special issue on criminal justice
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ISSUE #9 Managing Editor Lauren Hashiguchi Senior Editor Neelaysh Vukkadala
Art Director Kelcey Towell Layout Design Team Anthony Trabon Julia Brucks Staff Photographer Sanjana Shah Local Section Manager Stephanie Kunz International Section Manager Chad Carson Copy and Cotent Director Swathi Chidambaram Research Section Editor Ashley Selas Founder and Visionary Jesse Sullivan
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Cover photo by Sanjana Shah Inside cover photo by Norm White
Nicaragua 4 Photo Essay 6 SUFA in Service 10 SLU Grad 12 UCA 14 Amachi 17 Global Prisons 18 City Seeds 20 Christ In Prison 22 The Ville 24
Dear Readers, We have chosen to produce a special issue on criminal justice because national criminal justice policies and cycles of crime have a tremendous impact on our local communities. The stories and lessons within this magazine are not meant to reside quietly in your mind. This magazine is a call to action. Think critically about what you see and read. After you close the pages of this magazine, we encourage you to actively find ways to use your talents and your passions to serve our communities, whether that community is in St. Louis or an ocean away. We extend special thanks to our advisor, Jason L. Young, for his continued guidance and support. liveOneWorld, The Editorial Team
Abandoned House in the Ville Photo by Norm White This magazine was published with the support of Campus Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress. Online at CampusProgress.org
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NO MORE Sexual Violence in Nicaragua by BILL HALFPAP
Bill is s Sophomore majoring in Political Science, Spanish and International Studies
A pregnant woman looks onward. UN Photo/Marine Perret
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The streets of Managua, Nicaragua, are flooded with thousands of women armed with posters. This is the day that they challenge decades’ worth of bondage. Their posters are fragile, modestly constructed and unable to withstand the strength of the wind. Their messages are forceful and undaunted by years of immorality and perversion of ethics: “No more death. No more rape. The state has to guarantee the rights of the women!” “Sexual abuse against young women is becoming almost an epidemic of sorts,” said Katie Thompson, a Saint Louis native who completed an internship last year at AMNLAE, a women’s rights organization based in Rivas, Nicaragua. “It’s like a plague that is infecting these young girls, but it’s a challenge to cure because more often than not it takes place inside the home.” Rape is a word that may conjure up images of violent strangers, but for young girls in Nicaragua who fall victim to these sexual crimes, this imagery could not be more misguided. According to reports by Amnesty International, 14,377 cases of sexual violence were reported to Nicaraguan authorities in a period of ten years; over two-thirds of which involved girls under the age of seventeen. An overwhelming majority of the perpetrators are fathers, cousins, uncles and other male family members of the victims. The fact that most of these crimes are contained within the immediate family leads officials to believe that the majority of sexual crimes in Nicaragua go unreported, reflecting a fear of punishment and social ostracism. This epidemic of sexual crimes has been met with little opposition by the Nicaraguan government, which offers limited access to government-sponsored support services and educational programs for victims. With this lack of preventative action taken by the government comes the criticism of Nicaraguan officials violating the human rights of these children and women. Through the Theology Department at Saint Louis University, students have the opportunity each year to advocate for change and work with victims in Nicaragua. Through the department’s Mev Puleo scholarship, these students get the
opportunity to volunteer with various service sites and programs throughout Nicaragua, many of which are directly involved with women’s advocacy. The Mev Puleo scholarship provides funding for four to eight SLU students to spend two months of their summer in Nicaragua living with a host family while doing their service work. Laurel Marshall, a SLU student and
“No more death. No more rape. The state has to guarantee the rights of the women!” former recipient of the Mev Puleo scholarship, spent part of last summer working at Ixchen, a women’s center just outside of Managua that provides legal, medical and psychological support to Nicaraguan women all over the country. “We worked with women looking for a safe, affordable pap smear, women who were pregnant, victims of sexual assault and families of survivors of sexual assault,” she explained. Marshall greatly values her experiences in Nicaragua and believes that “the biggest impact [she] made was offering support services and having a willingness to listen to the women”. Even more alarming to the international community is the rate of pregnancies among the youngest rape victims. A study in Nicaragua by Catholics for Choice found that in cases of sexual crimes resulting in pregnancies, over 86% of pregnant victims are between the ages of ten and fourteen years. Effective since 2006, there is a blanket ban on all abortions in Nicaragua, and the law provides no exceptions for women or girls who are pregnant as a result of a sexual crime or whose lives are at risk by being pregnant. As a result, many pregnant victims turn to illegal backstreet abortions in order to avoid the serious health complications. Untrained doctors often perform these unsafe and unhygienic abortions without the use of anesthesia in unequipped private clinics. Other victims, whether by
choice or because of an inability to pay for an illegal abortion, choose to continue with their pregnancies and endure the serious risks that the birthing process poses to their underdeveloped bodies. Suicide is becoming an increasingly popular third option for pregnant Nicaraguan youth who are either stuck with an unwanted pregnancy or who feel trapped in a situation of repeated sexual violence. “Suicide is disproportionately associated with adolescent pregnancy, and appears to be the last resort for women with an unwanted pregnancy in settings where reproductive choice is limited; for example, where single women are not legally able to obtain contraceptives, and legal pregnancy termination services are unavailable,” said the World Health Organization and the UN Population Fund. Whether a rape survivor decides to continue with the pregnancy or not, she is faced with an absolute negligence by the Nicaraguan government in providing access to support services and welfare programs both during and after her pregnancy. With the exception of a number of under-funded Police Stations for Women and Children, nearly all support and rehabilitative programs for victims are organized and operated by non-governmental organizations. With increasing international pressure from Amnesty International, various nongovernmental organizations and numerous United Nations committees, there is an optimistic future for the diminishment of the role sexual crimes have in the lives of Nicaraguans. Yet until reform is embraced from within the government of Nicaragua, this role is likely to remain an obstinate threat that will continue to asphyxiate the women of Nicaragua for generations to come. With increasing international pressure from Amnesty International, various non-governmental organizations and numerous United Nations committees, hope remains for the victims of sexual violence. Yet until reform is embraced from within the government of Nicaragua, this role is likely to remain a constant threat that will continue to asphyxiate the women of Nicaragua for generations to come.
