Beatriz

I came here from Colombia. When I tried to rent an apartment by myself, I was rejected. When I went the next day accompanied by my European friend, the landlady offered us the apartment, saying "Sorry, I didn't know you were white."

Claude

I am a victim of discrimination in our building because I am African. The owner never responds to my request for repairs and the apartment is full of mice and cockroaches. She always tells me "You got this place by luck. I don't want African people in my building."

Samira

The teenagers in my neighborhood always want to show off, to show they are tough like gangsters. It makes me feel uncomfortable going out. On MTV, the singers are always saying F-something. The teenagers think if they act that way, disrespecting others, they will get popular too.

Yolanda

En Nueva York la mayor violencia que he sufrido ha sido la ecomomica, cuando me vi obligada a tener dos trabajos con un salario por debajo de el minimo, sin ningun derecho a horas extras, vacaciones y mucho menos un seguro medico. Considerada como un objeto, una cosa, un numero nunca comoun ser humano.

In New York the biggest violence that I have suffered has been economic. To survive, I was forced to work two jobs with salaries below minimum wage, without any right to overtime pay, vacation and insurance. I was treated as an object, a thing, a number, but never as a human being.

German

A los habitantes de Queens se les cierra las puertas día a día con las leyes de inmigración, se limita el numero de visas y los procesos migratorios tardan 10 años o mas. Me pregunto ¿donde quedo el país de las oportunidades?

To the inhabitants of Queens, doors are closed every day by new immigration laws, the limit on number of visas, and the migratory processes that take 10 years or more. I wonder: what happened to the country opportunities?

François

I worked in a hardware store in Queens. I was told that all workers should clean the toilet and sweep the sidewalk, but because I'm a person of color I was the only one who was made to do it everyday in addition to my regular work.

Charlotte

I am abused everyday within my community and my parents have threatened me with death if we go back to Africa simply because I am a lesbian

Wendy, age 15

At school being out [as a lesbian] was unthinkable, not because the gay kids were beat up but because there were none. It wasn't talked about, thus "not there." In a way, this is mental violence. It makes you die inside.

Mark

I feel the effects of psychological violence in the media quite a bit. Using competitiveness as a tool for sales seems to be on the rise, with every TV commercial and reality show featuring weakest links and winners. This coupled with all the actual war and the way its reported in the news makes it feel like all that exists is competition and violence. The irony is that the vast majority of people don't want this state of affairs at all.