Guns Out This Morning Rough Draft

The following is the first of our journal series from students at Operation Restoration. While in the future they'll be more final, this is simply a rough draft written today during an exercise. Names of the students will not be mentioned for safety. Questions can be left in comments. Much of it is in patois, or refers to specific local vocabulary, but this is a genuine journal, and I think you'll get the general vibe.
Stay tuned for more in the future too, and make sure you look for more daily details on my blog! (Link on right side).
Love,
Annie Kopena

Topic: Guns out this morning

One night, a Wednesday night, we hear some shots start fire in my yard, and we wake up in the morning, and hear that Tunsy dead. Big man come up into the scheme and say the killer is there. Then them start walk and search in people, two girl have gun, and them son them have some baton iron and say they gonna beat killers. However, in the evening again, big shot start fire, because them switch side, side get mixed up.
You have Angola, Brooklyn, Jungle Top, Texas, and Havanna.* Whole of them side there, deh pon one side against Jonestown, Mexico, two more I can’t remember. So the war kick off (2005). Hear gun shot morning noon and night. Then the side of Jungle Top, come in Brooklyn and steal two girls, and a son. Brooklyn and Jungle not friend again, they start war them warring.
Next night again gunshot a fire, a man from Angola start fire shot off at Brooklyn. So the war kick off between Brooklyn and Angola. War broke down Brooklyn a war with Angola now. Hottest war me ever see. Men wrap up them face like ninja, and go down and slap shot. Men walk like police, and slap shot in party. Until a time you hear man a come, they say they run come up in Brooklyn party and start fire big shot. Two men come round one have a 12 gauge and one have a rifle, come from Brooklyn you know. The start wet it. Angola men say they send the heat pon them, and then run out back. Gone back in them scheme. And after two weeks time they call Omar Davis, and Omar Davis and bring real Babylon, the polic. They start make peace. Then Brooklyn men say "Wha ya do make peace, after you start it, come out of we terra terra clot** scheme cause onnu start it." But then, after that peace come. The war cease now. So every body live happier now. A lot of talking me hear go round though, so I don’t know how long the peace will last. Whenever they say peace, within a year time another war start. Some of them wait till school lock, summer time, and start up again.

*neighborhoods/gangs
**stream of (strong) vulgarities