Aiyana Jones: Killed in Warfare

I sit down to write tonight with a heavy heart. As a mother of a young girl, the killing of 7-year-old Aiyana Jones infuriates me to the point of tears. I was horrified to learn that not only was the sleeping girl shot in the forehead (not the neck as others have reported), but that she was also set on fire by the use of the controversial "flashbang" grenade. It conjured up an image of Kim Phùc, the young Vietnamese girl who was photographed running towards the camera as napalm burn her naked body during an attack on her village during the Vietnam war- an innocent caught in the middle of warfare. Sadly, today, Aiyana Jones, is that innocent.  However "accidental" the killing may have been, the use of such brutal force and measure reminds us that we are in a state of war.

Kim Phùc. 9-years-old, fleeing napalm attack. Vietman, 1972.

In America, we tend to think that warfare happens in far away jungles or deserts. We often think of Humvees, bombs lighting up the sky, and the sounds of never-ending rounds of ammunition. If that's war then that doesn't happen here in America, or does it?

A flashbang grenade set Aiyana on fire.

While contemplating what to post today, I found myself overwhelmed by all the deaths I could site as an example of police warfare. The endless names and faces of slain children and young men filled my head as I made my morning coffee. The most fresh in my mind: Oscar Grant. Then Deandre Brunston, who caught over 80 bullets, armed with a slipper. Then the unarmed Sean Bell. Then Amadou Diallo, shot 40 times, armed with a wallet. Reaching farther back, Life Africa, a 3-week-old baby, stomped to death while his mother was trying to defend his father from being beaten by police in 1976. But nothing says warfare more to me than the bombing of the MOVE house by Philadelphia police on May 13, 1985. Argue what you might about MOVE and their philosophies, but on that day the police fired over 10,000 rounds of ammunition and dropped a bomb on the house killing 11 people, 5 of them children and destroying 65 homes. If that’s not warfare, I don’t know what is.

 

MIKE AFRICA JR: the May 13, 1985 bombing of MOVE 

 MOVE house on fire after bombing. 

Let’s look to see what police do next. New reports are now saying that the “The First 48” footage shows that the shot that killed Aiyana may have been fired from the porch outside, not inside as the result of a scuffle with the grandmother.  Another thing to watch for: the burned blanket that Aiyana was sleeping under.  The family reports that it was removed from the scene. There also appears to be one independent witness. Undoubtedly, the cover up will ensue. Stay tuned and stay woke.

Read Adrienne Maree's piece on Aiyana Jones.
Read my piece on  Oscar Grant.

All sources for MOVE:
http://kasamaproject.org/2008/12/02/mumia-abu-jamal-enemy-of-the-state/
http://home.clara.net/heureka/gaia/move.htm
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/special/MOVE_through_the_years.html#axzz0oEV9SOCh
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100513_Ramona_Africa_still_carrying_the_MOVE_message.html#axzz0oEPzVkxc
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/dregeye/move.html