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AT INGENIO by CONSTANTINO SCHILLEBEECKX / WWW.PHOTOCS.NET
Constantino is currently working as a freelance photographer
A picture is worth a thousand words, but even these photographs cannot convey the depth of their experiences. Through photographs and words, I will try to with you share the stories these men shared with me. While in Nicaragua, I interviewed six men who have worked or are currently working at Ingenio San Antonio (ISA), the sugar mill owned by Nicaragua Sugar Estates Limited (NSEL). They have told me their stories and accounts of the work conditions they have had to and continue to endure. The men’s ages ranged from 18 to 43. They began to work between the ages of 12 and 20. Four of the men are sick with chronic kidney disease (CKD), a
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progressive disease that slowly erodes the kidney’s capabilities to excrete waste products. The men that have the disease are, according to company policy, not allowed to work. All of the men cut cane for a living, two in siembra and the others as paileros. In siembra, young sugar cane is cut into short stalks so that it can be replanted to produce more cane; the paileros cut down entire stalks that are then sent to the factory to be processed as sugar. These are their stories.
HOT SEASON The sugar cane zafra starts in November and runs through April, the hottest months of the year in Nicaragua, where temperatures reach over 40C (104F) and humidity can range from 25-75%. Most of the work is done, naturally, outside where little to no shade is available to workers toiling among the tall sugar cane stalks and under the sun, which is nearly always directly overhead. Consequently, dehydration is a severe problem in these work conditions. Often they cannot drink provided water because it is dirty and has not been changed for weeks.
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They say that not even the supervising engineers drink from this source. The workers say they drink natural rivers waters used to irrigate the fields when they run out of water, but these sources are contaminated with the herbicides/pesticides. Several men say that the water used to irrigate some of the sugar cane fields is run-off from the factories as well as sewage water from the nearby city.
PROHIBITED THIRST
BURNED
Before harvest, the sugar cane fields are burned in order to remove anything green that is not part of the stalk and to chase out any snakes living in the fields. Any of the chemicals present in or on the cane become airborne as black ash that blows into the villages that are sometimes as little as several meters away. The field of sugar cane, charred black from the burning, which occurred the evening before, is often still warm if not burning hot when the paileros begin work. A sugary molasses secreted from the cane slowly attaches itself to the their boots, making the their work even more labored.
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According to two of the workers, ISA does not claim any responsibility for the health of its employees, especially if they get sick on the job. ISA runs medical screenings at the start of every zafra (season) to check for any health inconsistencies, specifically high levels of creatinine which define the various stages of CKD. If the job applicant has a level which is deemed too high (above 1.2 mg/ dL), he is put on a black list prohibiting him from ever working at the plantation.
The men all complain about the same symptoms: headache, difficulty urinating (when they are able to urinate it is very little and often a deep yellow color if not slightly red), pain in the back especially near the livers, and difficulty breathing. When asked how much weight they would normally lose, both men told me between 20-30 lbs during the 6 month work season.
SICKNESS
Working in these conditions is difficult because it is a very dusty environment and they work without any breathing or eye protection. The dust and ash often enters into their nasal cavities and lungs causing irritation. At the end of the day, workers are covered head to toe in black ash. Any exposed skin will take over two weeks to fully clean, they tell me.
DUST
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STICKING
TO SERVICE by GRETCHEN LANDGRAF Gretchen Landgraf is a freshman studying Nutrition/Dietetics and Theology
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The children of Africa’s northern Ghana region never had stickers of their own. Until recently, these children had never seen the swirls of bright neons and pastels, or touched the sticky adhesive to the back of their hands or forehead. Student’s United for Africa (SUFA), a club on campus that promotes education as a means to eradicating poverty, has brought more than just stickers to a town where educational and material resources are in greatest demand. “It’s really just the smallest things like stickers that can be life changing, and makes you think ‘This is a big deal; I am lucky!’ I could have a million stickers if I want,” said Megan McCray, a junior occupational therapy major who went on the trip this past winter. Currently she is the vice president of SUFA and will serve as president during the next academic year. Members of SUFA are driven by the concern that most of these children will never receive a proper education. During 2011 winter break, however, SUFA students were ready to get started, working to fulfill their mission statement of “stu-
dents working for students.” SUFA is a club at SLU dedicated to eradicating poverty by way of education. Since its establishment at SLU in 2005, students in the organization have built a school and repaired the roof with the money they have raised through various events on campus. “At SUFA, we want to promote the beautiful cultures, languages and people [in Africa] but because of the poverty that is spread throughout the continent, we think the best way to eradicate poverty is through education. With education as our main tool, we have been able to build first a school and now a library in Manyoro,” McCray said. Upon arrival to the town of Manyoro, the children enthusiastically welcome their guests with different performances and speeches. The chief and the principal of the school made them accommodations in a nearby village, where food and bottled water were available. The first time SUFA went to Ghana was in 2008. Fourteen students went to visit the school, bringing medical supplies to help the local clinic. “When SUFA
first arrived in Manyoro, it had a school that was dilapidated, so we renovated by building a whole new school.” The rainy season of 2010 caused the school roof to collapse; the money used to rebuild the roof was originally set aside to build a library. Going back this past January, students were able to see the progress after rebuilding the school’s roof. In the northern part of Ghana where SUFA serves, the land is sparsely populated, as the government tends to neglect the North, which lacks the building foundations and resources to have a school. “Every town is supposed to have a school, the government will tell you, but that is not always correct, or what is happening. This school [in Manyoro] is the only school for 10 miles,” McCray said. Because of the government’s neglect, SUFA serves Ghana with the hopes of making education a reality wherever it can. That means roughly 1,500 students attend a small, poorly functioning school, with only 12 teachers. The quality of li-
braries and other resources are scarce and further stunt the town’s growth. Educationally starved children are kept within the cycle of poverty. Slowly SUFA has effectively changed the welfare of these people, who have an average family income of about 1,400 dollars annually. “This is really changing lives. These kids, they get to become doctors, lawyers, and it’s all because of the help we can give them, to support them with this school,” said McCray. “Going over winter break really reaffirmed my involvement with SUFA.” Manyoro has become a community in which students from SLU and the people from Ghana share a common goal to foster education. Though the citizens of Manyoro are grateful for SUFA’s assistance, they seek independence from humanitarian aid in order to cultivate their own community. These people are not seeking money and aid just to continue the cyclic of poverty; rather, they look to their core, education, and realize that through this, they can grow and change
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Lochhead with a child. Photo by Jim Lochhead
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by BILL HALFPAP Bill is s Sophomore majoring in Political Science, Spanish and International Studies Alongside Alicia Keys and George Clooney, a young man boldly stands for global peace in a music video that is part of Kenyan rapper Emmanuel Jal’s “We Want Peace” campaign. Just months ago this young man was walking the sidewalks of Saint Louis University. His name is Jim Lochhead, a SLU graduate who has taken the Jesuit mission of service to others with him as he travels the world. Last year Jim answered a Facebook message that took him on an eight thousand mile journey from Saint Louis to Kenya. How did he find himself in this global adventure?
