photo: Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune

After 25 cities, 5760 miles, and 30 days the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity is in Washington, DC for the final days of action, press conferences, and lobbying to bring a human face to the costs of the War on Drugs to our nation’s capitol. 

Global Exchange’s Organizing Director, Kirsten Moller just returned from her leg of the trip and recounts her experiences of going from Texas through the Deep South, and into Chicago.

In Austin, TX Global Exchange’s Executive Director, Carleen Pickard passed the baton on to me to begin my leg of the journey with the Caravan for Peace.

From Austin we headed to Houston, TX where we performed a final act of buying, destroying and burying (in blocks of cement) an assault weapon to commemorate the huge numbers of people killed by weapons crossing the border from Texas into Mexico.

Going from Texas and heading into the Deep South was a profound experience for the members of the Caravan for Peace. Leaving a state, which was once Mexico, and shares deep cultural and historical ties for the state of Mississippi was like crossing an international border. The South, drenched in the history of the civil rights movement and suffering from a different kind of poverty, was a real eye opener for many of us.

Though the effects of the drug war in local communities are apparent in the South, as the victims of Mexico traveled through the towns, there was a definite collective and visceral realization that the struggle is the same.

Hurricane Isaac kept us from visiting New Orleans where a fabulous host committee had been prepared to meet the group. They survived the storm and are committed to continue their community organizing and work against the police corruption fueled by the War on Drugs.

photo: Caravan for Peace

After that detour, we were fortunate to have the Central United Methodist Church in Jackson, MS agree to host the group for two days instead of one and because of the visit, have expressed a strong interest in getting involved in the work of the local host committee, the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance (MIRA).

In the ornately decorated Rotunda of the Capitol building and the former Supreme Court chambers, the Caravan members exchanged testimonials with politicians, the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, the Children’s Defense Fund, and local activists.

Mississippi has the second highest per capita prison population in the country. “We’re losing a whole generation to the prison system,” said Father Jerry Tobin. The war on drugs is really a war on whole communities who are losing their civil rights in order to support for-profit prisons like the Correction Corporation of America, a prison system now used to hold undocumented immigrants as well.

Heading to Montgomery we stopped to walk across the historic Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, made famous by the Civil Rights movement as the site where, in 1965, peaceful demonstrators were attacked as they tried to march to the capitol. Here Dr. Poe of NAACP and Javier Sicilia made the connections between the current struggle to end the drug war and the lessons we have to learn from the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

In Montgomery, AL there was a press conference featuring the NAACP and the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ) calling for a focus on effective preventative and rehabilitative policies that have been proven to decrease drug abuse and associated violent crime instead of the current drug war policies. The ACIJ spoke about the new anti-immigrant law, HB56, calling for immigrants to ‘self-deport’ from Alabama, ignoring the fact that many can no longer safely return to their homelands due to the violent conditions created by the War on Drugs.

Elizabeth Brezovich, of ACIJ:
“We welcome the Caravan for Peace and the opportunity it provides the people of Alabama to learn about the interdependence of our countries and the effects of American domestic and foreign policies.”

Dr. Sharon Richards (NAACP) then invited us to a mega party in a mega church with a Job Corps choir and a drug program graduation ceremony and mountains of soul food!

photo: Caravan for Peace

From Montgomery we traveled on to Atlanta, GA where the Latino population is large and the Martin Luther King. Jr. Center creates a peaceful, yet powerful place to root the tradition of non-violent organizing. Reverend Durley of the Ebenezer Church extolled on the links to the past and urged us to Organize! Organize! Organize! as we laid flowers on the tomb and marched to the capitol building.

In the morning a men’s breakfast club hosted at the local Presbyterian Church brought out a dialogue about the failures of the Drug War and how it is used as a pretext to rob whole communities of their democratic rights. A prominent local prosecutor admitted that people caught in the War on Drugs, even for the smallest offenses can legally be discriminated against for the rest of their lives – in employment, housing and in some states in voting.

