New Yorkers speak against violence
Three New Yorkers converged on Uniontown Area High School last week, delivering to the public for the first time a presentation about gangs, violence and educating America’s youth on forgiving and behaving nonviolently.
About 200 people listened attentively to talks by former gang member Sergio Argueta, author J. Christoph Arnold and police officer Donald Ryan. Argueta said he lost two friends to violence before he “woke up” and realized gang life was not for him. He now attempts to rescue children who find themselves in a similar situation as founder of the organization Struggling to Reunite Our New Generation (STRONG).
Argueta told the story of a 14-year-old boy who was playing handball after school when six youth approached him and one stabbed him with a knife after asking for everything in his pockets.
His brother, finding his sibling on the playground yelling for help, called their mother, who arrived to see yellow crime scene tape and her child in a puddle of blood, Argueta said.
The following morning, the 14-year-old boy died, Argueta said.
He said the hurt and pain felt by parents who have lost a child or teens that have lost one of their peers because of violence remains consistent.
Many children have died “because of an epidemic ripping through our country and there are still too many people asleep,” Argueta shouted. “I want my community to start waking up. America is not doing its job.”
Argueta said the country spends more money on incarceration than education, while half of the people incarcerated for murder are under the age of 25.
Homicide, he said, is the second leading cause of death for young people of all ethnicities in America. Handguns were responsible for the deaths of 80 percent of youth who died because of violence, he said.
“Gun violence is raging,” Argueta said. “And people want to talk about politics and rights. What about the right to just live?”
He said he blames the adults who sit idly by and make excuses rather than rolling up their sleeves and saying, “Let’s get to work.
“Is there anyone in here that doesn’t want a better America?” asked Argueta. “Violence should end in our communities.”
While he said he agrees hip-hop music is devastating his community, he said some youth feel they can’t succeed any other way.
“Maybe it’s because the history books show no one like me,” said El Salvador native. “Or, maybe it’s because they were raised by hardworking, single mothers” like he was.
“It’s easy to point at pop culture, but why don’t we take a look at ourselves?”
With an average of three to four televisions is in each American household, Argueta said he was shocked to see only one TV in his girlfriend’s home and the family taking turns watching a program they liked.
“These parents were teaching their kids valuable skills, negotiating skills,” said Argueta. “That,
no, I won’t get everything I want. Even though my favorite show is on, it’s my mom’s turn, my dad’s turn, my brother’s turn.”
He urged that when someone sees a child others deem a bad influence find out “what’s making him or her so empty” that they turn to gang life.
When on the streets, Argueta said he had to adapt to his environment. There existed no community center or extracurricular activities.
“Bring it back to the basics,” Argueta said. “It’s our community and if we don’t take care of it, who will?”
Ryan, divisional chief with the Ulster County Sheriff’s Department, said the department began the Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT) to combat a rise in violent crimes under county sheriff, Paul VanBlarcum.
He said the initiative has worked, resulting in 800 charges involving gangs, narcotics and weapons, 479 of which were felonies. Youth ages 16 through 19 have been charged with crimes, he said.
He advised parents, “Know what’s happening with your kids. You need to spend time together. If not, how do you know what your kids are doing?”
Arnold said the No Child Left Behind law ties the hands of teachers and has helped destroy America’s educational system.
“We have forgotten a human being is a whole human with a heart and a brain and a mind,” he said. “You have to educate the whole body. If not, we will turn out a very unstable generation.”
He said a child involved in activities such as recess, playing chess, planting vegetables and inviting a neighbor over for a barbecue are less likely to take part in violence.
“It’s the little steps that help,” he said. ” If you save one child, you save the whole world.”
Books on non-violent conflict resolution were distributed free to those who attended.
Asking Arnold to autograph a copy of a book, Maimouna Sutton, who attended the presentation with her son, Cheikh Dossou, a first-grader at Ben Franklin School, expressed how she felt during the emotionally charged presentation.
“I almost passed out,” said the native of Africa, noting she really related to Argueta’s talk.
Thomas Colebank, principal of Uniontown Area High School, said by addressing gossiping, bullying, gangs and racism, the speakers advance a student’s self-respect and respect for others.
“Change can happen,” Colebank said after the evening presentation. “I was raised with that attitude. …We can make change happen here and in the community.”
The Church Communities Foundation, which the Bruderhof in Farmington is a part of, has sponsored the presentation twice during the 2007-08 school year.
The speakers addressed Uniontown Area and Laurel Highlands High School students, as well as students from other local schools last week. They also presented at the two high schools in the fall.
Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon, Uniontown police Chief Jason Cox and several state police officers represented their departments at the presentation.
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