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While studying abroad in El Salvador Jim was able to lay a foundation for a devotion to service. In less than four years, this passion for helping others led him from volunteering at service sights in El Salvador, to working with residents in North Saint Louis and all the way to Africa fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing genocide. In El Salvador, Jim learned about a current initiative at Boston College called 4boston, a service program that offers students an opportunity to volunteer weekly in urban areas. The work of this initiative inspired Jim and a group of stu-
dents to found SLUCORE, a similar student-run group with a mission they describe as “passionately committed to providing reliable volunteers to the community of North Saint Louis”. During the 2009 Atlas Week of his senior year, Jim attended the Keynote Address delivered by rapper Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier in war-torn Sudan who now uses his music to spread messages of social justice and advocacy for human rights. Jal’s recent campaign, “We Want Peace”, uses music and advocacy to call for peaceful resolutions to war, mass murder and genocide in Africa; which according to BBC reports have claimed more than 6.9 million African lives in the past seventeen years. Currently in the Congo alone there are an estimated 1,000 people that die every day because of hunger and disease caused by war. Shortly after Jal’s address, while working as an executive assistant at a home health care company, Jim realized his job “wasn’t quite satisfying [his] ambition to work full time on something that tapped deeper into [his] passion”. Looking for a way to incorporate his desire for helping others with his compassion for the impoverished people of Africa, Jim decided to send a Facebook message to Jal for ideas on how to get involved. “The next day he messaged me back! He explained he was putting together a Summit in Nairobi, Kenya for youth to do grass roots leadership training.” He invited Jim to come to Nairobi and help with logistics work in preparation for the Summit, and Jim enthusiastically accepted his offer. On January 9th of this year, a few weeks before the Summit was to take place, a conference held in Sudan discussed the split of the country between North and South Sudan. As Jim explains, “More than half of the oil is in South Sudan, so there was a lot of fear that secession would lead to a civil war much like the war that Emmanuel Jal fought in as a child.” By targeting youth under the age of 25, who according to the World Bank make up more than 50% of South Sudan’s population, Jal used his Summit and leadership training to empower the youth with effective tools for achieving and maintaining peace. On January 19th, Jim flew into Nairobi, Kenya and helped organize the Summit that took place from January 22nd to the 25th. “I was basically a groupie”, Jim says while laughing. “Everybody was really busy getting ready for the youth conference. I would book hotels, make phone calls, drive people around – stuff like that.” About 50 to 75 South Sudanese youth attended the Summit, which allowed for group discussions as well as notable speakers like Ishmael Beah, author of “A Long Way Gone”, and performances by Sudanese rappers including Ramey Dawoud from Kansas City, Missouri. While in Nairobi, Jim happened to meet Yasmine Ernst, an Australian cinematographer who was working on a documentary project on refugees living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya, home to about 74,000 refu-
gees. “Kenya is a place of extremes. I’ve never seen so many Range Rovers in my life, but then there are all these refugees living on a dollar a day.” Jim hopped on board with the project and currently acts as the producer of the documentary, which is now undergoing the final edits before its release. Reminiscing of his time spent gathering film for the documentary, Jim says: “Kakuma was like its own little economy. I’d go down the streets and see hair salons, henna shops, little shops where you could play on a PlayStation, food stands and places just to buy little stuff.” The refugees living in Kakuma receive rations twice a month that are deemed to last them fifteen days, but Jim explains that they really only last about eight days. “But when you’ve been living in the camps for up to ten years at a time, you know how to get by.” The refugees rarely use these rations, but instead trade them for money and charcoal to cook with: “Some of the best food I had the whole trip was in this camp!” Jim and Yasmine took footage of refugees living in the camp from all over Africa. “Over a period of two weeks we got to know people in the camp and got some unbelievable stories from Sudanese child soldiers, Rwandan genocide survivors, people who lost family to murder in the Congo, Somalis fleeing domestic abuse and Darfurians who were just arriving in the camp
“I want to show people that these refugees are coming to the United States to avoid hell.”
that day telling their stories for the first time.” Jim explains that he and Yasmine have two goals for the documentary. The first is to advocate for refugees currently living in the United States and Australia: “I want to show people that these refugees are coming to the United States to avoid hell.” Jim hopes that the documentary will help fight discrimination and show citizens that these refugees need help. Their second goal is to break down stereotypes that people hold of refugees and show that they can maintain integrity in the most extreme of circumstances. They agreed that the best way to fulfill these goals was to use the documentary to share as many individual stories of refugees as their time in Kakuma allowed. One of Jim’s favorite quotes is from Jesuit Anthony de Mello: “A story is the quickest way to truth.” Everyone in Kakuma has a story. A bracelet wrapped around Jim’s wrist reminds him of the story of his good friend, James, who gave it to him during his time in Kakuma. As Jim explains, at the age of fifteen he was forced to be a child soldier with the threat that if he
did not join, his entire family would be murdered. As a soldier in a South Sudan rebel group, he was forced to infiltrate and spy on an enemy camp to learn the layout of the camp to prepare for an attack. “Obviously he didn’t want to go because he was afraid of getting captured, but his commander said that if he didn’t go he would be shot.” James went to the enemy camp, was immediately captured and questioned by the camp’s commander. Because of his denials of having any involvement with the South Sudan rebel group, they released him after two weeks. Jim adds, “Now if it was me or any other normal person, I’d leave the camp immediately after I was released - but not James.” After being released, James instead went to the commander of the enemy camp and told him that he wanted to become his personal aid. “The whole time he made mental notes about the camp’s layout and the names of all the important people.” Shortly thereafter, James escaped and returned to the South Sudan army where he relayed all the information he learned to his commander, who then led a successful attack against the enemy. Because of his bravery, James was later put in command of 25 soldiers. As a fifteen-year-old boy, James was able to earn the respect of 25 adult soldiers by holding himself and the men he led to a high standard of integrity. It was a common practice for the leaders to beat and torture their soldiers to maintain control and order, but James chose to instead show respect to his men. Jim adds, “Whenever the commander would come around, though, he’d beat his men; and his men would let him.” If the commander had found out that he did not torture his men, he would become suspicious that James planned to gain support for a rebellion. James now acts as a soldier in Kakuma Refugee Camp and traveled with Jim whenever he drove around Nairobi, protecting him from hijacking and theft. Jim uses the lessons he learned from James and the other people he met in Africa as an inspiration to further nurture his passion for service to others. He currently works at Urban FUTURE, a Saint Louis-based program offering mentoring, tutoring and career preparation programs for youth in impoverished urban areas. He is in the process of setting up possible tour dates for Emmanuel Jal and Kenyan gospel rapper Juliani to come to the United States to spread messages of social justice through their music. The theme of social justice is also evident in Jim’s own personal motivations for his work in Africa: “I want to share my time and the stories of these refugees. They have no rights, and the refugee camp is in the middle of the desert. Even the trees are mean sons-of-bitches with thorns on them. They’re bored, frustrated, have talents and they want to do things with their lives; but they just have so few opportunities.” He continues: “I know I can’t solve the whole problem, but if I can do something to make their lives just a little bit better, then I’ll make that my goal.”