Then in Fort Benning, Georgia, we were invited by the School of Americas Watch to participate in a Die-In at the gates of Fort Benning  to highlight the role of U.S. military support and the thousands murdered during the past six years in Mexico. Family members of the victims and their allies, left photographs of their loved ones, signs and crosses on the main entrance’s sign.

photo: Caravan for Peace

After our time in the South, we made our way north to Chicago, IL with a stopover in Louisville, KY where churches, again, came to the rescue with delicious food and spacious lodging. Many of the victims on the bus commented on how generous the churches in the U.S . were, how much hospitality we experienced and how shocked they were at the levels of poverty and income disparity there are in the US. The myth of the streets paved with gold continues to be one of the biggest US exports.

In Chicago, the host committee arranged a three mile hike from the Latino community into the largely African American neighborhood bringing a message of unity and an analysis of what prohibition meant to Chicago historically and why that understanding of history is still relevant.

From Chicago, we drove through the rain to Toledo and Cleveland, OH where private prisons are a growing industry with groups organizing against them.

Much appreciation to the exhausted caravaneros, Sicilia and others from Mexico and the United States who have lost loved ones to the drug war and have led the Caravan for Peace on this journey highlighting the connections across borders and communities, strengthening and appreciating the local organizing and encouraging us to continue the struggle.

The next Caravan update installment will focus on the last leg of the journey.

60,000 dead. 10,000 kidnapped. 160,000 internally displaced.

These are the numbers and statistics that the War on Drugs has produced since 2006.

Here’s another one: Only 2% of all crimes committed in Mexico are investigated and solved.

Behind these numbers are actual people. Mothers. Fathers. Brothers. Sisters. Neighbors. Friends. All united by tragedy afflicted by the drug war. But, out of these tragedies the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity seeks to bring “consolation, justice, and the path toward peace.”

The story of the Peace Caravan started with the loss of a loved one. In March of 2011, Javier Sicilia’s 24 year old son was killed by drug traffickers in Mexico. Sicilia describes him as “an athlete and professional who never tried drugs” that became an innocent victim in this “imbecilic war.” And it was with this loss that Javier Sicilia started the organization Movimiento por la Paz (Movement for Peace) to give a name and face to those that died and also giving a voice to the families of the victims.

Now traveling in two buses on the Caravan for Peace are 40 family members with their individual stories about their loved ones and one common goal to show the real costs of the drug war. Here are some of their stories:

Aracely Rodrí­guez – Mother of Luis Ángel León Rodrí­guez. In November of 2009, her son, a federal police officer was kidnapped and killed when he and his fellow officers refused to cooperate with a drug cartel in the state of Michoacán. She was told that they cut up their bodies with a chain saw and tossed their body parts in corrosive chemicals so the bodies would never be found. She is on the Caravan to “speak about the nightmare we are suffering in Mexico.” Read the profile on her in the Los Angeles Times. 

Maria Ignacia Gonzalez Vela – Mother of Andrés Ascención González, disappeared on March 27, 2011 in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. She was on the phone with him when she suddenly heard him tell someone to drive faster. It was later found out that drug dealers had took her son.

Maria Guadalupe Guzman Romo and Maria Guadalupe Muñoz – Mother and sister of Miguel Orlando Muñoz, victim of forced disappearance in Ciudad Juárez on May 8, 1993. He was in the military, and reports show that he had stood up against his superior military personnel who had links to drug-trafficking operations in the area.

Dora Elvia Aguirre and Rosa Pérez Triana – Mothers of Guadalupe Coral Pérez Triana and Judith Ceja Aguirre, disappeared on July 24, 2011 along with Juanita Alemán, Almirsa Janet de León, Cinthia Lozano y Alma Mónica Álvarez García, when they where going from Reynosa, Tamaulipas to Monterrey, Nuevo León. Both mothers are part of the NGO Citizens in Support for Human Rights AC (CADHAC), which has documented hundreds of disappearances in the state of Nuevo León.

Guadalupe Aguilar – Mother of José Luis Arana Aguilar, disappeared in Tonalá, Jalisco, on January 17, 2011. It is suspected that the police in Tonalá were involved with this disappearance.

Benito Paredes – Benito comes as a representative for the Peoples of Morelos Council where there are more than 85 indigenous communities are experiencing problems with aggression, kidnappings, and murders.

