El Salvador Women Darken Hair For Fear Of Reprisals From Gang Members

Women being attacked by gangs as reprisal is a common concurrence in the UK. But in El Salvador, things seems to take a steep turn concerning the women who have to dye their hair black for fear of being attacked by gang members. The ladies turn to black dye after hearing rumours that only the girlfriends of gang members can be blondes or redheads. Their colour of clothing has also being hit by the melee, A lady caught wearing yellow or red clothing will be in for trouble.

Some of the country's tough gang warlords have issued a statement to deny the rumours but reports contradict this. Fear is pervasive across San Salvador. As daylight fades, stores close early and streets empty. At night, roadblocks go up to thwart possible grenade attacks on police stations, where officers sleep rather than risk being attacked while riding buses home. Taxi drivers memorize signals to give gang lookouts who guard neighborhoods, flashing codes with their high beams and rolling down their windows to make themselves visible Castellanos counts the number of women who've come to her salon recently seeking to color their hair dark: One, two, three, four ...

"You don't wait for clarifications," said Maria Jose Estrada, a former blonde who lives on the outskirts of San Salvador. "These people are crazy and they will kill you."

Police officials and others blame the worsening insecurity on the breakdown of a truce made between the gangs and the government in 2013. While the homicide rate plunged, critics say the truce gave the gangs time to strengthen, train and acquire heavier arms than they had in the past. Jailed gang leaders were moved from maximum-security prisons to more lax facilities where they were able to run their criminal operations remotely. The video depicts El- Salvador through the eyes of a child.