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Members of a Christian Base Community in urban San Salvador depict Archbishop Oscar Romero fighting the oligarchy of the 1970s and what they see as continued oppressive policies. Photo by Chad Carson.
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REFLECTIONS ON THE UCA MARTYRS CHAD CARSON / INTERNATIONAL SECTION MANAGER
Chad is a Freshman majoring in Political Science, Economics, and International Studies.
On November 16, 1989, members of the Salvadoran armed forces entered the Jesuit residence at the University of Central America (UCA), killing six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter. The massacre sparked international outrage, eventually leading to the end of the Salvadoran Civil War. During spring break, SLU Campus Ministry provided students with the opportunity to travel to El Salvador and live in solidarity with the poor through an NGO named Cebes-Fundahmer. “These men were killed by the government forces
because they posed a threat to a system that still continues to alienate the poor and marginalized,� said Joe Wotaja, a Jesuit scholastic who made the recent trip to El Salvador. While the massacre affected Jesuit communities everywhere, the current Provincial Superior for the Jesuits of the Missouri Province, Fr. Doug Marcouiller personally knew all eight victims. Because of the extensive past SLU and the Missouri Province has shared with the UCA, Fr. Marcouiller spent years working alongside the Jesuits in El Salvador and
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continues to return each summer to teach economics classes. “When I first heard of Ignacio’s death, I was upset but not surprised. When the names kept coming and when Elba and Celina were on that list, it became a really difficult time for me,” Fr. Marcouiller said. The six Jesuits who lost their lives were Ignacio Ellacuria, Segundo Montes, Juan Ramon Moreno, Ignacio Martin Baro, Amando Lopez, and Joaquin Lopez y Lopez. “They were killed because they exercised leadership in education in a very ideological society . . . They weren’t afraid to ask questions and people were afraid of the truth,” Fr. Marcouiller said. While the death of the six Jesuits left a tragic scar on the world, two very innocent women also lost their lives on that November evening. Julia Elba Ramos was a 42 year old woman murdered with her 13 year old daughter in their room at the UCA. Tragically, both normally did not live next to the Jesuits but had moved there five days early hoping the Jesuit residence would provide more safety. “Elba was a wonderful, lively, funny woman,” Fr. Marcouiller said. A very warm, upbeat woman, Fr. Marcouiller recalled a day where she was preparing to go home. “I noticed she had a lot of makeup on and was very elegantly dressed so I said ‘wow.’ With a smile, she replied, ‘Well Padrecito, you never know who you’re going to meet on the bus,’” Marcouiller recalled. Fr. Marcouiller’s friendship with Elba stems from years of working together. The two were together on October 10, 1986, when a sizeable earthquake struck the capital of San Salvador. “Celina was in school that day so we left the house to go to Elba’s house and look for Celina. When we neared the house, some of it had been damaged so Elba ran ahead as I tried to keep up. I walked in to find Elba with her arms wrapped around Celina, happy to see her safe,” Marcouiller said. “To see them together was very reassuring and that image came back to my mind once I saw the photographs of her body shielding Celina’s from the bullets. Her protective love for her daughter never wavered from the earthquake until their deaths,” Marcouiller said.
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Fr. Ignacio Ellacuria was a philosopher and theologian who had a keen interest in the role of a Jesuit university in the society around it. Through his research and publication, Fr. Ellacuria met significant opposition from the far right and the oligarchy that dominated the Salvadoran economy. He was known as a peaceful man and had been asked ten days before his death by the president of El Salvador to be part of a dialogue with the hope of ending the war. “Fr. Ellacuria led the university in the service of faith and the promotion of justice and saw the university community as a means to discover truth and speak out,” Fr. Marcouiller said. Nicknamed “Zeus” by the children of El Salvador because of his facial hair, Fr. Segundo Montes spent much of his life teaching in El Salvador and became a naturalized citizen of the country. “The kids loved him and found him a warm and welcoming person,” Marcouiller said. Fr. Montes spent his life working in the rural areas of El Salvador to study the affect of dislocation. Much of his research concerned the division of families and remittances from the United States as nearly twenty percent of the Salvadoran work force had been forced to move to the U.S. At the time of his death, Fr. Montes was the head of the Department of Political Sciences and Sociology at the UCA. Described by Fr. Marcouiller as “a theologian active in religious communities with an expertise in Ignatian spirituality,” Fr. Juan Ramon Moreno dedicated his life to serving multiple communities in Central America. Fr. Moreno founded a publication designed to spread the ideas of liberation theology named Diakonia while working in Panama before returning to the UCA in 1985. Fr. Ignacio Baro was a “psychologist well known around the world because of his research on the impact of violence on children during their childhood,” according to Fr. Marcouiller. He dedicated his life in El Salvador to researching the attitudes of the Salvadoran people and worked with several publications to advocate for social reform. Because an oligarchy of wealthy families had monopolized the media, Fr. Baro used the UCA as a tool to express the views of the people and publish his findings.
