[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 103 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                               EGLI HILA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 24, 2002

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 
Egli Hila, seventh grader at South Middle School in Hartford, 
Connecticut, for being named a finalist in the national Do the Write 
Thing Challenge, and to submit the praiseworthy essay into the 
Congressional Record. I applaud Egli's efforts to tackle the growing 
problem of youth violence.
  The Do the Write Thing Challenge is an initiative of the National 
Campaign to Stop Violence designed to give middle school students the 
opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives and 
to communicate in writing what they think should be done to change our 
culture and violence. The program encourages students to make personal 
commitments to do something about the problem with the ultimate goal of 
helping them break the cycles of violence in their homes, school, and 
neighborhoods.

       In the world, people are faced with different issues as 
     well as different emotions. There are people out there who 
     are suffering from poverty, from lack of security in their 
     lives but most of all people are constantly suffering from 
     violence whether it's at home or in the streets. This 
     eventually leads to physical and mental stress, anguish, 
     pain, fear (and) hurt. No one wants it or even asks for it, 
     but it still comes knocking at your door. What can one do 
     when there is so much pain? Many questions come to mind but 
     so little answers. How has violence affected my life? What do 
     I think the major causes of youth violence are? What can do 
     about youth violence? How can I stop it? I wish it didn't 
     exist but it does and we have to deal with it the best way 
     possible. These questions that have been raised are very hard 
     to answer but I'll try to answer them to the best of my 
     abilities and knowledge.
       I keep repeating the questions in my head over and over 
     again. How has violence affected my life? I can tell you that 
     violence has affected my life but the most common one would 
     be that it makes me angry at times and at other times I'm 
     scared. One word ``violence'' makes me have so many mixed 
     emotions running through me. Imagine what the actions of 
     violence can do to a person. In schools I see fights and I 
     try to understand why it is happening, but I can't. The 
     people fighting are my fellow classmates. I feel bad for them 
     not only because they will get physically hurt in the process 
     but also they will get suspended. What good came out of it? I 
     don't seem to grasp this concept. When the question of how 
     violence has affected my life is addressed to me, I guess I 
     have to say that in a weird way it has worked to benefit 
     because I know what it is and what it leads to, so I try my 
     best to stay away from it. As mentioned earlier, I also get 
     scared because I see all this hate that people have for one 
     another and it's just not right. I get scared because I don't 
     want to to see a world full of hate and full of violence. I 
     am striving for a better world than the one we live in now. 
     In the future, I want to see happiness in people's faces and 
     not sadness.
       There are many causes of youth violence. Unfortunately, too 
     many. The major causes would be domestic violence, meaning 
     violence at home. When the parents for whatever (the) reason 
     may be start hitting one another and they constantly scream 
     and can't keep themselves under control, then it's obvious 
     that a child at home who sees these unpleasant actions will 
     eventually do the same thing in a different environment. Peer 
     pressure is also a very big factor of youth violence. Kids by 
     nature want to fit in especially by being in the ``cool 
     group.'' What better way to fit in than do what the group 
     says? If the group says you have to hurt that person whether 
     it's physically or mentally, you want to do it because then 
     you'll be considered ``cool'' and finally be accepted. That's 
     how most kids fall into the trap and afterwards have a tough 
     time getting out of it. Another cause of violence would be 
     when kids put one another down and they get emotionally hurt. 
     Also, gossip leads to violence because when kids hear these 
     hurtful things being said about them, they want to fight back 
     with the same weapon or go a step further and actually hurt 
     someone physically. Call it revenge but whatever you call it, 
     it will not make a difference because it's violence in the 
     worst way.
       Youth violence is simply very sad to think about. In my 
     opinion, kids should think about doing good in schoolwork, 
     making friends (not enemies) having fun, think about college, 
     careers and have the power to dream for a better life for 
     themselves and the people around them. I have been seriously 
     thinking about this issue and what I can do about youth 
     violence. The only answer I come up with is that I could try 
     and stop it when I see it or if I can't stop the fight then 
     I'll let an adult know what's going on so these kids could 
     get help. These kids then might be able to talk about what's 
     troubling them. I guess this could be a step toward recovery. 
     Don't you agree?
       Youth violence is everywhere but if we can limit is even 
     just a little bit, then I think we have succeeded.

  The courage and dedication that Egli has demonstrated in trying to 
stop youth violence is admirable. Few students would be able to 
verbalize their frustrations, let alone identify causes and solutions 
for youth violence in their schools. Egli Hila is a remarkable student 
and inspiration for other young Americans, and I would urge other 
students to follow Egli's example.

                          ____________________