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Trench of fear and violence

Miguel Ángel Álvarez.
Violence affects both communities.

Patricio Carrera
08/26/05

At six in the morning, Francisco is already seating across Toys“R”Us' parking lot in Langley Park, where every day he hopes to get work as day laborer, with his right hand holds a cigarette and from time to time he removes his cap to scratch his neck while watching two wooden crosses on the site where Aníbal Escobar Cruz and Cesar Mayorga were stabbed to death some nights ago.

"What can we do?" he asked resigned, "I only know one was a Chapin (national from Guatemala ), like me", says with fear while watching the cars that pass by; around him there are dozens of day laborers who prefer not to talk about the subject. "After finishing our job, if we get one, we must return here every day," says another laborer slightly angry while he rubs his hard hands with painting spots, "all we need is immigration officers around here," says ironically while running next to other 20 Latino workers who jump behind an approaching white Van with ladders on the roof.

Francisco and three other people manage to almost strain themselves in the vehicle just when the car resumes its march; the rest return while a light blue truck pulls over and another group of workers jump in to offer their services.

The morning passes slowly and the sun starts warming up the day, contractors are scarce therefore not all manage to find a job, near 100 workers start to relocate themselves in search of a good spot that gives them good luck for the "jale" (hiring).

Miguel Ángel Álvarez.

Jose Efraín Orellana said: “I would like to know who did this to my son Jessie to do the same to them" while he looked for his son's vehicle that was left between 15 and 14 street, in Langley Park.

Noon is a bad sign, most of them already know it is a lost working day; little by little they leave, "it is better to dissipate because the Police starts patrolling around and we could get taken for a gang member, I don't need the trouble”, says Santos, who has been living in the area for four years. According to him, the neighborhood is more dangerous at night, "from the apartment where I live with my cousins, I hear screams, fights and even gun firings."

They split in groups around the commercial center and some enter the liquor store where they exit with beers wrapped in paper bags, "it is warm and we are thirsty," Antonio exclaims smiling with a long glance and bags under his eyes. Soon after, a group of "cuates" get together to enjoy the shade of a tree.

The human landscape begins to change and the place taken in the morning by day laborers now belongs to women with their children who go shopping; and to young people who exhibit their boredom with their hands in their pockets. Suddenly, a fight explodes like a firecracker, two blacks without apparent reason attack a Latin in his 20's, the few workers who are present don't bother to do something about it, "this always happens, these Afroamericans are “jodidos”, watch how they jump on the poor man," says Mauricio who immediately dials 911 from his mobile phone.

The fight does not last long, the young Hispanic backs down afraid while his attacker leaves with a black woman insulting his opponent. 20 minutes later, a police patrol slowly passes by and surprises the attackers who walk as if nothing has happened. The officer warns the couple and goes away, they make the gesture of retiring but in five minutes return to ramble the area.

"Why bother reporting" says Mauricio, when we call, they do not answer in Spanish and at times they arrive very late like today, fortunately today nothing happened "; people do not report this incidents either because they think they will be deported or because they are scared of the retaliation from the gang members, assures Mauricio, supported on a black metal fence next to a lady who pushes an ice cream cart, "this is a ‘maras' territory," he comments sighing.

Two blocks south, on Merrimack street in the same area, three boys walk in front of the Langley Park "Boys and Girls" club building, where last week a girl was hurt with a knife by a stranger who attacked her as she was leaving the place. One of the guys, Ricardo of El Salvador, hides his tattooed arm with one of his hands and his open shirt let uncovered three letters in his chest, "I am not a gang member," he assures, "they confuse me because I have the tatoos, but this is nothing ", what happens is that there is no work so I take a walk ," his other 16 and 18 years old two friends watch with distrust.

The youngest of them all, of Nicaragua, assures he is in school "we get together with friends, we do not do anything but if they attack us, we defend ourselves," says while watching the street where a sport white car passes, a long whistle pushes his attention and a hand with its raised thumb salutes to him and he responds in the same way.

They do not want to speak even though a " Baltimore Sun" reporter tries to ask about the existence of gangs in the area, but he receives a shrug as answer, the reporter insists but the answers are evasive.

"Now that I am unemployed, my friends help me, they treat me lunch or they help me with the rent," Ricardo explains, who also says that they prefer not to be in the streets, they join in one of the groups members apartment “there we party with friends, we chat, listen to music or drink beer, we try no to be noisy so that our neighbors do not have to call the Police.”

With little excitement, the boys look in the ground for a hollow to accommodate their buttocks, they seat near the trees in the park. From the distance, they spot another group of young people walking in their direction, when joining together they are greeted following a process entangled that they know by heart, they do not stay long and they get lost among the food vendors in 14 street.

The scaling of violence in the Langley Park area maintains its inhabitants frightened. Activist Doris de Paz from Casa de Maryland thinks there is a lack of police monitoring problem, "the authorities protection does not exist", she insists, while wondering how it is possible that "they cannot control 32 miles around which is the extention of the problematic area," assures De Paz.

Early in the week, the leaders of Casa de Maryland organized a meeting with Prince George Public officials and the Police to discuss the problem, "near 100 inhabitants came to the meeting; we expected more, but I guess the majority is afraid,” says De Paz.

In the meeting, the public prosecutor and the Police committed themselves to find an urgent solution. They announced the creation of a budget to add 150 officers each year during the next five years, which according to the authorities will serve to better fight the crime, which so far has taken the life of 106 victims this year.

Some leaders suspect that the gangs try to operate from this zone because it borders with Montgomery County and Washington DC , in a radius of action that can be drawn up as a triangle. "There is need of more collaboration between the Police of both counties," said De Paz, who thinks that this is essential in the combat against gangs.

For that reason Horacio has been skeptical, "I have been helping the Langley Park community for 10 years teaching English classes in the community center, therefore I have seen the problems from the very beginning. "There are ‘maras' everywhere and the police monitoring is very limited," says convinced. "Gangs from all sides operate here, that without taking into account those that sell drugs, "how can I send my children to the community center if this is an area where gang members meet?,” he asked.

This citizen thinks that there are no sufficient after school programs for the youth, especially for the Latinos who fear everything when they first arrive, "the undocumented fear both the new language and the Police," and when they settle in the district they learn to fear the gang members, Horacio insists.

The night does not take long to arrive, the passers-by hurry while some of the day laborers who left in the morning and did not find a job, cross the area swaying and whistling, the lights of the food vendors ignite, the adults disappear and dozens of youngsters walk discreetly; a strange murmur like that of a bumblebees nest amplifies, darkness arrives and fear now gets dressed in black.