A very close friend and mentor of Fr. Marcouiller, Fr. Amando Lopez spent his life working with various victims of Central American Poverty. He taught at the UCA and spent time in Ecuador but was most well known for his assistance in Nicaragua during the last years of the Somoza government. He opened the campus of the Central American University in Managua to families victimized by the Nicaraguan conflict before moving to the UCA in 1984. A Spaniard by birth, Fr. Lopez had spent time in Ireland and “enjoyed good music and a good beer,” Marcouiller said. “Amando was very lively and very warm. People from both sides of the conflict found him to be a trustworthy companion and friend and came to him seeking advice in confidence.” The only Salvadoran by birth, Fr. Joaquin Lopez y Lopez focused his efforts on helping the poor in El Salvador. Fr. Lopez y Lopez worked with the marginalized across the country in an effort to bring them educational opportunities and spoke out against the lack of opportunities offered to the poor. He was also influential in the founding of the UCA and the “fe y alegria” school system—a system focusing on popular education and vocational training in El Salvador. “Lolo was the main fundraiser and spirit behind the system. He hadn’t been part of the community in recent years but joined the other Jesuits when they moved into the residence a couple of months before the murders,” Marcouiller said. These six Jesuits were murdered because they took a stand to be the voice of the voiceless in a marginalized Salvadoran society. They took a stand to speak out against the military junta guiding the country and the monopoly on the country’s resources that resulted in the oppression of the poorest people in El Salvador. “Their work remains significant today for all people because it shows how those who engage in this same struggle experience the presence of Christ and the desire of God that no human being suffer from injustice, neglect, or oppression,” Wotaja said.
Amachi through this child by SARAH HANEL
Sara Hanel is a Freshman studying Spanish, Theology, and International Studies.
At a young age, Jamar’s understanding of prison differed fundamentally from that of his peers. While many children see their parents in productive careers and consistent lifestyles, the only consistency Jamar knew with his dad was where he would always find him: in prison in North Texas serving a life sentence. The example that Jamar’s father set influenced his life and began leading him down a similar path. Jamar became angry, sad, and prone to violence. However, when a Big Brother entered his life, Jamar’s attitudes turned away from the prison cell and toward a brighter future. However, not all stories are like Jamar’s. There are currently over 2.5 million children in our nation who have a parent that is or has been incarcerated, and approximately 60,000 of these children live in the state of Missouri. These children run a high risk of falling into destructive life patterns and are 70% more likely to enter the correctional system one day, merely because of the environments and circumstances in which they grow up. The years of childhood arguably transform and mold one’s life the most, and when children receive constant exposure to the traumatic experience of prison through a loved one at such a young age, they often need an extra source of support and strength. Big Brothers Big Sisters works to create these healthy relationships and mentorships between adults and children. Through “a one-toone relationship built on trust and friendship that can blossom into a future of unlimited potential,” Big Brothers and Sisters help their Little Brothers and Sisters realize their full capacity and provide a source of healthy stability and positive encouragement in their lives. The Amachi Program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri caters specifically to children of incarcerated parents by pairing these children with responsible adults who give the children new ideas of “strong and successful adult role models,” according to the online training provided to volunteers. By fostering these friendships, Amachi works to put an end to the cycle of imprisonment within families and
communities. The United States House of Representatives recently approved a budget proposal that would significantly decrease the funding given to the Amachi Program. This will negatively affect hundreds of at-risk children who are waiting on a mentor. While reorganization of funds may help in solving our nation’s budget issues, it puts vulnerable children at risk, children whose lives may take a turn for the negative without the healthy support and encouragement of mentors to build a bright future. Love and care for some of the most at-risk children in our communities lie at the heart of the Amachi Program. The meaning of the WestAfrican word amachi, “who knows but what God has brought us through this child,” shows the sense of responsibility that the program embodies in helping children discover and live as the best versions of themselves. Reverend W. Wilson Goode had this goal in mind when creating the Amachi Program in 2000. Goode knows firsthand the impact of incarceration: his own father went to prison when Goode was a child. “He had mentors in his life who wanted him to succeed and he wanted to help provide mentors for other kids who have incarcerated parents,” said Liz Kleiner, Associate Director, Community Based Support at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. In addition to training from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Amachi volunteers complete a special online training program catered to specifically help them deal with children who have incarcerated parents. The training discusses a variety of topics to paint a clear picture to the Big Brothers and Sisters of the effects of incarceration on relationships, economic situations, emotions, and the family’s situation long-term. This allows volunteers to receive an accurate understanding of the emotions and circumstances behind the lives of their Little Brothers and Sisters, which provides a sense of solidarity and the formation of strong, fruitful bonds and relationships. Children with incarcerated parents deal with
disturbing memories, such as witnessing a parent handcuffed and driven away in a police car, experiencing police officers invading their home in the middle of the night, or visiting prison where the children see their mom or dad in an environment with little freedom. Plus, kids must deal with the absence of a parent, role model, and source of love and support in their lives. In fact, most incarcerated parents live in prisons that are more than 100 miles from the place in which they were arrested. Amachi training states that “to fill the gap left by an absent parent, some children may turn to their peers in a desire to belong,” and in their dangerous state of vulnerability children can fall into destructive habits and devious groups of friends. This can cause the child’s prospects for a better life to dwindle leading to the perpetuation of the cycle of incarceration. “Children of prisoners have the need for safety, structure, caring adult role models, someone to listen, and nonjudgmental adults. Mentors can help children of prisoners meet their needs and increase their resiliency.” The Amachi Program of Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children with these mentors as stable resources in attempt to increase the children’s chance in a successful life outcome. Although it is the hope of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization that mentors will have the greatest and most positive impact on their Little Siblings, Amachi training specifically emphasizes that mentors should not assume the role of parent in the child’s life, but rather provide a source of much needed support. Amachi teaches its volunteers that “mentoring, in concert with other supports, can exert a positive influence on the children of prisoners and increase their ability to rise above a difficult situation.” In the 11 years of its operation, the Amachi Program has seen success. Kleiner has seen the program inspire “improved social skills, a better outlook on life, doing better in school, and being able to trust an adult”. A 1995 study of Big Brothers Big Sisters backed up these assertions with statistics. According to the study, children with mentors are 53% less likely to skip school, 46% less likely to start using drugs, 32% less likely to get in physical fights, and 27% less likely to start drinking. While the statistical results show empirical positive effects, the true impact of mentor-child relationships can be life changing. In 2010, the Amachi Program served over 1,140 children in Missouri, 500 of whom were in St. Louis. Liz Kleiner says “we’ll continue to serve as many kids as we possibly can,” and with the help of volunteer Big Siblings, Amachi will continue to grow and reach out to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. To find more information or volunteer as a Big Brother or Sister, visit their website or visit their office, found down the block from Saint Louis University.
