5.02.2005
Gangs in Northern Va
I grew up in Arlington, VA - the smallest county in the nation. For the past twenty years I witnessed the impact of the growing number of immigrants, mostly from Central America, that decended upon Arlington County. Now South Arlington is almost exclusively Hispanic, with more and more of North Arlington (traditionally more affluent) becoming dominated by Central Americans, mainly from El Salvador. For example, my best friend's mother attended Washington-Lee High School in the 1960s, when it was a predominantly white high school, drawing students from both South and North Arlington. Now the democraphics have changed dramatically: today W-L is over 70% Hispanic. This trend is not exclusive to Arlington: both Alexandria City and Fairfax County have experienced the same sort of demographic shift, including other ethnic groups primarily from Asia.
When Salvadoreans began fleeing the civil war in the 80s, many were ex-paramilitaries who were previously members of existing maras such as Salvatrucha. Thus new gangs emerged in the US which found themselves pitted against Mexican gangs, primarily in Southern California. Recently, these groups have been consolidated into MS-13, which now consists of Ecuadoreans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans in addition to Salvadoreans: an estimated 2,000 of which reside in Northern Virginia. Recently, episodes of gang violence involving teenagers have plagued Northern Virginia while law enforcement devotes more and more of their resources to fighting terrorism.
Today's Washington Post provides an chilling update on the murder trial of 17 year-old Brenda Paz, who was killed in cold blood after fellow MS-13 members discovered that she had been colluding with authorities:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/01/AR2005050100814_pf.html
For long-time residents of affluent Northern Virginia, this type of gang warfare is an alien concept which has only served to deepen resentment towards Hispanic immigrants.
When Salvadoreans began fleeing the civil war in the 80s, many were ex-paramilitaries who were previously members of existing maras such as Salvatrucha. Thus new gangs emerged in the US which found themselves pitted against Mexican gangs, primarily in Southern California. Recently, these groups have been consolidated into MS-13, which now consists of Ecuadoreans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans in addition to Salvadoreans: an estimated 2,000 of which reside in Northern Virginia. Recently, episodes of gang violence involving teenagers have plagued Northern Virginia while law enforcement devotes more and more of their resources to fighting terrorism.
Today's Washington Post provides an chilling update on the murder trial of 17 year-old Brenda Paz, who was killed in cold blood after fellow MS-13 members discovered that she had been colluding with authorities:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/01/AR2005050100814_pf.html
For long-time residents of affluent Northern Virginia, this type of gang warfare is an alien concept which has only served to deepen resentment towards Hispanic immigrants.
# posted by Juanson : 12:11 AM
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Christian,
You wrote that the violence has "deepened resentment towards Hispanic immigrants." Can you write about the resentment that existed before the immigration? Do you think there is a lot of racism in Virginia in general? Do you think that the white Virginians would have been racist without the gang violence?
You wrote that the violence has "deepened resentment towards Hispanic immigrants." Can you write about the resentment that existed before the immigration? Do you think there is a lot of racism in Virginia in general? Do you think that the white Virginians would have been racist without the gang violence?
# posted by 
: 3:34 AM
: 3:34 AM
Jean Paul,
Thanks for your question. You're really improved your English since we hung out in CR.
What's interesting is that like many American cities, the affluent classes have simply created barriers, be it symbolic or physical, which prevent them from having to interact with other classes/races etc. Hence that is why only one high school in Washington DC has any white students at all (Wilson HS is about 30% white) because the affluent families all send their kids to private school.
It is not culturally accepted to be racist in public. Hence, while you were able to get away with anti-Nica slurs in CR, this would be completely unacceptable socially in the US. However, many affluent whites have succeeded in distancing themselves from minorities and the poor such that they don't even have to confront them on a daily basis.
Thanks for your question. You're really improved your English since we hung out in CR.
What's interesting is that like many American cities, the affluent classes have simply created barriers, be it symbolic or physical, which prevent them from having to interact with other classes/races etc. Hence that is why only one high school in Washington DC has any white students at all (Wilson HS is about 30% white) because the affluent families all send their kids to private school.
It is not culturally accepted to be racist in public. Hence, while you were able to get away with anti-Nica slurs in CR, this would be completely unacceptable socially in the US. However, many affluent whites have succeeded in distancing themselves from minorities and the poor such that they don't even have to confront them on a daily basis.
Landry,
For the most part, I think that this trend exists all over the world. However, in places with high population densities, this is much harder to achieve. Sequeira can weigh in here in his experience living in Bombay. NYC is a prime example. Also, the comuna I lived in in Chile, Peñalolen, has an upper middle class neighborhood just blocks away from an impoverished slum. In my point, I was generally referring to suburbs of major cities.
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For the most part, I think that this trend exists all over the world. However, in places with high population densities, this is much harder to achieve. Sequeira can weigh in here in his experience living in Bombay. NYC is a prime example. Also, the comuna I lived in in Chile, Peñalolen, has an upper middle class neighborhood just blocks away from an impoverished slum. In my point, I was generally referring to suburbs of major cities.
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