Dead-End Lives : Drugs and Violence in the City Shadows

“Julia" nervously emerges from her shabby tent in the suburban wastelands on the outskirts of Madrid to face another day of survival in one of Europe’s most problematic ghettos: she is homeless, wanted by the police, and addicted to heroin and cocaine. She is also five months pregnant and rarely makes contact with support services. Welcome to the city shadows in Valdemingómez: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Briggs and Monge entered this area with only their patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone and collected vivid testimonies and images of Julia and others like her who live there. This important book documents what they found, locating these people's stories and situations in a political, economic and social context of spatial inequality and oppressive mechanisms of social control.“Julia" nervously emerges from her shabby tent in the suburban wastelands on the outskirts of Madrid to face another day of survival in one of Europe’s most problematic ghettos: she is homeless, wanted by the police, and addicted to heroin and cocaine. She is also five months pregnant and rarely makes contact with support services. Welcome to the city shadows in Valdemingómez: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Briggs and Monge entered this area with only their patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone and collected vivid testimonies and images of Julia and others like her who live there. This important book documents what they found, locating these people's stories and situations in a political, economic and social context of spatial inequality and oppressive mechanisms of social control DEAD-END LIVES Contents List of photos, figures and tables Photos Figures Table About the authors Acknowledgements Personal acknowledgements Preface Foreword Glossary of terms 1. Introduction: Welcome to Valdemingómez Meet Juan and Julia Welcome to Europe’s largest ghetto The case for a new form of analysis An honest justification of our methodology Structure of the book 2. Politics, ‘democracy’ and the ideology of the postmodern city Introduction A world in perpetual crisis Distracting times in liquid modernity Urban outcast in context The political economy of social suffering 3. Madrid: History, social processes and the growth in inequality Historical evolution of the Cañada Real Galiana Economic change in Spain Class stratification, economic growth and immigration Madrid, inequality and space 4. Drugs, cultural change and drug markets Introduction Drug use and cultural change in Spain A la cárcel: The shortcomings of punitive laws in the 1980s and 1990s 5. Journeys to dependence Introduction Journeys to dependence Dependence displacement: From X to Valdemingómez Dependence acceleration: Living in Valdemingómez 6. Life in the city shadows: Work, identity and social status Introduction Zonal containment of illegality Los gitanos: A history of working on the margins Drug users: Working in the margins Daily life and relationships 7. The council, police and health services: An impasse to solutions Introduction The council Law enforcement agencies: The National Police, Local Police and Civil Guard The harm reduction team Miscellaneous help 8. Post dependency: What next? Introduction Dependency denial Treatment sequences Appearances and disappearances Killing me softly: Overdose and death 9 9. Not really the conclusion Introduction Ethnography in a time of neoliberal politics Drugs, the global political economy and personal decision-making The collapse of the left and the rise of the right Space, capital and processes of social cleansing Consented violence and its cultural norms Abstinence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder and nor does harm reduction: drug dependence in context References Index Intro -- DEAD-END LIVES -- Contents -- List of photos, figures and tables -- Photos -- Figures -- Table -- About the authors -- Acknowledgements -- Personal acknowledgements -- Preface -- Foreword -- Glossary of terms -- 1. Introduction: Welcome to Valdemingómez -- Meet Juan and Julia -- Welcome to Europe's largest ghetto -- The case for a new form of analysis -- An honest justification of our methodology -- Structure of the book -- 2. Politics, 'democracy' and the ideology of the postmodern city -- Introduction -- A world in perpetual crisis -- Distracting times in liquid modernity -- Urban outcast in context -- The political economy of social suffering -- 3. Madrid: History, social processes and the growth in inequality -- Historical evolution of the Cañada Real Galiana -- Economic change in Spain -- Class stratification, economic growth and immigration -- Madrid, inequality and space -- 4. Drugs, cultural change and drug markets -- Introduction -- Drug use and cultural change in Spain -- A la cárcel: The shortcomings of punitive laws in the 1980s and 1990s -- 5. Journeys to dependence -- Introduction -- Journeys to dependence -- Dependence displacement: From X to Valdemingómez -- Dependence acceleration: