|
Violence Prevention
Listen
to this Commentary!
By Anita Gonzales
 The
Bush administration's plan to use all means at its disposal to route out suspected
terrorists has sparked a debate in this country over the use of military force
in resolving conflicts. For Youth Radio's Anita Gonzalez, it's more than just
an intellectual debate. The US military campaign in Afghanistan is changing
the way she does her job as a violence prevention advocate. She's learned in
her life that violence begets violence.
This is a story about a little girl who lives in a really bad neighborhood.
Every day on her way to school, she sees things no child should ever have to
see or go through. One day, as the little girl walks through her neighborhood
she finds a gun, lying on the ground. She remembers her mother told her guns
kill people, so she drops it and continues on her way. Further down the road,
she sees a group of people doing drugs. She keeps walking. Next, she she sees
her brother being brutally beaten by his own friends. She knows that he considers
it a part of life. She realizes his life now belongs to a gang.
At home, the little girl walks up the squeaky stairs to the apartment she hears
two voices yelling at each other -- she runs into her house and hides under
the bed with her little sister telling her, "every thing will be ok".
Then bam, she hears a very loud noise outside. Running to her window, she sees
the bright lights of an ambulance and realizes somebody has just been shot and
killed. She's not surprised. It's just a part of life. What type of future is
expected for this little girl? Well. This little girl was me.
I have a different future than many of the people I've seen around me. I work
as a violence prevention activist now, because I want to be a role model to
kids in similar environments. I want them to know they can have a positive future.
This September 11th, my job became more important than ever.
All my life I have experienced and seen violence but never anything like this.
All I could think at that point is how hard I've tried to prevent things like
this occurring but they still happen. Now that we are at war, I think about
what would happen if a gang member came up to me and said he was going to kill
his enemy from a rival gang. If I told him not to, to be non-violent instead,
would he respond by telling me, "Well ... If the US can go into war to
kill the enemy, why can't I?" Now I feel helpless.
I still have a dream of life perfect on earth. Being able to sleep at night
with no worries on my mind, being able to watch the news with nothing about
people being murdered etc, I won't lock the doors, and it will be a place where
I could love my kids growing up.
Violence is learned, if people could learn it they could also unlearn it...and
prevent it.
— Anita Gonzalez is a student in The Eye program in Northern San Diego.
|
|