Santos de la Cruz Carrillo – He is here representing the Wixárika people. The Mexican government is trying to give away 6,000 acres of their sacred land to a mining company. The mining operations would pollute and dry out their holy springs.

Sacario Hernández – He was wrongfully accused of murder, put in jail for five years and 51 days, and after a 35 day hunger strike, he was released and later exonerated. In his words, “I come to accompany the Caravan to demand justice for the victims who have suffered and to demand freedom for Profesor Alberto Patishtan Gómez as a political and conscience prisoner, who is a tzotzil indígena from Chiapas…. “In Mexico, guns are not only used for killing us each other, but for criminalizing Human Rights Defenders and mainly to the indigenous and outcast people from Mexico and Chiapas where they got us dying in jails.”

Gabino Israel Anzurez – Gabino is on the Caravan as representative of the Frente de Pueblos en Defensa da le Tierray al Agua (Peoples Front in Defense of the Land and Water). A thermoelectric plants is being built in his town without the communities permission, which would affect their surrounding environment, water reserves, and ultimately their lives.

Leticia Mora Nieto – Leticia is the mother of 22 year old Georgina Ivonne Ramírez Mora, who disappeared on May 30th 2011 on her way to the supermarket to pick up supplies for dinner. She never returned. Leticia is on the Caravan to represent other mothers whose daughters have disappeared.

08-SantaFE-VA from TUTTLE FILMS on Vimeo.

Arturo Malvido Conway – Arturo is on the Caravan to tell the story of his brother who was killed outside his home in Mexico City on August 11, 1997.

Teresa Vera Alvarado – Teresa comes representing her sister Minerva, a generous woman who often gave food, water, and clothes to passing migrants near the railway where she lived. She went out one day to a beauty parlor near her home, only to never come back.

Lourdes Campos Romo – Mother of Guillermo Gustavo Navarro Campos, murdered on June 16th, 2010. He was an organizer and an activist. Despite the violence that built up in his community he made sure to remind his neighbors to stay united to fight against insecurity in order to achieve change. He fought to create a family welfare program in the community to improve the standard of living for those living in the neighborhood. On June 16th 2012, he was shot five times through his window.

María Salvadora Coronado – María comes to represent her husband, Mauricio Aguilar, a kind and friendly person that loved soccer and always put others before himself. He disappeared from their home in Cordoba, Veracruz on May 27, 2011.

Olga Reyes – Her family are well-known human rights activists from Chihuahua that were able to organize and prevent the installation of a landfill in their community. For this, and for protesting against the growing militarization of their state. six members of her family have been killed and several others are living in exile to avoid the threats by cartels and public servants of the Mexican government.

Melchor Flores – Father of Juan Melchor Flores Hernández, better knwon as “El vaquero galáctico.” His son performed as a human statue on streets and various city squares throughout the country. He was repeatedly detained by police for not having the correct permit to perform. The last time he was detained was in Monterrey, Nuevo León on January 19, 2009. He has not been seen since.

José Carlos Castro – His family disappeared on January 6th 2011. A group of armed men broke into his home and took his wife, Josefina Campillo Carreto the former Mayor of Atocpan, Veracruz. They also took his daughters Joahana Montserrat Castro Campillo an Architecture intern at the University of Veracruz, and 19 year old, Karla Verónica Castro Campillo, a student of Graphic Design, at Getzal University.

Margarita López – She is the mother of 19 year old Yahaira Guadalupe who was taken from her home in Oaxaca by a group of armed men on April 13th, 2011. After faces multiple threats, some from authorities, during her search for answers on the disappearance of her daughter, she found out she was tortured, raped, and then decapitated. “I cannot breathe without thinking about my girl. Help me. Help me to let people know what’s happening.” Read the profile on her in the Los Angeles Times. 

María Herrera – She is the mother of four sons that have disappeared. Two of them from Atoyac de Álvarez, Guerrero, and two in Poza Rica, Veracruz. Raul and Jesus went missing in August 2008 and Luis and Gustavo in September 2010, all disappearing without a trace. She is on the Caravan with her 5th son, Juan Carlos Trujillo Herrera. When addressing a crowd in Alamo, TX she explained why she is on the Caravan, “At this time we are not fighting for our own but for each and every one of the children of the people who are here. Their hope is to stop the violence. We do not want more people to go through the pain that we have been going through.” Read the profile on her in the Los Angeles Times. 

