From killing to knitting: El Salvador’s ex-gang members get a new chance at life

A former gang member puts some finishing touches to a painting of Elsa, from the animated movie, Frozen.

The hands knitting so deftly are covered in tattoos and, nearby, another man delicately puts the final touches to a painting of Elsa, the character from Disney’s animation Frozen.

That’s the scene in a prison in El Salvador, Central America, where former members of the country’s ultra-violent gangs are being kept after renouncing their previous life and readying to re-enter society.