Protection Racket

Militias, in Africa as elsewhere, have long meant pain and suffering
Intimations of blood and sneering menace underlie their extortion
The through line from self defense units to neighborhood gangs
The stuff of protection rackets imposed by outright thugs
In Haiti and the Central African Republic currently,
In Sierra Leone and Liberia memorably,
In Congo perennially, militias are a blight

If the area boys were initially benign
Touts, they now traffic in grim violence
Bodies for hire, their labor is all too physical
Offers you can't refuse, resolution by any means necessary
In the background, rivalries and monetary interests
Underlying conditions that motivate these predators
Apt to cut you for a nothing, some violation, a perceived slight

The bulk of their ranks, per the analysts, are the lumpenproletariat
Ever changing boundaries, uniforms and unspoken codes of conduct
Territory fiercely protected, lines that the unwary shouldn't cross
Space, the world shrinks down to corners, claustrophobia
The menace of the long walk past them, the unbearable scrutiny
Grudging respect for their power, glad you made it safely home today
Cold comfort, for when in their grip, all that matters is might is right

Protection Racket, a playlist

A soundtrack for this note (spotify version)

• The Militia by Gang Starr
• Trouble by José James
• Shake you down by Gregory Abbott
• Protection by Massive Attack
• Get Yourself Together by Young Disciples
• Gonna Make You and Offer You Can't Refuse by Jimmy Helms
• Trouble by Stanley Turrrentine
• Code of the Streets by Gang Starr

[Update March 2024]

Ten months after writing the above, I note that Haiti is descending into paroxysms of gang violence. It strikes me that this note still has a couple of years to go before being published. I'd rather be wrong about what I write.

File under: militia, gang, social, culture, observation, intimidation, groups, violence, perception, crime, poetry, toli

Writing log: January 21, 2023