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YES 750 PERSONS PER 100,000 62.71% $214 BILLION
A LOOK AT
JUSTICE
SYSTEMS AROUND THE
CRIME RATE 5.0 PER 100,000
HIGHEST INCERCERATION RATE IN THE WORLD. 0.75% OF THE ENTIRE US POPULATION IS IN PRISON
WORLD
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEATH PENALTY INCARCERATION MINORITY PERCENTAGE ANNUAL SPENDING CRIME RATE INTERNATIONAL HOMICIDE RATE NUMBER OF EXECTUTIONS POPULATION OF EACH COUNTRY VIOLENT CRIME RATE PRISON POPULATION % OF JUVINILES/MINORITY % OF GDP SPENT ON CRIME
ABOLISHED CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN 2005 200 PER 100,000 MINORITY PERCENTAGE $85.38 BILLION CRIME RATE 11.3 PER 100,000 (2004) 0 107,431,225 (2009) 759.49 PER 100,00 222,330 14% 8.9%
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46 (2010) ~313,000,000 429.4 PER 100,000 (2009) 2,292,133 0.4% 1.53%
RECENT UPSURGES IN DRUG TRADE-RELATED VIOLENCE IN 9 OF MEXICO’S 31 STATES HAS INCREASED THE NATIONAL DEATH RATE. IN LATE 2006 PRESIDENT FELIPE CALDERON LAUNCHED A WAR ON DRUGS. BY 2010 THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 28,000 DRUG-RELATED DEATHS.
MEXICO
SAUDI
NO 142.6 PER 100,000 NO DATA $19.4 BILLION NO DATA 1.43 PER 100,000
0
~62,698,000 2,034 PER 100,000 (2009) 85,206 1.9% 0.891%
HIGHEST VIOLENT CRIME RATE IN EUROPE
UNITED KINGDOM SINGAPORE
I ARABIA BARBARIC LEGAL CODE THAT UTILIZES PUNISHMENTS SUCH AS FORCIBLE AMPUTATIONS WITHOUT ANESTHESIA AS WELL AS PUBLIC BEHEADINGS BY SWORD. SAUDI ARABIA HAS ALSO BEEN CRITICIZED FOR LACKING AN OPEN JUDICIAL SYSTEM
YES 178 PER 100,000 UNREPORTED UNREPORTED CRIME RATE INTERNATIONAL HOMICIDE RATE EST. 69 (2010) ~26,131,000 UNREPORTED 44,600 0.9% UNREPORTED
YES 273 PER 1000,000 NO DATA 9.09 BILLION (2006) 650 PER 100,000 .39 PER 100,000 28 (2002) ~4,740,000 28.14 PER 100,000 (2006) 12,944 4.7% 4.99%
KNOWN FOR ITS HARSH PENAL CODE THAT UTILIZES CORPORAL PUNISHMENTS.
HAS OFTEN BEEN CRITICIZED BY HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS FOR LIBERAL USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY, PARTICULARLY FOR DRUG VIOLATIONS.
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/Tenth-CTS-full.html http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/saudi-arabia/report-2010 http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-denoticias/details/crime-is-costly-in-mexico-at-nearly-85.38-billion-a-year/6155/ Figures are based on most recent, reliable data available
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LEARNING
ON THE INSIDE
by SARAH FENTEM Sarah Fentem is a Senior Theology and Communication major.
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The famous 1971 “Stanford prison experiment” was a psychological study that simulated a prison environment, with college students taking on the roles of both guards and prisoners. The guards, who wore mirrored glasses and referred to the “prisoners” only by their assigned numbers. The famous experiment illustrated how prisoners and guards internalize their roles: they became “prisoners” or “guards”-their previous identity was effectively stripped away. Dr. Ken Parker, a theology professor who founded the “College-In-Prison” project at Saint Louis University, is well aware of the effects of imprisonment on a person’s sense of self. For this reason, he uses the term, “incarcerated students” when speaking about the people involved in the project. “We really do feel its vey important the language we use. What we know is that these are persons who have the capacity to change and grow even though they’re in prison”, he explains. And change certainly happens. Letters from inmates describe changed minds and hearts. “My mind is open to new ideas”, writes Adrian Kinder, “I am not driving in circles.” “If you give a person a dose of hope you help them for that moment”, a letter signed “A. McVite” reads, “but you teach them to hope, you change their future.” Parker was inspired to begin the program after seeing a 60 Minutes segment about a similar program at Bard College. After researching education-in-prison programs, he discovered that an undergraduate education “is the most effective way of reducing return to prison”, he says, explaining that recidivism (people returning to prison) rates decrease dramatically when they receive an undergraduate degree. He cites a study done by the Department of Corrections in Texas in 1993 in which recidivism rates dropped from 65 percent to 15 percent after receiving two years of coursework, and to five percent after they receive a bachelor’s degree. Invigorated with the research findings, Parker and the SLU Theology Department, started by offering a certificate in theological studies to inmates at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correction center in Bonne Terre, MO. The program attracted the attention of the Hearst foundation, which gave what was
then called the “SLU Prison Initiative” 150 thousand dollars to get their current program, an associate of arts degree, off the ground.
“you teach them to hope, you change their future”
In addition to teaching core requirements of language arts, history, theology, and philosophy to both incarcerated people as well as the prison staff. , the program also has launched the “Inside Out Speaker Series”, which brings academic speakers to the correctional center. Other facets of the program include the “Video in Prison” project, in which SLU students tape record university lectures to send to people to watch in prison, and the “Prison Arts Project”, which aims to “bring arts programming to the Bonne Terre campus.” Reducing recidivism through education is ultimately about social justice, the directors argue. The prison system in the United States’ “greatest human rights issue”, says Mary Gould, a SLU professor who is also involved in the program. “We exist in a state of mass incarceration where 2.3 million men and women are confined to jail or prison. We exist in a state of mass surveillance where more than 7 million men and women are in jail, prison, on probation or parole.” Parker explains that while the United States contains five percent of the World’s population, it houses about 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated persons, and that this percentage is “disproportionately poor” and “disproportionately brown.” Children of incarcerated people are also many times more likely to be institutionalized themselves. All this data indicates that there are more determents that factor into going to prison than simply committing a crime. For this reason, Parker argues that we should see prisons not simply as a place for retribution, but for rehabilitation.
