Pete Stidman

Dorchester Reporter
January 31, 2008

It is used as a warning, and according to some, it has been seen by every Vietnamese youth in the city.

It starts out simply, with a crowd of Vietnamese youth standing in a parking lot in Fields Corner. But one can be seen kneeling, cradling his head within his arms.

What follows shatters many conceptions held by Dorchester's tight-knit Vietnamese community about their kids. Vietnamese students are among the highest achieving of any cultural group in the city in academics, but even those who attend exam schools and get straight A's are not immune to gang violence.

Originally posted on YouTube, but amazingly kept out of the mainstream media since it was recorded in June, the two-and-a-half minute video shows a brutal gang-beating of two teenagers, one boy and one girl, by over 20 others. Most have been recognized as Dorchester kids. The youngest assailants are in their pre-teens, the oldest are in their early twenties, and it is clear from the video that some of the older men are calling the shots and there are multiple groups involved.

One man snaps his fingers and five teenage girls brutally attack another. Another slaps a young boy, signaling the beginning of a free-for-all with punches kicks and even a bicycle. By the end, both victims are immobile, possibly unconscious.

Police are investigating the incident, according to Boston Police Department spokesperson Elaine Driscoll, but are not revealing details at this time. Both victims, according to multiple sources, survived without serious permanent injuries, but neither the extent of their wounds or their identity have been released.

"It is not surprising to me that the incident happened," said Hiep Chu, director of Viet-AID and a leader in the Vietnamese community. "The Vietnamese family needs a lot more support. It's all coming from a lack of services. The cultural differences and the language are very tough.

"The kids don't necessarily speak Vietnamese anymore, but their parents aren't able to express themselves in English. Their parents don't understand where their kids evolved, on the streets," said Chu.

"They're identifying with these gangs as protection, or as a form of socialization," added Brother Andrew Nowak OFM Cap., an intern at Blessed Mother Teresa School. "This is a result of growing up without community involvement."

Nowak, Chu and others have brought together a coalition to host parents and youth in two roundtable discussions about the youth's needs and how they can be addressed. The group includes the Luc Hoa Buddhist Temple, the Dorchester Youth Collaborative (DYC) and District C-11 police, as well as just about every other institution serving the area and the Vietnamese community. Nowak relates the gathering of forces to that of the Cape Verdean community just before the Teen Center at St. Peter School in Bowdoin-Geneva was created. The first meeting, for parents, is scheduled for March 8 at 42 Charles St., a second meeting, for youth, will follow later in the month.

According to Emmet Folgert, director of DYC and a recognized authority on youth gangs, there are only a few adult Vietnamese gangs and a handful of younger groups, but they see the metro area as one city. Dorchester's groups intermingle with others in Lowell, Revere, Quincy, and other suburbs.

"In terms of Asian criminals out there, there are less boundaries between adults and youth," Folgert said. "There are kids out there 11 and 12 years old involved with criminal enterprise. You just don't see that with Americans. Adults lure kids to their apartments, usually truants, and provide them with protection at first. Before you know it, they're in, and even if they're late to a meeting they'll get a beating. There's tremendous coercion."

Drugs are also provided to the kids, said Folgert such as crack, and ecstasy mixed with speed.

Another point unique to Vietnamese and other Asian gangs is that they generally don't get involved in homicides as often as many other American gangs do. Guns are present, Folgert said, but humiliation is often used as a punishment considered more effective than killing.

"It is intelligent on their part, it brings less attention," said Folgert. "But it really ruins a lot of these young lives."

A spokesperson who identified herself as Kathleen Fitzgerald from YouTube declined to answer questions about the specific video via email, or even explain whether YouTube notifies police when such material is posted or not. The video was removed shortly after it appeared, but not before it was copied and posted to several other less scrupulous websites.

Instead, Fitzgerald sent a statement via e-mail from someone identified only as a "YouTube spokesperson" that said, "if a video shows someone getting 'hurt, attacked, or humiliated,' it will be removed," and that YouTube depends on its users to flag questionable material.

But violence of all kinds can easily be found on YouTube, including gang fights from all over the country, sometimes set to music. Many have argued that the videos engender more violence, and the issue has been debated in legislative bodies all over the world. The videos have also brought attention to problems that need to be addressed.

On Tuesday, a community newspaper in South Tyneside, England, reported on a YouTube posting that depicted brutal teenage violence in that borough. The clips there also prompted a police investigation, just as the one filmed in Dorchester has.

"When I see something like that," said Folgert of the video," the first thing I think of is, is there anything good that can come of this?"

Folgert will participate in the upcoming forums, and also supports legislation being created by Sen. Jack Hart that would enforce harsher penalties for those convicted of a participating in a "group assault" with the aid of three or more persons.