The Innocent Victims of Violence

A severe act of violence is something that most people would not want to witness in their lifetime. Unfortunately there are people who are subject to violent crimes in their neighborhoods on regular basis. The Bayview/Hunters Point district has the highest rate of violence in the city of San Francisco. Children who reside in this district are victims to violence or witness a violent crime by the age of 10. They can’t freely play outside without the fear that at any given moment they may have to run for their lives. More often than not they hear gunshots, they are exposed to drive by shootings or they witness a violent crime against a love one.
Malcolm X Academy is an elementary school located in the heart of the Bayview/Hunters Point. As any other school it has a red alert system, except that it is use as a “danger alarm” rather than a fire alarm. More than often teachers yell over the intercom “red alert” indicating that all the children need to leave the courtyard and run into their classrooms immediately. Windows in the classrooms are locked as well as the doors f the hallways, and children are not aloud to even go to the bathroom. The children at the school are use to the procedure because unfortunately it occurs rather frequently.
According to Joanne Tortorici Luna, and educational psychologist (Read Victims of violence fascinating article) “children who are affected by ongoing violence may spend all their time in a classroom in a state of anxiety and they may never achieve the ‘relaxed alertness’ that makes a child receptive to learning.” The circumstances presented at this school are by no means the standards under which any child can possibly concentrate, learn and explore their full potential. Children are careless about the teachings in the classroom as well as whether they get their homework done or not. During lectures, their minds are always roaming somewhere else. Survival is a higher priority to them than school, and how can you blame them.

I worked with the fifth graders at Malcolm X and it is not difficult to see how disturbed and affected these children are by the ongoing violence around them. They would tell me impressive stories that would make my eyes water but to them it was just another day in the hood. Some of them had become immune to their violent surroundings and had adapted by using it against their peers. They would fight one another yelling words that by no means a 10 year old should know. All of them were always on the defense and one little incident would trigger their anger. I would never forget when I asked one of the girls, Alicia an 11 year old, why would you hit your fellow peer? She would say” My mama told me not to let anyone make fun of me and to fight them so that they will leave me alone.” According to Bruce Perry a chief of psychiatry at Texas Children’s Hospital, children who grow up to be violent in the streets are likely to be products of violent communities. It seems logical that as these uneducated children develop in a violent surrounding, they are left with no option but to adapt violence, the only thing they know, as a defense mechanism. In Bayview/Hunters Point district the crime epidemic is in great part due to violence committed by juveniles and this violence is the result of a vicious cycle caused by uneducated parents and children who think they can take justice into their own hands. So I as my self, if these children can’t even manage to get through elementary education, how can we expect them to become a productive human being when they grow up?

This is a problem that affects us all because these are the children of the future and if they keep going down this path, what hope do we have for our future society? Unless they get educated in how not to fall into the vicious cycle, the violence will continue and be sure that it won’t be confined to the walls of the Bayview/Hunters Point district.

I plan to make a short documentary about the topic. My target audience is going to be both children and adults from diverse racial backgrounds whom belong to communities where is typically to find low income. As a former volunteer at Malcolm X Academy, I realize that all ethnic groups are in this together. The kids who I worked with were not of a specific background and they all had been victims of violence. I worked with Latinos, African-American, Asians and Caucasians. Unfortunately being victims of poverty is one thing that all of these kids had in common. They told me about kids who will quit school and start selling drugs to make money and how the first thing they had to do to was to get a gun to defend themselves. Although this may seem like a hasty generalization, it is unfortunate but many of the kids that join gangs and drop out of school do it to produce income for their families. Violence becomes the tool they use to achieve their economical ambitions. I want to bring this issue upon the attention of children who grow in the surrounds of poverty and crime as well as to their parents whom need to understand that they have to take a stand. They need to become activist of peace within their own communities and to educate their children from an early stage so that they may have an opportunity to break the vicious cycle.


Please read 'Lockdown' a familiar word at Malcolm X: Gunfire prompts teachers to turn all the bolts -- again and Getting out of harm's way, two great articles written about Malcom X Academy at SF Gate.

What is social justice?

The theory of social justice is arbitrary. Everyone has their own belief system about what is and isn’t just. One aspect of the Socialist Theory is that everyone has the right to equal pay and amount of material goods while the Democrats see it as the right to vote and freedom of speech. Social justice is defined by the values and beliefs of each individual based on their own personal interest for collective good. To me, social justice means a constant fight for those who don’t have the power to defend themselves; a fight for those who are victims of oppression and are doomed to poverty and injustice. Check out this definition of it Social Justice.Today I like to talk about the struggle of the indigenous people of Guatemala, the Mayans, by looking at their development as a society.