The peace movement in Mexico has given these families of the victims the courage to step forward and honor their loved ones and demand justice. Despite the reality of fellow peace activists getting killed, the movement continues on.

No matter where we stand on any of the issues that this Caravan is bringing to light, we can all relate to the love we feel for our family and friends and will hopefully take time to reflect on the violence that brought all of this together.

As Javier Sicilia wrote, “Don’t wait until that pain reaches your intimate lives to hear the cry of those of us who cannot keep from uttering it: do not wait until the senseless death that this war has unleashed reaches your lives like it has reached ours, to know that such death exists and that it must be stopped. This is the moment for us to come together and change this policy of war and rescue peace, life and democracy.”

And as the poet does whenever he speaks about the victims, let us join in honoring those lost with a moment of silence.

…

In El Paso, TX the names of those killed in Mexico’s Drug War were projected on the side of the Annunciation House building, in this act of protest against harmful U.S. policies which fuel these deaths.

Children in Austin sing to Caravan to remind us why this is important

Global Exchange Executive Director Carleen Pickard, who spent the last week with the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity,has handed the baton over to Global Exchange Director of Organizing Kirsten Moller who caught up with the Caravan in Austin, Texas. Kirsten shares some of her first experiences:

—

Aztec dancers welcome caravan to Austin church

After months of working behind the scenes in San Francisco- talking to host committees all across the country, painting banners, and booking hotel rooms for our bus drivers, I am finally on the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity.

We waited in the hot (though they call this mild) sun in front of the Capitol building in Austin for the two buses and the infamous RV to arrive. Aztec Dancers and the famous Austin ‘live music sound’ welcomed the bus when it arrived and the well-oiled team of Austin volunteers moved into place. Pop up tents for shades, ice chest full cold water, tables, name tags, security — not a detail was missed.

Ana Correa, Organizer in Austin

Ana Yanez-Correa of the Criminal Justice Coalition introduced the caravan and made the link between the deaths, disappearance and despair in Mexico and the increasing criminalization of Communities of Color in the US. As an immigrant herself and as a member of the NAACP she provides a unique bridge linking issues across the border.

She is proud of the decision of the national NAACP to endorse the caravan at its 102nd Annual National Convention in July. The NAACP  called for a repeal of the War on Drugs strategy noting that policies have failed to decrease illegal drug addiction or violence in our communities. The NAACP declared that under the current drug policies, statistics demonstrate that laws are more harshly enforced in African American communities and other communities of color.

Demonstrator on the capital steps in Austin

African Americans are 13 times more likely to go to jail for the same drug-related offenses than their Caucasian counterparts. And like the caravan they agree that smart and safe criminal justice initiatives are more effective in addressing drug abuse and its associated effects. These new initiatives include: sentencing reform to eliminate disparities in drug laws, repealing mandatory minimum sentences, promoting diversion programs, improving parole and probation revocation rates, supporting re-entry initiatives, and supporting youth violence reduction programs.

Ana can not only bring together the criminal justice coalitions and the immigrant rights coalitions, she mentioned to me that she is able to engage in a dialogue with Tea party activists as well. Being able to talk to each other over great divides is especially important in a state like Texas where a conservative base continues to grow.

Rappers at St. James Episcopal Church in Austin

An American mother whose son recently disappeared in Mexico is comforted by a Mexican mother on the Caravan in Austin.

After a stop to the Capitol building, we drove up to the St. James Episcopal Church for a mass and community dinner with more music, dancing, sharing of stories, tears and hugs and a beautiful  ceremony passing candles for the more than 60,000 people killed and the 10,000 people who have disappeared because of drug violence in Mexico in the last few years. “No Deberia morir” we chanted as the sun went down.

Included during the Caravan visit to Austin was a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the casino fire massacre that took place in Mexico one year ago, leaving 52 victims in its wake. The casino fire was presumably set by drug traffickers.

