Photos document the daily toll of youth violence in big cities - PHOTO

Violence is the second leading cause of death among children and the youth in the United States today, a statistic Chicago-raised photographer Carlos Javier says he doesn't need to be told to know.In a moving photo documentary, the horrific youth violence that has plagued the streets of Chicago and other US cities is exposed- from a group of children praying for a young girl who was raped and murdered, to a memorial for a boy who was brutally beaten to death by a baseball bat.'In Chicago in 2012, more than 700 children and youth were struck by gunfire, an average of almost two a day,' Mr Ortiz writes with his past collection titled 'Too Young To Die.' His current project 'We All We Got' is an extension of his other projects chronicling youth violence and, ' will finally collect in one place photographs, essays, and interviews humanizing the victims, survivors, perpetrators, friends and family of those irrevocably affected by the scourge of youth violence,' says the artist's Kickstarter. It's a book meant to 'transcend the electronic confines of the Web and become a tangible, lasting artifact.'And he's long seen it himself as he shows, prompting an emotional tell-all photo diary as the end result.In 2011, Ortiz launched a successful Kickstarter to fund the first phase of his project. 'Since then, his photographs have been exhibited in universities, museums, community spaces and in various Chicago high schools. He has also donated prints to many anti-violence/youth development nonprofits with which he works closely, as well as students and educators seeking to better understand the problem at hand,' say's the artist's fundraising site. 'Some victims are gang members; some are elementary school children, innocent bystanders walking down the street; while others are the intended victims,' he says of the city's slain residents.'This undeclared war stems from a long history of social despair, inequality, poverty, gun violence, and the War on Drugs,' he explains.In one photo an aunt is seen scrubbing her 15-year-old nephew's blood off the pavement after he was murdered.In another, a 14-year-old boy who was shot in the jaw at a birthday party and is paralyzed from the neck down, hangs his head and wishes he could go outside and play.But Mr Ortiz's work also captures the life and beauty within the community that goes on despite the on-going violence it must face.He attributes those people's vibrancy as the hope that carries them forward.'Although many survivors live in fear, their stories are also about hope, love and resilience,' he says. 'My work illustrates the importance of maintaining our collective concern for our children’s future.'Including photos of Philadelphia and Los Angeles in his past collections as well, he warns that violence spreads not within this city's walls but across the country and that all it takes is for people to refrain from standing up and stopping it for it to continue.It's his hope that his work will increase public awareness and understanding of the on-going tragedies that have been long swept under the rug.‘I truly believe that this project has tremendous potential to increase public awareness, promote understanding within affected communities, and stimulate constructive policy debate about the causes of, and solutions to, this ongoing tragedy,’ he states.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az