Violence.. What Violence?

It’s just like it was yesterday. I had fallen asleep with no worries only to wake up with my life in shambles. “David is dead,” my cousin yelled at me as I awoke completely confused and uncertain about what 
I was hearing. I thought it was a dream. But, within minutes my mom had confirmed that it was true. My first cousin, the closest person I had to a biological brother had been shot and killed. My cousin had been coming from a night out with friends, was stopped in what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop and was murdered as a result. “Lil David,” as our family lovingly called him had been killed and we could not understand why. No guns, no weapons, four other people in the car riddled with bullets including his five month old daughter, but no one on the police force could explain why. It’s been years now and my family has yet to receive any answers. I was completely upset by the situation. I cried. I was angry. I wanted to fight. I asked why. I prayed for understanding. I prayed for him to come back. Nothing worked though, at the end of the day, he was definitely gone and never coming back. The support of my family and the love that we showed to one another, is what got us through one of the most difficult times in our lives. Even though the situation tore me to pieces, I continue to live life with no regrets, strive to be successful and (when I need additional motivation) to make “Lil David” proud of his baby cousin.

Sadly though, my cousin’s death was not the only bit of violence I have experienced in my lifetime. Violence is a stressor that has plagued my city and ultimately my life, for as long as I have been alive. Violence is on every street corner and every area of the city of Savannah, GA. There have been multiple rallies to stop the violence and promote a safer living environment, numerous city council meetings and everyone has unlimited amounts of input via social media, but nothing has changed. In fact, it seems the violence in my city only get worse, but we continue to work through, persevere and live from day to day as only we know how.

Now, there are other places that have issues with violence, but Africa is a country that is plagues by a different sort of stressor. HIV/AIDS disease is an epidemic in Africa. “It is estimated that 90% of the world’s HIV-infected children live in Africa, and more than half a million die of AIDS each year.” Even worse, “when parents start to develop full-blown AIDS, they cannot work, and need to be looked after. Children not only have the distress of seeing their parents deteriorate but also are no longer provided for and have to try to help care for their parents.” Thankfully though, their are organizations such as the SOS Children’s Villages organizations, that step in to assist these children and their families.

References:

http://www.aids-children.org/