Miguel

Finally there were awards for all the volunteers, and I was once again reminded of why the caravan is so meaningful – so many people giving their time, their energies and creativity to end the violence now. The caravan is planting seeds as it passes through but the movement is being built by the solid organizing in communities across the country. Remembering to appreciate and thank each other for the work we do makes us stronger.

As fellow Caravanisto Miguel told me — “this is the not the end, this is just the beginning.’

Onward to Houston!

TAKE ACTION!

Follow the Caravan on…

• Twitter: @CaravanaUSA
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Caravan4Peace
• Hashtag: #Caravan4Peace #CaravanaUSA
• Caravan for Peace website:  caravanforpeace.org
• Global Exchange People-to-People blog: Caravan Road Reports or Subscribe via RSS to receive new posts automatically

CARAVAN PHOTOS

Check out Caravan photos from the road…

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalexchange
Facebook: Southern California photos. South-West photos. Texas photos.

Lend Your Support: Donations are still being accepted to help fund this important trip. Will you give?

The Caravan for Peace consists of two full size buses carrying the caravanistas across the United States and, to date, one RV.

The RV looks funny tailing the buses wrapped with the Caravan for Peace banner and the Movimiento Por la Paz dove that has become iconic to the movement, because it’s one of those CruiseAmerica vans that clog campgrounds and National Parks every summer and are typically viewed as greedy, gas guzzling monsters contributing to climate change.

The buses make sense. The Caravan for Peace is itself meant to be a spectacle – our branding is visible and proud and at each rest stop or restaurant we offload and talk to anyone and everyone about our travel and our mission. The victims from Mexico spend time together, with U.S. riders and Mexicans and U.S. media, giving lots of time for coverage. Their solidarity with each other grows each day and people’s good-night hugs grow stronger when we get split up into home stays.

But even I’ve been thinking – an RV? Really?

I boarded our RV monster at 5am today (Wednesday) and for the next 10 hours en route from El Paso to Laredo, TX I’ve thought very carefully about its service to the Caravan for Peace.  As I’m part of the Committee in charge of the overall finances, I need to be mindful about it’s cost versus benefit to the Caravan. Can we keep it? Should we keep it?

Firstly, it’s used as a ‘peace room’. Organizers meet en route and review the day’s agenda, make changes to the schedule, come up with new ideas for actions as we approach cities and pieces fall into place (look out, Houston!). Reviews are also done of the previous days, so that we are sure to take our new experiences forward.

Javier Sicilia giving a mobile interview

For example, this morning we talked about the City Council meeting in El Paso yesterday, thought through the presentations by Javier and  Ruben Garcia of Annunciation House, and agreed we can be a little more clever in our messaging at the next opportunity to speak to elected officials.

Second, it acts as Javier’s mobile interview room. There is never a moment – even while we are en route – without a reporter around and the RV acts as a quiet(ish) place to conduct an interview. After addressing the crowd in El Paso on Monday night, Javier was swarmed by reporters and could barely make it back to the RV.

Third, over and above the organizing and the planning, we organizers are learning too.

Gas pump for the RV!

This morning Oscar Chacon of National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) in Chicago talked through his vision of the Caravan ‘planting a seed’ for the future of successful progressive organizing, building on his decades of experience organizing immigrant Latino communities. Roberto Lovato of Presente.org supported our media strategy planning, advising on the delicate line to tell victims’ stories, but not exploit the story for the purpose of ‘getting the hit’. He later, and somewhat privately, takes Javier aside and records an interview with him about his poetry. And Janice Gallagher – an amazing woman leading most of the logistical planning for the Movimiento por la Paz continues to blaze our path forward, modeling calm and dedicated organizing.

So, I’m not sure. Do we keep this beast, which does provide a decent mobile meeting and interview space, and some solace between city stops? We’ll see.

TAKE ACTION!

Follow the Caravan on…

• Twitter: @CaravanaUSA
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Caravan4Peace
• Hashtag: #Caravan4Peace #CaravanaUSA
• Caravan for Peace website:  caravanforpeace.org
• Global Exchange People-to-People blog: Caravan Road Reports or Subscribe via RSS to receive new posts automatically

CARAVAN PHOTOS

Check out Caravan photos from the road…

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalexchange
Facebook: Southern California photos. South-West photos. Texas photos.