“Part of what fuels recidivism is this bitterness and anger and the sense that no one really cares”, he explains. Education fulfills this need for rehabilitation. Through taking undergraduate courses, the incarcerated learn skills that will help them re-integrate into society. By participating in the program, learn to “analyze the world around them, both in prison, but also in a broader perspective”, explains Parker. Prisoners develop “the capacity to have an animated debate and disgaree with someone and…have a meal with them afterwards; to see the world in shades of gray rather than black and white.” Education, in the sense of the College-In-Prison program, is just as much about learning how to think as the subject matter itself. Critics of the program cite have cited that prison is a place for punishment, not learning, and that even with an education, prisoners have a very difficult time gaining employment. Parker says the drastically decreased recidivism rates speak for themselves. There are additional, pragmatic argument to counter these criticisms. “what [these critics] fail to understand is if you simply look at this issue from the standpoint of economics and public safety, education for the incarcerated is a no brainer”, Parker explains. He explains that in a society in which government funding only can be stretched so far, vital money is spent on the correctional systems that could be going toward education. “You can only cut the core budget so far”, he says. “you can eliminate all the things that will rehabilitate people. But you’d still have to feed them guard them, maintain [prisons] at the minimal standard.” In other words, more people in prisons equal less money for schools and communities. For everyone involved, however, it is mostly a question of humanity. “Says Mary Gould: “As a public we need to begin to care about the millions of men and women working and living in the criminal justice system and the millions and millions of family members, friends, neighbors and colleagues whose lives are touched by our practices of mass incarceration.”
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Planting Seeds of Justice by OLIVIA WHITE
Olivia is a Freshman majoring in American Studies and International Studies. The sites you see around downtown St. Louis are not strikingly different from those of any other large city. Office towers, courthouses, bars and restaurants all come into view. When driving down 22nd street between Market and Pine Street, however, you will see something that would ordinarily seem out of place in a city: a farm. This green space acts as more than just an unusual sight in downtown St. Louis though; it provides a beacon of hope for people in the city who are often hopeless. City Seeds Urban Farm lies on two and half acres in downtown St. Louis on land provided by the Missouri Department of Transportation. It is just one of dozens of urban farms in St. Louis mentored by the umbrella organization, Gateway Greening. Clients of St. Patrick Center, the largest provider of homeless services in Missouri, tend the farm. Through working on the farm these clients attempt to cope with mental illnesses, overcome homelessness, and beat drug addictions. Tremayne, a former participant in the Therapeutic Horticulture program, says that through working on the farm he “learned a great peace.” The Therapeutic Horticulture program is a 15 week learning program run by City
St. Louis City Seeds Garden. Photo by Sanjana Shah
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Seeds that assists people dealing with issues ranging from chronic addiction to recent prison release to homelessness. The program teaches clients about growing their own food, nutrition, and helps clients with their own personal recovery goals through nature journaling, and connecting the 12 steps of gardening with the 12 steps of recovery used in Alcoholics Anonymous. According to Annie Mayrose, City Seeds Coordinator, to participate in the program, applicants must meet certain requirements. St. Patrick’s Center recruits participants through case managers who recommend clients who are in good standing. They require clients receive an exam in order to ensure that clients have the physical ability to work in the garden as well as perform additional screening to ensure the candidates they choose will learn and benefit from participating in the program. The therapeutic horticulture program is small, with only around 10 people enrolled in it at a time. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, clients enrolled in the program work on the farm for a few hours, doing things such as planting seeds, pulling weeds, or attending a horticulture class. On Friday, the clients meet at St. Patrick’s Center to attend a horticulture
therapy class led by Ariana Fox, City Seeds Program Coordinator for St. Patrick Center. According to Fox, one of the key components of this class teaches the 12 steps of gardening, which are metaphorically connected to the 12 steps of Alcoholic Anonymous. She explains that “Many clients, but not all, are already familiar with the 12 steps of AA,” making it easy for them to understand the metaphor. Other classes present lessons on servant leadership, and goal setting. “Everyone comes into the program with a life issue they are working on” says Fox, “some want to be healthier, some want to graduate from the program, some want to work on their social skills”. Through working on the farm, clients get exercise and sunlight while working on learning the skills to grow their own food, and learning to work and get along with other people. Then in the class, people share with each other and discuss what is going on in their own life. “Plants have deficiencies, and so do people” says Fox. These kinds of metaphors help people connect the growth they tend to on the farm to the growth they tend to in themselves. When asked what she wants most for clients to gain from the program Mayrose
replied that “it depends on what their individual goals are; it may be a little different for each person.” She described how the program helps the clients form connections with other people working in the farm and build a community together. The farm, she says, “becomes a very welcoming place for people who are otherwise ostracized from society.” Tremayne said that he met many friends through the program that he is still friends with today. Mayrose also described that working in the farm teaches self-sufficiency and gives participants the self-confidence they may lack in other areas of their life. When they graduate from the program clients gain a sense of accomplishment and are able to make a speech at graduation. By following through with something, clients learn how to make goals and see themselves as capable people. One of the reasons Fox believes the program succeeds is that it takes action. Working on the farm supplies a tangible way for people to overcome the problems they face. Instead of only telling people they should sober up, eat healthier, and get exercise, it provides a way for them to do that. Tremayne, a recent graduate of the Therapeutic Horticulture Program, became
involved with the program when his counselor at St. Patrick Center suggested it to him. He said he liked getting his day started growing things as well as going to class getting to talk about himself and what he was going through. When asked what going to the weekly horticulture therapy class meant to him he said that it “relieved a lot of the loneliness and let me know that people out there care”. This past winter City Seeds hired him to work sowing seeds in the greenhouses, so he continues to stay engaged in the farm. Through working on the farm Tremayne says “I learned peace with the earth and a new appreciation knowing where our food comes from.”Today he says he writes a lot and works toward financial stability by exploring the neighborhood and getting himself familiar with the resources he needs. Urban farms are more than a way for people to overcome homelessness; they are a viable and sustainable way to address food inequalities in urban areas. Fox thinks one thing urban farms can do is improve peoples’ health. In a society where the poor often have to rely on processed and fast food, people miss out on the nutrients gained from eating fresh produce. Urban farms can break up food deserts by giving people in a community
an easy an affordable way to grow their own produce and become more self-reliant. She also believes urban farms should make us think about the food systems we rely on. The food system in the United States depends largely on monoculture crops and processed foods we buy in the frozen food section. Fox believes that as a society “we need to move away from that system and move towards a food system that’s environmentally and socially just”. In food deserts, or areas where healthy and affordable foods are hard to obtain; urban farms are an oasis. By increasing access to fresh produce to people who would not ordinarily have the opportunity to attain it, the level of nutrition in a community will increase. They show a positive image of life being cultivated in areas of the city that may appear to be dead. Urban farms deserve support because they address the issue of food inequalities in areas that hunger for justice. If you are interested in donating to or volunteering at City Seeds or another urban farm in St. Louis visit www. gatewaygreening.org.
