om haar
bleek gesig vir die gaste te verberg.
Isabella laat eindelik die vry teuel aan die onrus wat haar nou
kwel:
—En kaptein Berlier? Hy is ook terug van die Sahara. Hy het by
dieselfde kommando behoor as kommandant Kibert. Is hy ook weer
met hom meegegaan na die binnelande?
Het Clement Delourens aan die geluid van haar stem gehoor dat
sy ongerus is? Alte dikwels al het hy moet krimp onder die spot van
die jong vrou, wat niemand spaar nie; nou het hy daar ook plesier in
om haar ’n bietjie te martel:
—Maar seker, Jan Berlier moet ook daar gewees het.
—Vertel nou eindelik, wat weet jy seker? sê Isabella, kwaadaardig.
Mevrou Delourens dring ook daarop aan. En Clement vertel:
—By die stadsraad van die dorp is berig gekom van die Minister
dat kommandant Kibert deur die vyand doodgeskiet is by die
verdediging van ’n stelling in die Sahara. Hulle het die veldwagter
gestuur om die berig aan sy moeder te bring.
Daar staan ’n groot kandelaber voor mevrou Delourens, sodat sy
haar dogter nie kan sien nie. Die blomme wat Alida in haar hand hou
is swaar van die trane wat sy daarin ween. By die algemene
opwinding merk niemand dat sy ween nie.
—Hoe het hy gesterwe? vra een van die dames.
—Aan die hoof van sy manskappe, nadat die oorwinning al behaal
was—’n koeël in sy voorhoof.
Seer korrek merk meneer Delourens op:
—Dis ’n groot verlies vir die land.
—Ja, sê sy vrou—meteens welsprekend geword—ons eer sy
roemryke nagedagtenis. Ons sal ’n lykdiens laat hou, so pragtig, dat
die hele dorp verbaas sal staan. Dit kom ons stand toe om aan ons
vaderland te laat sien hoe ware verdienste erken en vergoed moet
word in ’n tyd dat middelmatigheid so algemeen is in ons nasie, wat
deur afguns tot die laagste trap gesink het.
Dieselfde dag het sy die laasuitgesproke sinsnede net so gelees in
die koerant.
Alida is verbaas om sulke woorde te hoor uit die mond van haar
moeder en dink in haar droefheid:
—Waarom het sy dan geweier om my aan hom te gee?
En Isabella is stil, want sy dink aan Jan Berlier, omtrent wie nog
niks seker is nie.
Mevrou Orlandi vergeet Pistache ’n oomblik en vra:
—Weet sy moeder al?
Almal kyk Clement aan. Met ’n losse onverskilligheid, meer eie
aan sy leeftyd as aan sy ongevoeligheid, sê hy:
—Sy moet nou alles weet. Op pad na huis het ek haar
verbygekom; in haar ou rytuig was sy op weg na Maupas.
Iedereen voel iets eienaardigs by dié woorde.
Dit lyk of die koue buitelug meteens binnegekom het in die
gerieflike warm eetsaal. Instinkmatig staan meneer Ambelard op om
te kyk of die rame wel goed sluit. ’n Rilling loop deur die geselskap—
hul sien in hul verbeelding almal dieselfde. En wat hulle sien, is ’n ou
vrou wat al baie harde slae in haar lewe ontvang het, en nou oor die
sneeu huis-toe gaan, kalm en vreedsaam, om in haar huis die
doodstyding te ontmoet.
Die onvermydelike ramp, wat nou op die oomblik miskien in hul
nabyheid plaasvind, is nog meer treffend as die verre en roemryke
dood van kommandant Kibert in Afrika.
’n Snik van Alida breek die doodse stilte. Met ’n met skrik bevange
stem fluister Isabella:
—Nou weet sy dit.
 Die moeders in die geselskap steek hul trane nie weg nie. En
mevrou Delourens—gou om handelend op te tree—maak planne
van roubeklag en trooswoorde aan die arme vrou, wat sy gou wil
besoek.
Clement siet al die lykstasiegesigte; en hy—wat hou van vrolikheid
aan tafel—siet nou dat hy ’n fout gemaak het.
Sy vader—aan ou vorme geheg—hef onwillekeurig die
swaarmoedige stemming ’n bietjie op deur ’n bysaak te bespreek
waaroor hy nog nie uitgepraat is nie:
—In plaas van ’n veldwagter te stuur om die nuus oor te stuur,
behoort die burgemeester self na Maupas te gaan.