Lend Your Support: Donations are still being accepted to help fund this important trip. Will you give?

At every stop along the route, the Caravanistas, including more than 40 Mexican victims of the drug war, have been greeted by communities standing in solidarity on issues related to the War on Drugs ranging from challenging lax policies on gun trafficking, promoting immigration policies that respect the dignities of all people, to rethinking drug prohibition, and more.

The Caravan first embarked on its journey in Tijuana, MX and crossed the border into San Diego, CA before making its way to Los Angeles. Watch this ReasonTV video from the day.

After an energizing two days in Los Angeles, where the Caravan was joined by supporters from Hollywood, grassroots organizations, artist activists, members from the Los Angeles community at cultural events, candlelight vigils, actions, and marches, the group continued on to Arizona.

photo: peperivera.com

In Arizona, the Caravan made a symbolic visit to the “Tent City” jail to express solidarity with those incarcerated and to condemn the inhumane practices of the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio, longtime drug war enforcer also known for being anti-immigrant.

After making its way through Arizona, the next stop on the route was New Mexico, where one of the stops was a gun show. Watch two videos of Javier discussing gun control with a seller at the show. Part one. Part two. You can also watch archived livestream video of events in New Mexico.

Today, the Caravan marches on to Texas at the El Paso-Juarez border. The Caravan will be visiting the Drug Enforcement Administration Office (DEA) at the border town, where Juarez is seen as the epicenter of drug war violence.

If you are in Texas or in any city along the Caravan route, be sure to come to the events and get involved. Hear the stories of the victims of the drug war and help deliver the clear message to put an end to the war on drugs.

PHOTOS!
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalexchange
Facebook: Southern California photos. South-West photos. 

TAKE ACTION!

Follow the Caravan on…

• Twitter: @CaravanaUSA
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Caravan4Peace
• Hashtag: #Caravan4Peace #CaravanaUSA
• Caravan for Peace website:  caravanforpeace.org
• Global Exchange People-to-People blog: Caravan Road Reports or Subscribe via RSS to receive new posts automatically

Lend Your Support: Donations are still being accepted to help fund this important trip. Will you give?

Javier Sicilia and fellow activists during Peace Caravan in L.A.

The Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity is on the road! Starting on Sunday August 12th, the Caravan lead by Javier Sicilia and Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity is traveling across the United States calling for an end to the drug war.

Who’s behind the Caravan? The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity and Global Exchange are proud to partner with a broad, growing coalition of groups dedicated to changing our national debate on the Drug War.

More than 80 victims of Mexico’s drug war who traveled across the US/Mexico border to take part in the Caravan have been joined by others (including some Global Exchange staff and interns) north of the border to urge the U.S. public to rethink the failed strategies of the war on drugs. Victims of the violence in Mexico are speaking at stops along the way, to share their testimonies of suffering and courage.

John Lindsay-Poland of Fellowship of the Reconciliation getting tied up during action in front of L.A. city hall.

Global Exchange’s Zarah Patriana who is in LA with the Caravan described the scene today; “The weather continues to be hot, but the caravan marches on!”

Caravan participants gathered at City Hall for a portion of the day’s ‘s activities. A handful of activists including GX friend John Lindsay-Poland of Fellowship of the Reconciliation got tied up for an action in front of city hall representing the number of people who have disappeared — desaparecidos.

Earlier in the morning the L.A. City Council passed a resolution supporting the Caravana.

In the news…

There has been a ton of press coverage for the Caravan thus far. Here’s just a sampling:

• CNN: Mexican poet prepares U.S. peace march
• LA Opinión: Hollywood joins the Caravan for Peace headed by Sicilia (Spanish)
• The Nation: Can the Caravan of Peace End the War on Drugs?
• Los Angeles Times: Mexican activist, poet brings Caravan for Peace to U.S.
• AFP: Drug war ‘peace caravan’ woos Hollywood

Listen Up!

This Soundcloud audio clip from KPFA 94.1-FM in Berkeley is a great listen! Victims of US/Mexico Drug War Lead Caravan for Peace  

Picture this:

Check out some of the photos from the Caravan journey thus far on Facebook  or Flickr.