The farm, she says, “becomes a very welcoming place for people who are otherwise ostracized from society.” 23
Abandoned building in the Ville neighborhood. Photo by Sanjana Shah
by STEPHANIE KUNZ / LOCAL SECTION MANAGER Stephanie is a Senior Investigative Medical Sciences Major.
Less two and half miles from Saint Louis University, a neighborhood known as “The Ville” struggles to improve their community. An area that gained notoriety in the past for developing great African American entrepreneurs, musicians, and athletes such as Annie Malone, Arthur Ashe, and Chuck Berry, the neighborhood now has become infamous as one of the legendary neighborhoods “north of the Fox”. Yet, amid the rundown buildings, crime, and drug problems, individuals and organizations there strive to move forward to rebuild their community, both physically and structurally. Though a rather small neighborhood, the Ville has a big reputation and an even longer history. Initially known as Elleardsville, it housed mostly German and Irish immigrants, but the population transitioned into a mixture of these Caucasian with an increasing population of African Americans. It quickly became
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the center of the African American middle class in St. Louis. Fr. Mark Mackenzie, SJ, Pastor of St. Matthew’s Parish in The Ville for more than a decade, called Homer G. Philips Hospital “a very high level training facility for physicians and nurses and health care people of color”. Employment there allowed middle class African Americans to own homes and businesses in the area, one of the only neighborhoods the city of St. Louis that permitted them to do so at the time. The Ville burgeoned with African American owned businesses, schools, and organizations serving the needs of its constituents. The Ville transformed again after World War II. Whites living in the community moved west and south to the suburbs, a common trend throughout urban communities in America known as “White flight”. The environment of the community changed as Fr. Mackenzie recalled “when the whites went away, the
kept the property and rented it”. From 1920 to 1950 the residents of The Ville changed from 8 percent to 95 percent African American, with many of these people paying white suburban owners month to month to live in the community, draining their money bit by bit into the suburbs. This system continued for decades until eventually the community degraded so much that no one was looking to rent there. These issues started in the 90’s, along the same time that there was a lot of arson in the neighborhood. This, according to Mackenzie, was no coincidence as most were found to be for profit. Owners would “insure it, burn it, and move on”, destroying the neighborhood building by building just to turn a profit. Around the same time, drug dealers started moving into the neighborhood, which now seemed neglected and an easy target, also looking to make a buck, this time from the residents rather than the insurance companies. Today, drug dealers and gang related violence are still two of the major issues facing the community. Though kids start getting involved because of enticement through gifts, many face huge pressures to get involved in crime. Solemnly, Mackenzie says “Even the ones that try to go good end up getting shot. We’ve had several.
One of our kids that graduated our school got shot 3 or 4 weeks ago. There’s a huge social pressure in a gang to get involved in drugs. But if you’re not you’re just getting beat up and all of this stuff.” This lack of hope spurs from many factors. Mackenzie says “It’s really hard for a black man to get decent work. And education, effective education, is a factor there. They may say they’ve graduated high school, but they can’t put a paragraph together.” In 2008 the 55 of 1,489 graduates from Sumner High School in The Ville that pursued a college education had a GPA of
It’s a neighborhood that I’m pretty sure has hit its bottom and it’s starting to come up again.” 1.76 after their first semester, compared to the state average of 3.0. Reduced access to effective education leaves students frustrated with attending classes less reason to work towards their degree and more reason to drop out of college. This leaves young people vulnerable to entering the
pool of potential gang members and drug dealers. A cyclical problem developed over time as drug dealers and gangs continued to feed on The Ville. Mackenzie says “Right down here on the street corner you can get whatever you want;” Men selling or possessing drugs on the street to provide for themselves and their family become arrested and their children grow up without adult male role models. “A lot of the men just aren’t [responsible] and that’s because a lot of them are incarcerated.” It is a problem not facing many urban, mostly black communities and many point to the disparities regarding mandatory sentencing for crack versus powder cocaine as the cause of the issue. “I was in seminary in the sixties when a lot of the riots were going on. So I’m familiar with the language. The law and order language. We want law and order which really means racial segregation. It’s easy. It’s easier to stop a black person in a white neighborhood than a white person in a white neighborhood. Meanwhile the high rollers are snorting their crack all the time.” Yet, through all of these issues creating a seemingly endless downward spiral, the neighborhood still hopes and works toward revitalization. “There are a lot of burnt out buildings and lots of
An abandoned building sits next to a home. Photo by Norm White
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vacant lots that used to be buildings, but there’s also new housing coming in. It’s a neighborhood that I’m pretty sure has hit its bottom and it’s starting to come up again.” Several schools have moved into the neighborhood and have been rather successful. A former resident of The Ville is working towards a 2012 opening of a KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) school in the neighborhood, a successful program of education that guided many schools in urban areas with low income and poor education to success across the nation. Developers have undertaken converting Homer G. Philips hospital that had been abandoned and vandalized into senior living apartments that will once again provide jobs to residents of The Ville. Organizations such as Northside Community Housing are building new homes, which will provide opportunities for residential ownership through a rent to own program.
“The people that live out and around in the suburbs look at this as a place where they don’t go.” But the problems the community faces cannot all be undertaken by companies, developers, and churches within The Ville. In order for The Ville to develop it will require individuals outside the community to support it. “The people that live out and around in the suburbs look at this as a place where they don’t go. There’s a lot of folks around here that this is a place where they just don’t come to. So that’s one of our goals is to build bridges across the ethnic boundaries. And it works. Folks come down here and they say ‘Oh this is cool!’ Just come. Hang out. Meet some people. We get people down for relationship. Once there’s relationship they find out that these are not ogres or criminals or something.”
Homes in the Ville neighborhood. Photo by Sanjana Shah
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CALL TO ACTION
We are already one, but we imagine that we are not. liveOneWorld exists to rediscover that, while we are many in our cultures, religions, and struggles, we are one in our common humanity. We yearn to remove the barriers of ignorance and injustice, because the most basic and unchanging truth that unites us is the infinite value of the human person. OneWorld emphasizes this unity by raising awareness of social injustice, inspiring action, and transforming our hearts, minds, and society.
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28 liveONEWORLD Abandoned house in the Ville. Photo by Neelaysh Vukkadala