No More Bloodshed in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
A Citizens' Fast and Reflection, January 29-30
Messages of Solidarity and Commitments to Fast Requested
Dear Friends,
"In Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, we are going through one of the biggest crises of our history. From the perspective of human rights, we are a city that is deeply wounded, hurt and aggrieved. For three years the bleeding has not stopped. We are living a passion that seems interminable. In the last year, we have suffered more than 3,000 sorrowful murders. Children, youth and adults have been murdered. In 2010, more than 300 women were killed."
Our partners in Mexico have asked us to take action in support of the communities of Ciudad Juárez, afflicted by the most intense violence in the hemisphere. Next Saturday, January 29, marks the first anniversary of a massacre of 18 teenagers in the Villas de Salvárcrar neighborhood of Juárez. January 30 is the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's death. Click here to send a message of solidarity that will be read publicly during this fast, and be sent simultaneously to Mexican authorities.
"We wish to offer to our city, wounded by violence and injustice, a sign of solidarity and hope for the reconstruction of our society based on human values. We also wish to pressure the authorities of the three branches of government to halt this war that continues to profoundly damage our city and to publicly denounce the fact that, given the high levels of impunity, there is no rule of law here."
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"No More Blood" and other Mexican groups held a vigil at the Mexican Inspector General's office January 12.
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This appeal comes to us from ten parishes in Ciudad Juárez, as well as the Paso del Norte Human Rights Center, Migrant Human Rights Center, Woman Worker Pastoral Center and Citizen's Medical Committee of Ciudad Juárez. Activities in Juárez will include a bi-national rally on Saturday, January 29. Residents of Juárez undertake this action at great risk to themselves.
We have a moral and spiritual imperative to support them. The horrific violence in Juárez is fueled by behavior in our society -- by massive U.S. military aid for Mexican army deployment in Juárez, by U.S. lax gun laws and culture, by U.S. drug consumption, and by the drive for cheap consumer goods at any human cost that created bust-and-boom economic devastation in border communities.
The principle answer of the U.S. government to violence in Mexico has been to increase the capacity of the Mexican state -- which is demonstrably implicated in much of the drug trade and armed groups -- for more violence, and it hasn't worked. On the contrary, the number of killings has increased since the U.S.-sponsored, mostly military Merida Initiative began in 2007.
We cannot turn away from this appeal. This will not be the last opportunity to act in solidarity with this besieged community and nation, but it is a critical opportunity.
Please send messages of solidarity (in Spanish or English), with copies to the Mexican president and governor of Chihuahua State where Ciudad Juárez is located.
If you are able to travel to Ciudad Juárez or El Paso to be physically present during this important fast and action, please contact us.
If you can't join the fast physically, consider fasting in your community, or organizing an event in solidarity, and let the folks in Ciudad Juárez know about it. (cdhpasodelnorte@hotmail.com)
Read the full appeal from Ciudad Juárez community groups.
Some resources for further understanding:
Washington Post investigative series on the US gun trade to Mexico, December 2010
"Despatch from Juárez: Fear and Happiness at War", Debbie Nathan, Colorlines, October 2010
"As Juarez Falls," by Ed Vulliamy, part of a special issue of The Nation on drug policy.
Petition/Letter: Uphold Human Rights, Halt Drug War Aid
If you would like to join FOR's exploratory campaign for responding to U.S. policy and violence in Mexico, please click here.
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