The drug problem is very much real and active in our communities, as seen by the evidence in this article. In my experience as an Albanian growing up in New York City, I was expected to have the best grades in my classes and show the family name in a positive way. I was always reminded of the sacrifices that my parents made in order to move from our home country of Albania, where we had a good life with our extended family, and was expected to honor them by getting great grades in school so I could be somebody in America. Most of my young life, I realized that there were two kinds of Albanian guys that grew up around me: the guys who valued their education and their finances/future, as well as the guys who didn’t care about their education. For the ones who valued their education, they were always hard to reach and play with during our teenage years because they were always home studying (or being forced to study). However, the guys who didn’t care for their education were the “neighborhood bad boys”. These were the ones who skipped school to hang around and they eventually joined gangs. As far as I know, some have been arrested; some have been killed, while others are still in the gangs. It’s a sad life to live when people don’t have a future for themselves, which can make people break the law in order to provide for themselves and their families.
Mary Murphy’s article from Pix11news focused on a specific drug bust in Staten Island, explaining the efforts needed to take the men down and the effect it has on the community. Albanians are a very close knit community, so it makes sense to state that there are many Albanians living in Staten Island, as well as in New York State. Having such a close knit community would have advantages and disadvantages. The fact that Albanians are spread throughout the state would make it possible for this local gang to spread out their ambitions in the other boroughs, hoping to increase revenue as well as credibility. However, their spread also meant that they became a target for the DEA, which is why they were eventually able to arrest members. As a fieldworker, the questions asked would have to be carefully thought out as to not have a negative contradiction towards the Albanian community. In order to make my claims credible, I have to do background research about the Albanians in the community, as well as find out their financials and use that information to make a seasonable statement as to why these people are joining gangs, while knowing that it will only hurt their future.
Murphy showed simple, yet effective statements on her article. However, there is the impression that it was too short and there was not enough background information which could have helped to explain what forced these people to deal in gang activities. I would expect an ethnographer to have a deeper understanding of the people and the community, which is why an ethnographer would make a compelling article that would offer more information. In order to find out about the conditions of the Albanians in the Staten Island community, the ethnographer should interview previous gang members and current gang members, asking them questions such as:
- How do you feel about the current drug problem in the community?
- What are the ways the drug problem can be resolved?
- How do you think you are impacting the legacy of your family name?
- Do you plan on going into a higher education school at some point in your life?
- How do you feel about giving Albanians in America a bad name?
- Would you consider reshaping your life and becoming a mentor for at-risk Albanian youth?
- How did your family handle you when they found out about your “work?”
- Do you think the political leaders are doing enough the tackle the drug problems?
Murphy’s article sheds some light on the drug problem going on in Staten Island while focusing on the arrest of some Albanian gang members as the focal point. That would create a negative outlook on the Albanians living in the area, which would affect the Albanians in that community. With the work of an ethnographer, there would be a better sense of the impact the drugs have on the community, focusing on the antics of the gang members and other people within the community (families, schools, police department). In all, there will be a different point of view as to how and why the Staten Island community is going through this problem currently.
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