KIDS & VIOLENCE: PLEASE LISTEN TO WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY

Editor's note: The following are a selection of letters on violence
in Philadelphia written by Terry Saskin's eighth-grade class at the
Frederick Douglass Elementary School in North Philadelphia.

To the Daily News:

Have you ever considered listening to the voices of inner-city teens?
We want people to know that, as young adults, we suffer just as much
as the next.

We wake up every morning scared to walk outside. We walk the streets,
scared that a stray bullet is the last thing we will feel.

The letters you are about to read show how hard it is for a Douglass
teen, living in North Philadelphia, to survive and have a "normal"
life. For once, why don't you focus on what the youth has to say and
not the adults? Let us have a voice.

- - Ajia Cauthen

It's really rough out here on the streets. We go through dangerous
situations every day. We want you to understand us and see from our
perspective what we go through, to see our lifestyles and how
dangerous it is to live in Philadelphia.

We have goals and dreams and will rise above the violence. Our
students are determined not to be another statistic.

George Godlock

It is a hard-knock life out here. People are getting hurt every day,
and it is crazy.

We can't even help somebody out when they need it, because you may
end up getting killed. We need to stop the violence by putting more
cops on the street, making friends and treating people with respect.
It would also be helpful if there is a community center or a
playground for the kids to go to. The parents should also be in their
kids' lives and try to teach them as many positive things as they can.

Dayana Chance

No North Philadelphia street is safe.

Every morning, I am scared to walk to school because I'm worried a
drive-by might happen. Why, as a young teen, do I have to feel
unsafe? Why do I have to watch my back everywhere I go?

I personally think the city isn't doing anything. Will 100 more
homicides have to happen before the mayor's office takes some action?
Why do I have to sit and think that tomorrow will be my last day?

Ajia Cauthen

As an inner-city youth, I'm tired of kids thinking they have to prove
they are tough to everyone. They humiliate lots of kids, which leads
to gun violence.

To me, nobody deserves to have their life taken from them.

Rashad Ford

Do you really want to know what it's like growing up in Philly? Well,
I can't help you with that because not a lot of kids survive long
enough to be grown.

I walk down the street hoping someone won't come around the corner
with a bullet that has my name on it. I am truly trying to be one of
the few kids to do something besides selling drugs, going to jail or dying.

It seems that I hear gunshots almost every day. I see little kids on
the news being shot, going missing or even being the ones committing
the crimes. I cry sometimes because of the crime in my neighborhood.
I wish someone would do something about it, but it is the good people
wishing the same as me that are shooting and setting off the guns.
After you're finished reading this, tell me - is that right?

Kamara McKoy

Why is everybody acting like this? This is a disgrace, not only are
you disrespecting yourselves, you're also disrespecting the
community. This is supposed to be the "City of Brotherly Love" -
instead, this is the "City of Brotherly HATE."

I worry about my future every day. One thing that really bothers me
is when a child dies, nobody cares. When a police officer dies,
everybody wants to cry and try to find out who did it. They say he
died in the line of duty, and put his life on the line. But a lot of
us that live in the ghetto put our lives on the line 24/7 out in the
streets trying to survive, hoping we won't get shot, robbed, raped or
kidnapped.

How many more people have to die before they do something about the violence?

Lori Brown

As a young black man living in the 'hood, it's difficult to proceed with life.

Knowing that I could get hit with a stray bullet any day scares me.
When I step out the door, I see everyone as the enemy. I can't even
trust the adults and security officers after what they did to that
quarterback at Martin Luther King High.

What if we were to talk to Martin and tell him that his dream made
it, but it's the community that's destroying ourselves?

Delanjo Hyltori

Did you ever feel like someone was following you down the street?

Well, that's how life is in the ghetto. Whenever you leave your home,
you always feel like you have to look over your shoulder for violence
and knuckleheads. By knuckleheads, I mean sisters and brothers that
have no self-esteem. They cause harm to others, and they don't care
about our community, that's what makes the 'hood such a hard place to live.

What bothers me the most is how people stereotype all black people
that live in the 'hood. They really believe we are ignorant, lazy and
worthless. There are poor people in all races.

But I have big dreams.

Like Dr. King, said I would not like people to judge me by the color
of my skin, but by the content of my character.

Jasmine Fisher

Being a young Philadelphia student is hard, every day it's a risk I
have to take. Every time I walk to school or to the store, I have to
be extra careful. It's like a war zone in the streets of
Philadelphia, from the shouting, fighting, drugs and even abductions.

Every morning, my mom says the same thing: "Don't talk to anyone, go
straight to school and always mind your own business."

Why can't I just be a kid and not have so many rules to follow? It's
like no one cares about the inner-city kids' safety, wants or needs.
We are lost in our own community. When are we going to be saved, when
will the city officials care enough to add more officers near and in
our schools?

When will our mayor crack down on the drug-dealing, blunt-smoking,
murdering thugs on our corners so we can just play outside? How many
more children have to die or get raped or hurt before anyone takes action?

Being safe is something we deserve. Being protected is our city's
job, and if our city can't do that, then who will save and protect us
from these cruel streets and this violent world? Are our lives
important to anyone else besides our parents?

How much more do we have to take? Just because we live in the ghetto
doesn't mean that we are to be taken for granted.

We have hopes and dreams, too.

Demi Regan

No matter where you go, you can't escape stereotypes. One day I
walked into a Puerto Rican market and bought some potato chips. I
noticed one of the employees following me, trying to see if I was
stealing. Then he said, "Get out. You're taking too long, hurry up
and buy." So I got an attitude and left. If I were a Caucasian, would
he have followed me?

Demetrics McGhee Jr.