ABOUT US
Ashley, Zaraar, Allie, Andres.
ASHLEY CERAVONE
I grew up around New Haven, Connecticut, where there was clearly a disproportion of wealth and crime. In one area, you can see the Yale students riding their bicycles to class; however, if you walked down to Whalley Avenue, you can see poverty and people struggling to feed a family of five. While I was fortunate enough to be sheltered from this for most of my life, while attending high school in New Haven, I was soon exposed to this. My friends, majority people of color and from a low income families, showed me that their everyday lives were surrounded with the violence that I was shielded from; the violence and hate that they could not escape. They taught me that although the stigma of New Haven is one that is associated with gangs and crime, the people there are human. They were forced into the stereotype of “New Haven,” but they are people, just like everyone else, and they have their own stories.
Boston is no different. The gang members here, and the families forced into this vicious cycle are human just like everyone else. And their stories must be told.
ZARAAR ZAHID
Being an international student allows me to understand the struggles of fitting into a new society. In most cases of gang recruitment, the youth feel displaced and do not have a feeling of belonging; this then leads them to believe that being a part of a gang will allow them to gain a sort of social family. This fulfils their requirement of having a life outside of their family household. The idea that they find comfort in people who give them attention is understandable. A necessity of life is to have a balance between your personal life (relationships etc), family life, academic life and social life - these youths find that perhaps being a part of a gang will fulfil their social-life requirement. One of the top reasons that teenagers join gangs is because of a new and uncomfortable environment that they have been put into. I actually recently had a friend pass away due to gang related neighbourhood wars in the outskirts of London, England. To explain further, my friend whose name was Kelvin, went to a highly respected and expensive boarding school with me before moving to London with his family. An aspect that we should also consider is the idea that he was a black boy living in the poorer districts of London; as much as that should not matter, we need to realise that it really does and the systematic institutionalised racism embedded in our society led his family to live in such an area where gangs were present. When Kelvin moved to London he felt like he didn’t know anyone, he could not be himself; the pressures of society and peers (and perhaps more) led him to find his own family, and that was a gang. A while later he moved neighbourhoods and ended up being shot by a rival gang, just for being present in a different neighborhood. This event occurred just a few weeks ago. Therefore, the pathos and motivation I require in order to take part in this assignment, is at such a level that I could use it as fuel for the project. I wish to enlighten/be enlighten about this issue of gang violence and warfare and wish to provoke enough emotion in the audience that they feel they have a duty or responsibility to do something about the issue at hand.
ALLISON HOSCHTETLER
Personally, I find the topic of our project to be very compelling and fascinating. The world of organized crime is very complex, and there are many different aspects that I’ve been trying to wrap my head around. I’ve watched a few mob/mafia documentaries before, but I don’t have much prior experience with researching this subject. I don’t have any judgements or biases, so the audience should be receiving a factual, impartial presentation. I don’t believe that any of the elements of my identity are relevant to this. Whether it being my race, gender, or where I am from, the information I’ll present is facts and unbiased. I am an outsider on this situation.
ANDRES RAMIREZ
My personal situated ethos is very unique as it all stems from my heritage. You see, I come from a family whose roots trace centuries back in El Salvador. We have built a name for ourselves, an empire, and I carry this name around with honor. In recent times, El Salvador has been overrun by gangs. So much so, that they are indisputably in charge of most of the government’s actions. For this reason my parents fled to the United States. Growing up, I lived in a poor neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. I have personally been witness to crimes such as drug deals, hit and runs, and even gun fights. I explain this so it is better understood my mindset going into this project. I was fully aware of the kind of influence gangs can play in the lives of millions of people. I would also like to point out that this was not a personal choice, just the situation or life I was born into. This must be clarified as many of the crimes witnessed and committed are blamed on the criminal, which is fine in the court of law, however it grossly overlooks the circumstances that bring individuals to commit such atrocities. My aim is to not only inform the audience of the existence of such harmful gangs but also shine a light on the life they live. I want it to be seen from their perspective, getting at the why of their actions.