TAKE ACTION!

Follow the Caravan on…

• Twitter: @CaravanaUSA
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Caravan4Peace
  
• Caravan for Peace website:  caravanforpeace.org
  
• Global Exchange People-to-People blog: Caravan Road Reports or Subscribe via RSS to receive new posts automatically

Lend Your Support: Donations are still being accepted to help fund this important trip. Will you give?

There they will meet their new travel companions (including several Global Exchange staff and interns) and begin a month-long journey across the United States in a Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity and urge U.S. public to rethink the failed strategies of the War on Drugs.

The Caravan will begin in San Diego on August 12 and will visit two dozen U.S. cities on its way to Washington, DC. View the Caravan route.

Victims of the violence in Mexico will lead the Caravan, speak at stops along the way, and share their testimony of suffering and courage. From Jalisco, the mother of Jose Luis Arana Aguilar will speak of her son’s disappearance last January after making one last call to his children’s day care, reminding them to feed his children. From Coahuila, the girlfriend of Jose Antonio Robledo Fernandez will tell of how she heard the abductors of her boyfriend insult and beat him before he disappeared.

Though their grief knows no end or resolution, they are committed to telling their stories to the American public so that their humanity can move us to action. When the horrific statistics – over 60,000 dead – are seen in the pain, suffering, and courage of real people who are reaching out to the victims of the drug war north of the border, the foundation for change can be built. Read the latest article on the Caravan in The Nation.

The goals are no less than to build momentum in the debate about the failures of the War on Drugs, challenge policies that facilitate massive arms smuggling from the U.S. to Mexico, and end U.S. support for the militarization of the drug war within Mexico, as well as promoting immigration policies that respect the dignities of all people. In other words: End the violence! Now!

Follow the Caravan on twitter (@CaravanaUSA), Facebook, and the Caravan for Peace website. Global Exchange will also be sending updates while on the road at our People-to-People blog.

If you live in one of the cities along the route, come and welcome the Caravan. If you don’t live along the route, join us for the Global Days of Action Sept 12 – Sept 21. More details to follow in the coming days.

We hope to see you on the road with us.

Starting August 12 in San Diego, the caravan will travel through 25 cities before arriving in Washington, DC on Sept 10 raising and joining the voices of victims of drug war victims from both North and South.

The caravan, made up of buses, cars, RVs, and campers welcomes the participation of all those who have had enough of drug war violence, gun smuggling, mass incarceration, money laundering, and the many other ills arising from more than forty years of a senseless war.

Javier Sicilia and dozens of other Mexican mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who have lost loved ones to this maelstrom ask you to join the caravan.

Become part of this historic cross-border partnership. Join us for a few miles, a few days, all the way across the USA.

Space is limited on the bus, so you are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Once the bus is filled, there will also be an opportunity for people to follow the bus in private cars and carpools.

If you live along the route, join a local host committee.

If you can’t go on the road with us you can support Global Exchange to make the Caravan a success. Your generous donation will go a long way towards guaranteeing the success of the Caravan.

We hope to see you on the road with us in August and September.

For those in the Bay Area, School of Americas Watch, Fellowship of Reconciliation, and Breaking the Chains will hold a send-off event for the East Bay feeder caravan on Friday, August 10 at 6pm at Fruitvale Avenida, Oakland (34th & International).

The upcoming Caravan is timely, given the recent elections in Mexico. Watch the Democracy Now! report After Election, Mexico Poised for Return of PRI — And Continuation of Deadly U.S.-Fueled Drug War.

Where is the Caravan Going?

The caravan will begin in San Diego, cross the border from Tijuana to San Diego on August 12, heading east along the US-Mexico border, through the Southeast and then north to Chicago, New York City and arrive in Washington DC in early September.

Here’s the updated Caravan route, complete with map.

Why a Caravan for Peace?

Since 2006 over 60,000 Mexicans have been murdered, more than 10,000 disappeared, and over a 160,000 displaced, all a result of the Drug War- a 41 year old “war” with no victory in sight.

