The Freedom Writers Diary

A few days ago, this student attended the funeral of a friend, where the atmosphere was filled with the sadness of knowing that this is yet another victim of gang violence. At the same time, friends of the victim promises to seek revenge. As the days pass by and everyone’s lives go on, the dead friend is slowly forgotten, as though he had never existed.

The student describes seeing his friend die. S/he was in a store when s/he heard gunshots and saw her/his friend run in, seeking shelter but already mortally wounded. Despite having done nothing wrong, the friend quickly died from his wounds. The student reflects that this friend had his whole life ahead of him and that he was just an innocent victim in a war that can affect everyone, at any time.

The next day, at school, the student carries a gun. The feeling of it against his/her skin makes him/her uncomfortable. S/he spends the entire day unable to do anything, unable to accept the injustice of this friend’s death. S/he calls the violence that took her/his friend’s life an undeclared war, endlessly pitting different races against each other and turning promising lives into mere statistics.