Meneer Ambelard trek party van die opening in die gesprek om die
protes te laat hoor wat hy al lank met moeite terughou:
—Al ons hartseer sal niks aan die saak verander nie, en ons mag
gerus oor iets minder treurigs gesels. Voor ek na die komedie gaan,
vra ek ook altyd eers of alles gelukkig afloop. In geselskap, soos in
die komedie, moet die treurigheid uitgegooi word.
Graaf Lavernay dink ook so, en so word die dooie begrawe. Die
sjampanje fonkel weer in die glase soos lewende goud. Die blomme
geur oor die tafel, bedek met mandjies gesuikerde vrugte. Die juwele
van die vrouens skitter in die lamplig. Nie sonder genoeë voel hulle
hulle weer terug in hul ou element van deftigheid en welgedaanheid
wat versteur was deur ontydige slegte nuus.
Maar Alida en Isabella voel apart in hul droefheid.
Die geselskap drink op die gesondheid van die jong egpaar
Marthenay—want daarvoor is hierdie fees. En dan gaan almal na die
voorkamer.
Alida kon nie meer hou nie en sy vlug na die kamer van haar ma.
In die donker gee sy haarself oor aan haar smart. Sy het nog die
moed gehad om te glimlag toe ’n feesdronk op haar ingestel was en
toe gepraat was van haar „benydenswaardige geluk.” Haar geluk!
Tevergeefs soek sy dit, nou of in haar verlede; en hoe sou sy dit in
die toekoms ooit vind? Met die helderheid van gedagte, wat altyd
kom by die sware skokke van die noodlot, wat ons dreig te verpletter,
deurleef sy weer, in haar wanhoop, haar laaste lewensjare. Snel en
helder kom die beelde verby, die een na die ander—al haar
droewige dae . . . .
Sy wou nie die vrou word van Marthenay nie, maar sy was
magteloos teenoor haarself. In haar trourok het sy die kerk ingestap
aan die arm van die man wat sy nie self gekies het nie. En daarna?
Kan sy terugsien op één uurtjie van geluk, die innige, suiwere geluk
wat haar kinderlike verbeelding haar voorgetower het? Die eerste tyd
van haar huwelikslewe het in ’n soort van weldadige verdowing op
haar neergekom, soos ’n mistigheid wat oor ’n verwoeste veld kom
en die narigheid daarvan bedek. Sy het vergeet om haar hart te
ondervra. Haar man het die opgeruimdheid gehad van iemand wat
besig is: hy was nou en dan te perd uit, hy het sy militêre pligte trou
vervul, hy het vriende ontvang, hy het partytjies gegee. Sy het haar
laat aflei deur die nuwe huishoudelike sorge en deur die
menigvuldige pligte van wêreldse vertoning. By gebrek aan die man
van haar drome het sy ’n man wat groots is op sy fortuin, en sy
gesig, ja, om die waarheid te sê, sonder fyn maniere, sonder veel
verstand of geestigheid, maar met ’n gesonde maag en ’n
verwaandheid waardeur hy in onophoudelike selfbewondering
verkeer. Toe haar dogtertjie gebore geword het, het sy gedink
eindelik haar geluk te vind en die werklikheid te vergeet.
Van dié tyd, wat nog draaglik vir haar was, gaan haar gedagtes
nou oor op haar teenswoordige toestand, wat altyd duur. Deur
onverwagte gebeurtenisse moes die troepemag van Chamberie
verplaas word na die Verre Oos. Tevergeefs het Marthenay probeer
om ’n plaasvervanger te kry: hy moes saamgaan, of sy betrekking
opgee. Die vooruitsig van sy vertrek het mevrou Delourens so
rasend ongelukkig gemaak, dat sy jong vrou—onversigtig genoeg—
hom herinner het aan sy belofte voor hul huwelik. En as ereman het
die luitenant hom opgeoffer: binne vier-en-twintig uur het hy sy
bedanking ingestuur. Met welbehae het hy hom oorgegee aan sy
begeerte na ’n lui-lekker lewe, wat nie moontlik was tydens sy
militêre loopbaan nie. En van dié oomblik af het hy laer en laer
geval. Hy het begin met al die drinkplekke te besoek. Hy het ’n