Living in Valdemingómez -- 6. Life in the city shadows: Work, identity and social status -- Introduction -- Zonal containment of illegality -- Los gitanos: A history of working on the margins -- Drug users: Working in the margins -- Daily life and relationships -- 7. The council, police and health services: An impasse to solutions -- Introduction -- The council -- Law enforcement agencies: The National Police, Local Police and Civil Guard -- The harm reduction team -- Miscellaneous help -- 8. Post dependency: What next? -- Introduction -- Dependency denial -- Treatment sequences -- Appearances and disappearances Welcome to the dead end of the city shadows in Valdemingómez on the outskirts of Madrid: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Having had three national research proposals rejected, Briggs and Monge entered this area with no institutional support or formal funding. With only patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone, they slowly gained the trust of those who live and visit one of Europe's most problematic ghettos, and collected images and testimonies from drug addicts, gypsies, residents, police, and harm-reduction staff. The result is this disturbing but moving account of how a forgotten population of people survive in a desolate misery having fallen casualty to various social, political and economic processes, and as a consequence, internalize and reproduce this suffering through destructive forms of drug use which compromises their own health and wellbeing. The text also charts how neoliberal governance and rampant corruption have produced this area of spatial inequality: a place which lacks infrastructure, decent public health and is controlled by oppressive urban social control structures which are charged with intervening on this haven for organised crime, drug dealing, and brutal forms of violence. Briggs and Monge two-year study use the words and photos from these peoples’ personal stymies and their work is testament to what is possible beyond the realms of increasingly bureacratised academic research structures and biased funding calls Julia nervously emerges from her shabby tent in the suburban wastelands on the outskirts of Madrid to face another day of survival in one of Europe's most problematic ghettos: she is homeless, wanted by the police, and addicted to heroin and cocaine. She is also five months pregnant and rarely makes contact with support services. Welcome to the city shadows in Valdemingómez: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Briggs and Monge entered this area with only their patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone and collected vivid testimonies and images of Julia and others like her who live there. This important book documents what they found, locating these people's stories and situations in a political, economic and social context of spatial inequality and oppressive mechanisms of social control-- Provided by publisher "Julia" nervously emerges from her shabby tent in the suburban wastelands on the outskirts of Madrid to face another day of survival in one of Europe's most problematic ghettos: she is homeless, wanted by the police, and addicted to heroin and cocaine. She is also five months pregnant and rarely makes contact with support services. Welcome to the city shadows in Valdemingo mez: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Briggs and Monge Gamero entered this area with only their patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone and collected vivid testimonies and images of Julia and others like her who live there. This important book documents what they found, locating these people's stories and situations in a political, economic and social context of spatial inequality and oppressive mechanisms of social control. Book jacket. "Julia" nervously emerges from her shabby tent in the suburban wastelands on the outskirts of Madrid to face another day of survival in one of Europe's most problematic ghettos: she is homeless, wanted by the police, and addicted to heroin and cocaine. She is also five months pregnant and rarely makes contact with support services. Welcome to the city shadows in Valdemingómez: a lawless landscape of drugs and violence where the third world meets the Wild West. Briggs and Monge Gamero entered this area with only their patience, some cigarettes and a mobile phone and collected vivid testimonies and images of Julia and others like her who live there. This important book documents what they found, locating these people's stories and situations in a political, economic and social context of spatial inequality and oppressive mechanisms of social control. Book jacket Using vivid testimonies and images, Briggs and Monge Gamero document the stories and situations of the people who live in Valdemingómez, placing them in a political, economic and social context. Using vivid testimonies and images, Briggs and Monge document the stories and situations of the people who live in Valdemingomez , placing them in a political, economic and social context.