Landscape Notebook- Underground/Alternative: Kensington
Kensington is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. This neighborhood is rather infamous for a very high usage of heroin, and an incredibly large amount of drug trading occurring in the area. Deaths are frequent, both from overdoses and from shootings. This frightening scene has been the infamous reputation for the area for quite a while at this point.
The neighborhood has in recent times received internet coverage from people passing through and recording the area, earning it the unflattering nickname of “the city of zombies” due to the amount of people who can often be seen hunched over, shambling, or lying on the ground due to heroin usage, which has often been compared to that of fictional zombies.
Alongside a tragically rampant amount of drug usage, there is also a massive amount of drug trading occurring in the area. The area is said to contain a huge open-air drug market that officials simply can’t seem to get rid of. The drug trade in the area has been estimated at one point to be a “billion-dollar enterprise” by former Pennsylvania attorney general, Josh Shapiro.
The drug trade in turn brought with it a significant uptick in gun violence, as well. As of the day of writing this, there was a 17-year-old shot and put in critical condition yesterday, and looking at past articles, such attacks seem to be an unpleasantly common sight.
Despite all of this, it is important to remember that all of the people there are, in fact, people. They have lives and families that need help, rather than pity, disgust, or shame. No amount of effort has managed to dispel the drug trade in the area, and the people continue to suffer for it. Many from the outside world seem to like peering in and viewing it as a sort of freak show, but these “zombies” are real people, and so many seem to forget that, both here and with addicts around the world.
Image sourced from: https://time.com/jeffrey-stockbridge-kensington-philadelphia-photographs/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/us/philadelphia-kensington-drugs.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/02/20/1232496906/addiction-opioid-overdose-kensington-philadelphia-zombie-tranq
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/video/man-dies-another-injured-after-shooting-in-philadelphias-kensington-neighborhood/
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/policy/2024/05/mayor-cherelle-parkers-kensington-resolution-clears-out-tent-encampment-around-open-air-drug-market/396410/
https://www.phila.gov/media/20231002090544/CHARTv8e3.pdf
Some of these sources were genuinely heartbreaking to read through...
1 comment:
I've heard of this area and it's really sad to hear about the stories that come out of it. A lot of the people who are labelled "zombies" are most likely on Xylazine. According to the NIH "Xylazine, also known as “tranq,” is a veterinary tranquilizer that has been found in some illicit drug supplies. People often use xylazine without knowing it when it is added to other drugs, most frequently fentanyl."
Post a Comment