Safe Haven

Safe Haven Kyrese Adams

Introduction The year is 2068. The civil war brought about complete destruction and chaos in the United States. After the election of Donald Trump and increased activity involving hate crime, blacks and whites had been more divided than ever. Most of the war was sparked by police brutality. Racial profiling and the arrests/assaults on blacks by police officers (for ultimately no reason) caused a stir in society.

The United States had never been so divided. Between radical minorities and a growing number of white supremacists, more and more violence began to occur every day. The country was no longer safe for anyone.

It is at this point in the war that blacks (among other minorities) had begun to flee to Canada. Word had spread that these people were now living in refugee camps across the border. The conditions of these camps were not ideal. There was limited food, crowded living arrangements, and illness is being spread at rapid speeds. I was curious to find out more about the conditions of these communities and what the daily life of these refugees truly looked like.

The most pressing matter that I wanted to research was the gang affiliations within these camps. There had been word of gang violence between refugees. My biggest concern as an anthropologist, was to discover where these confrontations stemmed from. Why wouldn’t people with a similar cause and similar stories find more unity in these

camps? Why was division such a common theme in the society we were living in? I proposed a study in these refugee camps. My plan was to take my team across the border to research and observe. I wanted to learn about the everyday life of these refugees, observe their conflicts as a community, and create this speculative ethnography with the hopes that I could bring it back to the United States and educate the general public about the conditions of these camps.

Ecology The air in this world was full of debris. All the damage from the civil war had polluted the surrounding area.

It was difficult to breathe and maneuver through all the dust. This pollution had taken a toll on the surrounding plants as well. Everything appeared to be dead. The earth appeared abandoned and empty after the damages from the war. The pollution from the shootings and bombings and riots in the streets doesn’t only take a toll on the environment. It affected the survivors of the war as well.

One of the hardships that the survivors faced was severe lung damage from the harsh conditions of the environment. In most cases, people had developed bronchitis or asthma. All the pollution and debris that was brought on by the war left a lot of damage on this society. Another medical problem that survivors faced (specifically those who fought in the war) was lead poisoning. With the increased gun activity, there were much more cases of lead poisoning due to the spread of lead powder from the weapons. There were several other health-related complications due to lead poisoning, which made this a complicated threat in the world that was left after the civil war.

The final environmental change that occurred as a result of the war was the effect of the decomposure of bodies on the ground. There were so many casualties from the war that most of the bodies weren’t moved. This was another reason for unsanitary and dangerous conditions in this

future world. America was not what it used to be. It was desolate, unsafe, and damaged beyond repair.

Gender There were men and women and transgender people as well. There were people of all ages spread throughout many refugee camps. There were many different beliefs and religions. People aligned with gangs that were affiliated with the same or similar beliefs. These alike mindsets formed the bonds within the gangs. These bonds made the members closer than blood. Not everyone agreed on the same ideals. Some people had no ideals and were neutral.

Neutral people could become casualties. When people disagreed on ideas it most often lead to violence or retaliation.

Men and women aligned with one another. Together they often shared hatred for the transgender community. In return, the transgender community had closed their doors and stopped trying to make peace with people who aligned themselves against the transgender community.

Transgender people were frequent targets of attacks within the camps. They were only a small portion of the population. Being outnumbered heavily lead to daily bullying and harassment. With few resources to go around as well, the men and women rarely shared supplies with the transgender community.

Women were seen in similar lights to men, there was no work in these camps that women were not allowed to do.

Within smaller subcultures in the camps, there are some women that lead gangs. Women in those gangs celebrated

strength and power for their gender, which was something that women weren’t frequently celebrated for in the past.