The United States is partly to blame. Ineffective drug laws drive obscene profits into cartel coffers. Lax gun regulations mean U.S. weapons flow freely into Mexico and into cartel hands. And our foreign policy funds further militarization of the conflict, exacerbating the violence.

Meanwhile, the trouble also hits home: over 1,100 Americans are killed each year in drug- related violence, 500,000 are incarcerated for drug-related offenses, and 7 million struggle with drug abuse or dependence.

The Mexican victims are particularly interested in making the links to victims of the drug war in the US — where mass incarceration and deportations disproportionately affect communities of color.

Traveling in buses, cars, vans and RVs, the victims of violence will bring their message of suffering, their hope for peace and help to build the movement that can make the change happen.

TAKE ACTION! HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE CARAVAN:

• Join this cross-country cry for peace, justice and dignity. Since space is limited on the bus and we expect to receive a lot applications, you are encouraged to register as soon as possible. Once the bus is filled, there will also be an opportunity for people to follow the bus in private cars.
• Sign- up registration forms for these opportunities will be available on our website soon. To receive email notification, sign up for our Mexico News email list.
• If you live along the route get involved in a local host committee; start by filling out this form.  See the list of those involved in the Caravan here.
• If you can’t go on the road with us you can support Global Exchange to make the Caravan a success. Your generous donation will go a long way towards guaranteeing the success of the Caravan.

We hope you are able to get involved with the Caravan in some capacity!

For a better understanding of its importance, watch these moving testimonies in Mexico City of victims of the War on Drugs in México

Javier Sicila and Mexico Program Director Ted Lewis in front of the CA state capital.

As the California state Senate opened on Monday May 14, Senators Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) and Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) welcomed Javier Sicilia to the capital in Sacramento and recognized Javier’s work in a State Resolution. The Resolution states:

“[T]herefore, be it resolved by Senator Y. Yee, Ph.D., and Senator Kevin de León, that they take great pleasure in meeting Javier Sicilia upon his visit to California, commend him on his illustrious record of accomplishments and extend best wishes for every success in the future.”

Javier addressed the Senate and asked Mexico Program Director Ted Lewis to read his statement:

“Good Day. I appreciate the recognition of the Senate and am thankful to Senators Leland Yee and Kevin de León for their support. But I wish I were not here.

Nothing can bring back my son or staunch the grief of those who have loved the more than 60,000 murdered and 20,000 disappeared in six years of violence in my country. No one can return a parent to more than eight-thousand orphans. Nevertheless, thank you for helping shine a light on the atrocious violence that is killing our youth, tearing our society apart, and devouring our already weak and corrupted institutions.

You, our powerful neighbor, consume tens of billions in illegal drugs every years even while spending other billions on a drug prohibition regime that criminalizes millions in your country and leaves tens of thousand of dead in ours. And so many of the dead are killed by guns smuggled into our country by the tens of thousands after being “legally purchased” at guns stores and shows.

This summer a Caravan from San Diego to Washington DC will pierce the silence that allows this horror to continue. We invite you and all people of good conscience to join and support us. No one else should lose a child, parent, sister, or brother to this senseless violence. Thank you.”

Javier then requested a moment of silence in recognition of the tens of thousands of victims and their families in Mexico.

CA Governor Jerry Brown met with Javier Sicilia.

Governor Jerry Brown also met with Javier before the event at the Senate and asked questions related to the discovery of 49 headless bodies near the northern industrial city of Monterrey, Mexico and listened intently to the demands of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity – the movement of victims families.

The Caravan, to be led by victims of Mexico’s atrocious war and their partners in pain north of the border will cross the border from Tijuana to San Diego on August 12 and arrive in Washington DC in early September.

The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity invites North Americans from all backgrounds, walks of life, and a rainbow of communities to join them their cross-country cry for peace, justice and dignity.

This initiative seeks to promote dialogue with American civil society and its government regarding: the need to stop gun trafficking; the need to debate alternatives to drug prohibition; the need for better tools to combat money laundering; and the need to promote bilateral cooperation in human rights and human security in two priority areas: promotion of civil society and safety, as well as protection and safety for migrants.

Please join part or all of this caravan if you can. Meet us along the route. And even if you can’t go on the road you can support Global Exchange to make the caravan a success.

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