Beny Bol, president of the Queensland African Communities Council, looks back and observes a common thread.

“Most of those children involved in these sort of things are either born in Australia or they came here when they were very, very young, probably two or three years old,” Bol says.

“Most of these kids (in trouble) are Australian.

“It is a failure within the Australian system – whether that’s family or community or the government service industries, it’s a failure within this country.”

At the sprawling, interconnected O’Callaghan Park sporting fields in Brisbane’s north, withered flowers and a couple of unopened beers are now the only reminders of the lethal, one-sided battle that happened here.

Ten weeks ago, a group of young friends were playing cards and enjoying beers on a Sunday afternoon when they were allegedly ambushed by men armed with machetes, baseball bats and kitchen knives.

In the alleged free-for-all attack that followed, Girum Mekonnen, a locally educated 19-year-old who dreamt of returning to his native Ethiopia to run a business, was stabbed several times and died on the spot. It was one of three connected acts of extreme violence in the space of a few weeks.

In each, both the perpetrators and victims were young and of African descent, and the consequences were severe.

Thirteen young men are now facing life imprisonment after being charged with Mekonnen’s murder, and at least 10 others are facing separate, serious criminal charges over the other incidents.

It’s a significant toll on the families who came to Australia to pursue better opportunities for their children, only to see them hurt, locked up — or, in the case of Mekonnen, dead.

Beny Bol, president of the Queensland African Communities Council, looks back and observes a common thread.

“Most of those children involved in these sort of things are either born in Australia or they came here when they were very, very young, probably two or three years old,” Bol says.

“Anybody who came here when they were … teenagers, they’re doing extremely well.

“Most of these kids (in trouble) are Australian.

“It is a failure within the Australian system – whether that’s family or community or the government service industries, it’s a failure within this country.”