by Liu Yang
BALTIMORE, United States, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- "America is one of the most violent places on Earth," 45-year-old Erricka Bridgeford lamented.
Speaking from her West Mulbery neighborhood in West Baltimore, one of the most violence cities in the country, she seems to have a point.
A city of 620,000, Baltimore has already seen 208 homicides this year, averaging one murder every 19 hours.
By comparison, the number was 318 for the entire year of 2016, which has made Baltimore the city with the most number of homicides in the United States, ranking the 37th in the world.
Feeling that she's had enough, Bridgeford organized the Baltimore Ceasefire, a grassroot movement calling on fellow Baltimoreans to put a hold on violence for 72 hours, between Friday and Sunday.
"I have been seeing murder since I was 12 years old," Bridgeford said, "My brother was murdered, one of my other brothers was shot and died on arrival (at hospital)."
"I go to at least three or four funerals every year, some years I go to two funerals in one day," she said.
To raise awareness, Bridgeford and her team had thousands of posters, T-shirts, flyers made with the movement's slogan: "Nobody kill anybody for 72 hours."
In addition to posting flyers across the city, Bridgeford and her team on Friday also gave out pamphlets to passerbys and passing drivers on the corner of Edmondson Avenue and Wildwood Parkway, just blocks away from the most deadly neighborhood in the city, where even walking in broad daylight could invite trouble.
Most drivers reacted with a light beep of horn in show of support, while others rolled down windows to shout out a word of encouragement.
"As an individual it feels like there's nothing you can personally do about it, and this proves that wrong," Bridgeford said.
Bridgeford's sentiment was echoed by fellow organizer who identified himself as Ogun.
"Usually the citizens will be numb to someone dying this weekend. This actually stops that from that happening," he said.
The reaction in the neighborhood has been somewhat mixed, according to Bridgeford, "Some people go immediately this is a sigh of relief... and then some people say I think it's stupid, I think it's not going to work."
"Still, when I'm walking away they say but keep trying though," Bridgeford said.
According to the movement's Facebook page, liked by nearly 3,000 people, dozens of activities filled the three-day calendar, including rallies, walks, and praying service.
Despite the strong push against violence, the larger picture seems grim.
The number of murders steadied below 250 between 2008 and 2014, but then jumped to more than 300 in 2016 and exceeded 200 in July this year.
According to the Washington Post, the rampant violence has to do in part with the absence of law enforcement.
Statistics gathered by local media showed that at least half of the city's yearly homicide cases went cold, and the number of arrests has also shown a startling drop despite concurrent spikes in homicide numbers.
"These are all just a result of American oppression," Bridgeford said, attributing the violence epidemic to a more underlying factor.
There are people on top and in the bottom, Bridgeford said, adding that "of course the people at the bottom of that structure are going to use the same tactics to find their power as the people at the top use."
Bridgeford acknowledged that the goal for a murder-free weekend won't be easily achieved. A similar event held in May over Mother's day weekend fell short of its target after two people were killed.
"In human evolution," she said, "people have to try and try again and try again for things to change."
