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ADIOS TATUAJES |
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| Drawings made in the skin with Chinese ink have become prohibited marks and not just a simple decoration: their bearers are badly viewed by the security forces and have problems finding employment. In the case of those who are under age, many are expelled from school. |
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The relationship between tattoos and gangs is the main cause of this type of discrimination in Centroamerica. Because of it, The Catholic Church in 2000 implemented the program Adios Tatuajes that has been successful in permanently removing tattoos. Since November 1, 2000 30,000 persons have been treated in Honduras, 10,000 in Guatemala (from February 2002), and 7,000 in El Salvador (from June 2002). In November, 2004 a clinic was opened in Nicaragua where more than 8,000 youth have been treated, and a new clinic was opened in Panama in July, 2005. There aren’t sufficient machines to meet the demand.
According to statistics published in March 2001 (SID GALUP), 76% of the population believe that whoever bears a tattoo is involved in criminal activity. This belief discriminates against many youth and often leaves them without employment and school opportunities. Confronted with this social problem, Father David La Buda, a Maryknoll priest and his friend Dr. Richard Tamisiea, M.D. of Wilmington, North Carolina investigated ways to remove tattoos and found an effective procedure that uses infrared rays to erase them. The new procedure was perfected by Dr. Tolbert Wilkinson, M.D., a plastic surgeon from San Antonio, Texas.
With financial aid from Maryknoll, Father La Buda bought an infrared coagulator from Redfield Corporation and began the first program called Adios Tatuajes in Honduras and two years later took it to Guatemala and El Salvador. All programs offer service three times a week by teams prepared by Mrs. Suyapa Bonilla, an auxiliary nurse who received training in The United States and is now considered an expert in this novel procedure. All clinics attend about 30 youths each day and have been successful in removing most tattoos .