Violence

Update

I just finished my first week back in Tucson after spending the holidays with family in Pittsburgh.  It was nice to be back home.  I got to hang out with my sisters a bit, make our traditional Christmas breakfast, catch up with my wonderful Waverly family, and see snow!  We had a lazy Christmas, not waking up until late and then spending time with our g-pa.  I got to catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones.  At the New Year's party that I attended, there was a potbellied pig as well as some amazing family friends.  The Sunday before I left, I got to share my experiences as a Tucson YAV and as a BorderLinks educator at Waverly and left feeling supported and uplifted by the questions, concerns, and interest in my time here.  But, I am glad to be back, although a bit anxious.

Violence

Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, where the BorderLinks Mexico office is located has been experiencing increased violence recently which has affected our ability to bring groups down to visit.   Because their trafficking has been disrupted by additional police forces, the cartel members in Nogales are now resorting to kidnapping for ransom and harassment of small businesses.  This hasn't been making the news in the United States for the most part, but I have heard many first hand accounts from colleagues in Nogales about the sudden upsurge.

Last week, I sat across the table from Jeanette, Cecilia, Marycruz, and Manuel as they talked about the ways in which the violence has personally affected their families, friends, and neighbors.  Each is connected to someone who has either been kidnapped, robbed, or harrassed in the past weeks.  Ceci had tears in her eyes from the pain of the experiences.  Sitting across from these people who I admire so much, I felt humbled and helpless.   What could I do?  I have the priviledge of not living in that situation.  I can sit at this computer right now and be almost positive that I don't have to worry about a stray bullet coming through the window or about my sisters being kidnapped.  That is not a privilege that my collegues have.  And that is hard to deal with.  For now, I am there for them, listening to their stories, leaving the space for talking and for silence.  I give hugs and share laughter. 

What more can I do?  I guess this is partly why I came to BorderLinks.  I can educate.  I can talk with delegations, friends, and family about the ways in which our decisions and choices affect what is going on in our communities near and far.  For example, all of the drug cartels smuggle large amounts of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs into the United States.  Guess why?  Because there is the demand here.  And I hate to say it, but a lot of the demand comes from small "progressive" liberal arts colleges like...Beloit.  I know so many people who smoke pot recreationally without giving a second thought to where it comes from, who got it to them, and how it may be affecting the larger system.  What if our demand dropped?  What if we started looking at how what we do, how we act, and how the decisions we make affected others?

There would still be problems in the world, no doubt, but I also think that society would be a lot more accepting, open, and self reflective.

Please keep the city of Nogales, the country of Mexico, and everywhere in the world where violence, hatred, greed, and anger are present, in your thoughts this day and all days.