The Mayan civilization contains one of the richest cultures of the Ancient World recognized by its knowledgeable discoveries in philosophy, mathematics, art and architecture, which flourished throughout Central America since 2600 B.C. However, it has been a civilization that has suffered from brutal oppression ever since the invasion of the Spanish Conquistadors in the early 1500s. To this day, the Mayan community lives in a constant struggle fighting against the government and the people of power (landowners); who for centuries have deprived them from their natural rights, social and political representation and have made them slaves in their own homeland. However, although those in reign have tried to diminish the Mayan culture in Guatemala by racist oppression, the indigenous people have managed to preserve their cultural heritage. Throughout generations rebellious groups have risen from the Mayan community to fight for the rights of their people but unfortunately with only machetes and rocks to aid their fight they have been crushed by the militia; and rebellious Mayan leaders have mysteriously disappeared. Although Guatemala’s independence from Spain was gained in 1821, that was by no means the end of the struggle. The country has been struggling against the corruption of different governmental dictatorships whom have made legislative rulings against the indigenous people; forcing labor upon them of a minimum of 150 days a year. All corrupt legislative decisions have continued to be in favor of coffee planters and landowners who exploit the indigenous people. Neglect of the Mayan culture has resulted in detrimental effects; for example the malnutrition rate is at 80% as well as illiteracy and the Mayans have the highest mortality rate second to people in Haiti. This is just a short summaryThe Mayan civilization contains one of the richest cultures of the Ancient World recognized by its knowledgeable discoveries in philosophy, mathematics, art and architecture, which flourished throughout Central America since 2600 B.C. However, it has been a civilization that has suffered from brutal oppression ever since the invasion of the Spanish Conquistadors in the early 1500s. To this day, the Mayan community lives in a constant struggle fighting against the government and the people of power (landowners); who for centuries have deprived them from their natural rights, social and political representation and have made them slaves in their own homeland. However, although those in reign have tried to diminish the Mayan culture in Guatemala by racist oppression, the indigenous people have managed to preserve their cultural heritage. Throughout generations rebellious groups have risen from the Mayan community to fight for the rights of their people but unfortunately with only machetes and rocks to aid their of the present controversial conflict that affects the daily living of the indigenous people of Guatemala who live in extremely poor conditions. To find a more detailed history of the development of this country and the Mayan struggle visit Guatemala: A Brief History and also to read a personal account from a member of the indigenous tribe who has experienced the atrocities committed within her own homeland visit Activist Rigoberta Menchu She continues to contribute in the spreading of awareness about the Mayan struggle on an international level.Rigoberta Manchu Biography

Something to think about !!!

Something to think about !!!

Once upon of time there was a guy who was always busy.  He would leave his house in a hurry every morning, jump into his car and head to work.  One day as the sun was rising he walked outside to get into his car and for the first time ever, since he started working as a corporate industrialist, he didn't rush to get to work.  The night before he had found out he suffered of a great illness and he was shaken to his core. He had decided to change the way he was living his life.  As he walked outside, for the first time he felt the rays of the sun warmly brush his face and the scent of  jasmin pierce his nose.  He was forced beyond himself to stand there and take a breath of fresh air.   In that moment he was not longer a slave of his thoughts; he let his mind wonder free.  He was hypnotized by the beauty of everything surround him.  For the first time he really saw the beauty in the gentle flutter of a butterfly; he delighted himself looking at the vibrant and delectable green apples hanging from his neighboors tree; he looked up to the sky and never felt so much tranquility in his entire life.  He was no longer afraid.  He knew that his life was about to change and that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Sometimes it is hard to see light when we find our selves in unpleasent situations or difficult phases in our lives, but the light is always there.  We confined ourelves in our emotions and we fail to see it.  I have seen the light and I am incredibly thankful for it. I saw it in a moment of desperation, a moment where I though my life was over and all my dreams had been destroyed. One day as a filled myself with pity and asked, why me? a question you never get the answer to, I got the answer. I realize that it was not about me. It was about us.  Unfortunately sometimes we get to cut up in our own lives that we forget that people just like us are also suffering and perhaps to more cruel and unjust causes.  It is by the misery of others that sometimes we realize that we are not alone in our struggles and that suffering can unite us all.  I comprehended that as a dream dies a new and better one is born.  Now, my new dream is to be a facilitator of social change in regards to issues that project social justice. Through this blog I hope to bring some light into people's lives by providing people with insightful knowledge and personal stories about different social causes taking part in other parts of the world.  

The first website that I really encourage you to check out is Media that Matters film Festival

This site presents 16 stories of people's struggles in different parts of the world.  These are short format documentaries the shortest from 1:39 to the longest of 8:10 that will change your perspective about your life as well as that of others.  

The second site I like for you to check is Beyond Borders a site that will show you how people just like you and me can make a difference.  One just needs to find a cause that is worth fighting for and for this group of people Children's Servitud in Haiti was it.  Check out how this people got started, their story and their great blog.

My last site for this week is The story of stuff   This is an incredible site for anyone who wants to become aware about how our economy and our every move, has an effect on people in other parts of the world.