Vorona

[imperialpearl]

Trouble in Paradise: Crime and Poverty in Vorona 

Although sun, sea and sand have become hallmarks of the Voronan tropical experience, the ever-growing intensification of crime and criminality within the nation threatens to upend decades of peace as residents of one of the nation's largest slums choose between violence and government neglect. 

8th December, 5638 | By Andrew McDonald

Officers of the Vorona Constabulary Force during a raid in the Western Quarter of the Piersonville Suburb

Although the slums have been the source of many, if not most of the more violent crimes in Vorona, notwithstanding those currently taking place in Western and Eastern Vorona, here the residents say that it is the gangs which call these communities and neighbourhoods their bases of operations, who have been providing them with the protection they have cried out for decades. The slums of Shoreside have recently become the newest hotbed of crime and gang activity, all due in part to the recent death of the infamous gang leader Akeem “Bigs” Simon. Simon, the leader of “4th Avenue”, had governed as the titular leader of the entire slum, acting in many cases as its mayor. The collapse of basic government services, primarily water and electricity and the chaos which ensued, led many to turn to Simon in order to maintain some semblance of normalcy. “The little children would surround him shouting 'Papa, Papa, Papa' because, for many of them, he was their provider,” one resident speaking from anonymity said. Simon was killed last month by the Voronan Constabulary Force (VCF) during a raid on his compound, which resulted in the deaths of several members of his gang and some officers of the VCF. According to some crime analysts, Simon had been seen as a stabilising figure, keeping many of the minor street gangs throughout the slum under control. Since his death, there has been a marked increase in shootings, kidnappings and other associated crimes as numerous gangs vie for control of the slum and its 6,000+ residents, over the now-fractured 4th Avenue gang. “I guess you could say that there is a benefit to this? Every neighbourhood has its own “community leader” now, so there’s still someone people can express their grievances to,” one shopkeeper noted. “Someone broke into my shop just this Wednesday and I went to the community leader and they found the person who did it. I guess they punished him because I got my stolen merchandise back that same day.” One resident noted that the gangs were becoming so brazen that they seemingly no longer feared the police. “It used to be that when the Police show up you’d see them [gang members] scatter into the tracks and side streets. But since they killed Bigs, everything is in the air. When the police show up, they [gang members] immediately open fire without a second thought.”

The collapse of basic government services in the slums has exacerbated what has already been a stressful situation. Simon’s rise to power had been marked by a major increase in violence, particularly that involving high-powered rifles. Following numerous skirmishes between 4th Avenue gang and the community police, the caretaker government swapped community police patrols with those of the regular police alongside imposing a quasi-quarantine of the entire slum. With most services being blocked from entering the slum, many turned to the gangs whom they said provided “structure” when the government “abandoned them”. The change in sentiment is evident. “We didn’t even have water to cook with, let alone wash our clothes,” another resident, speaking on a condition of anonymity, said. “Those rat bastards turned off the water supply and told the gas [LPG] trucks to stop coming here. When Bigs showed up with water trucks and when they [4th Avenue] took over the LPG warehouse, what did they expect? For us to turn down an opportunity to lift ourselves up from state-sanctioned sufferation? Ay boy, F-ck that and F-ck them.” Notwithstanding the fact that the slum has fractured into warring streets and neighbourhoods, the gangs seemingly still agree to cooperate (to some extent) on the provision of basic necessities. “Since they killed Bigs, we haven’t seen any interruptions, the water trucks still come and fill our tanks, there’s always LPG. I guess they can agree on one thing,” another resident said jadedly. Available data points to the fact that many of the gangs, including 4th Avenue are largely populated by young men between the ages of 11 to 35, and whilst an accurate account is not available, civil police estimates place the total number of gang members within the slum at around 900. “It’s like they have their own little army in there,” Stanley Moses, a councillor on the local district council, lamented. “These little skinny boys, who should be in school, taking up guns larger and heavier than themselves, running around the slum singing the praises of their respective community/gang leader and what they’ve done for their neighbourhood.”

A member of the 4th Avenue Gang poses for a picture

With the community police out, and the VCF in, it was initially believed that their presence would be a reminder of the power of the state. Yet, since their introduction to formal police patrols, extrajudicial killings have been on the rise. Recently, minor protests were sparked throughout the slum after three VCF officers, whilst executing a warrant on Dale “Zoomie” Joseph, a known drug dealer within the slum, killed not only Joseph but also four other men in a scene which residents have called an execution. “They had no intention of going in there and arresting Zoomie. We could tell that was their intention from the moment they arrived,” an eyewitness said. “They came out of their unmarked car, and without as much as a word identifying themselves as Police, they immediately went into where Zoomie and his crew usually hang out.” Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal, said: “We just heard shots and then we saw Handle [Martin Browne] run out into the street and down the road, but they [the VCF] were right behind him. He got some distance from them before they shot him in the back and just left. He bled out right there.” The protestors have demanded that the VCF officers, who were wearing balaclavas throughout the entire encounter, be brought to justice. Martin Browne’s mother who remains distraught at her son’s death, is noted as having told Browne to avoid his continued association with Joseph. “I told him not to hang around there, but he never listens to me. Now my only child is gone. I have no one left,” Ms Browne wept. “We are being brutalised here, so it's no wonder why more and more young men continue to run into the arms of these gangs?” social activist Clyde Lewis questioned. “The heavy-handedness with which they treat us, the law-abiding citizens, is appalling. They think that we’re all just like them [the gang members].” One incident in particular has come under scrutiny recently after it was revealed that an officer of the VCF gun-butted a senior citizen who “spoke back” to him. The resultant blow reportedly caused a traumatic brain injury after the man fell to the ground, where he subsequently died. “They treat us like animals here, and we don’t even live at the heart of the slum where the real crime is; these are just the outskirts,” Lewis added.

According to Lewis, the Constitutional Convention provides the nation with the opportunity to “get certain things right.” She noted that she has already made petitions for the Elections Commission to host a brief town hall meeting where members of the community can voice their concerns not only about the crime situation, which continued to plague the slum, but also about police brutality and the existence of the slums in their entirety. “I’ve seen the proposals. Much of it talks about the establishment of autonomous regions which would be granted powers to address local concerns, but I think that the situation in the slum, and other slums around the country, transcends local authorities and deserves national attention and a national solution,” Lewis remarked. “Formally transferring district Police to these new 'autonomous' structures does not address the challenges we face. I genuinely believe that it will make no material difference beyond granting the Premier his/her own private army of goons.” Some have stated that the Constitutional Convention should enshrine certain guarantees for a reasonable standard of living. “What those people need are opportunities,” Dr. Ann-Marie Richardson, a Professor of Sociology and Urban Culture, explained. “A lack of opportunity leads to destitution, which ultimately forces people to turn to crime as a means of survival. The more police we throw at the problem, the more likely they are to respond with higher firepower, and then the police will have to respond in turn. It therefore becomes a cycle. We have to ask ourselves at what point do we say: enough?”

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSTZf1yRmvU]