A Bright Candle in the Darkness

In mid-August 2012 the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity – led by the mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers of Mexicans murdered and disappeared during the drug war – began its sojourn across the United States. Starting from the Pacific shoreline where the wall dividing the U.S. from Mexico meets the sea, the 120-person Caravan traversed 5,700 miles holding events in 26 cities and generating extensive coverage in most of the major U.S. media markets.

On the U.S. side hundreds of people affiliated with more than 220 Caravan partner organizations – many of whom had never before worked together – joined forces to organize, support, host, feed, house, transport and finance the Caravan. A broad array of religious, police, Latino, labor, African-American, human rights, survivor, parent, artistic, peace, university, and other organizations from the U.S., Canada and Mexico endorsed the message of the Caravan. They worked with NGOs who broke policy ‘silos’ to draw the connections between U.S. drug, immigration, gun, prison, public health, Latin America, criminal justice and the twisted priorities of the drug war that continue to frustrate reform efforts.

Peace Caravan participants sharing their stories

Mexico’s peace movement arose to address a national emergency of criminal violence, institutional corruption and a moribund judicial system all combined to create a maelstrom of death and impunity. The survivors of violence, at the heart of the Caravan, have all borne searing tragedy and personal desolation. Nevertheless they stand up, speak truth and courageously work toward a future of peace, with justice and dignity for their country. By giving names and faces to just a few of the more than 65,000 dead; they’ve broken paralyzing fear and silence – mobilizing a broad movement for peace by bringing hundreds of thousands of Mexicans into the streets while engaging the government at the highest levels.

Javier Sicilia

One of these courageous survivors is the Mexican poet, Javier Sicilia, who stepped forward to give voice to the movement. In March 2011, Sicilia’s son Juan Francisco and six companions – who had nothing to do with the drug trade – were asphyxiated by cartel thugs. In response, Sicilia announced he would give up writing poetry to voice his pain and to give space to the voices of tens of thousands of other victims of Mexico’s brutal war.

In the summer of 2011 the new Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) organized two major Caravans from Mexico City, one to the north and another to the southern border of Mexico. They sought to connect with, console, assist and organize victims of the war.

Both Caravans were followed by televised dialogues between President Calderón and the survivors. But it quickly became clear that Calderón was impervious to advice and that that even if he were open to a new direction he would be unable to change course as long as the “Made in USA” drug war ideology held sway in Washington. That’s why Sicilia and his movement called for a third Caravan through the United States to focus on changing the errant U.S. policies on the drug war, arms trafficking, money laundering, military aid and immigration that feed Mexico’s nightmare.

All along the road the Caravan members spoke boldly and used creative non-violent actions to dramatize the issues while seeking common ground on which to build the difficult, bi-national road to peace. In San Diego, CA Mexican mothers who had lost sons or daughters embraced American mothers who had similarly lost children to violence, drugs, or prison. The mothers called out their common humanity in the first of many candle-lit vigils.

Caravan for Peace participants in front of Sheriff Arpaio’s war on drugs tank. Phoenix, AZ 2012

In Phoenix, AZ the Caravan picketed the local jail and later sat down with notorious Sherriff Joe Arpaio to question his humiliation of undocumented Mexicans. In El Paso, TX the mayor met with Caravan leaders and then successfully urged the city council to pass a resolution supporting the Caravan and its goals. This action is a clear sign that the city that shares the border with Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city hardest hit by the drug war, understands military escalation is futile and leads to more deaths and insecurity.

Javier Sicilia holding a gun chopped in half

In Houston, TX a team from the Caravan filmed a purchase of a .357 Magnum pistol with cash and no ID at a gun show. At the same show, Caravan supporters purchased an AK- 47 that survivors later symbolically destroyed: cutting it into pieces which were encased in cement and later delivered as messages to officials in Washington.

Melchor with James Evans, Democractic Rep (MS), in front of Caravan for Peace bus parked by the State Capitol Building in Jackson, Mississippi.

In the south-east, where the Caravan was primarily hosted by African-American organizations, the drug war’s role in the mass incarceration and criminalization of whole communities came to the fore. It is not just that the U.S. has 5% of world’s population yet 25% of the world’s incarcerated or even that the number of drug offenders has increased twelvefold since 1980. It’s worse: African-Americans who comprised just 13.6% of the U.S. population in the 2010 census represented 39.4% of the U.S. prison population in 2009. Michelle Alexander, the brilliant author of The New Jim Crow, who has analyzed these issues at great depth, thanked the Caravan for prying open the debate and furthering her better understanding of the way Mexicans are suffering from the same forces that have damaged the life prospects of so many in African-American communities.

Along the Caravan’s entire path, the “caravaneros” – citizen ambassadors of Mexico’s peace movement – built new friendships and alliances, and left indelible marks in countless thousands of hearts. The collective moral force and creativity of the Caravan generated vast coverage in both Mexican and U.S. media; more than 750 unique electronic and print stories with a combined reader and viewership of more than 500 million.

Hence, even before we reached Washington D.C. and fanned out across the capitol for dozens of meetings with Congress, State Department officials, think tanks, university audiences, and in television studios, thinking about drug war strategy was inexorably pushing its way onto the U.S.- Mexico bilateral agenda at a critically important moment of political transition in both countries.

President Obama’s September 20 replies to Univision’s questions about changing drug war strategy reflect both progress and the distance the movement behind the Caravan still must travel. Obama conceded that U.S. demand for drugs drives violence and corruption in Mexico and the need for public health strategies to treat addiction and reduce demand. Unfortunately, the President went on to praise Calderón’s disastrous military campaign, calling it “courageous” and then making clear that he intends no immediate break with reigning prohibition and drug war orthodoxies.

Candlelight vigil at East Los Angeles Church for Caravan for Peace

But let’s keep in mind something else the President said earlier in the same interview. Change in Washington comes from the outside, not from inside. It is our job to keep the Caravan’s candles burning and organize that change.

TAKE ACTION!

Travel the Caravan in pictures: All along the Caravan route, photos were being snapped. You can check them all out on Flickr or on our Facebook page where we have some arranged by region; Southern CA, Southwest, Texas, and Southeast and Chicago. 

Global Exchange Caravan for Peace interns Chelsea (left) and Louise (right) at a rest stop along the Caravan route

The following is a post by GX/Caravan intern Chelsea Brown, who is traveling with the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity. Global Exchange Executive Director Carleen Pickard who traveled last week on the Caravan, describes Chelsea as the “calmest force behind the Caravan for Peace scenes.”

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As the Caravan for Peace rolls along its ambitious route of 25 American cities in 30 days, we have been participating in marches, rallies, protests, and vigils to raise public awareness about the immense number of lives lost to the drug war in Mexico and in the U.S. We seek to not only be seen, but to be heard: to raise our voices in unison so civil society and policy makers from coast to coast will know our demands.

Caravan chanter in Laredo TX. Photo Credit: Global Exchange

Here is a bi-lingual breakdown of our most common shouts so you can jump right in if the Caravan comes to a town near you, followed by a video of chants in action:

Some gritos (yells) the Caravan participants use originated with the initial mass mobilizations in Mexico of the Movimiento por la Paz (Movement for Peace), where bereaved families and civil society activists began to demand government accountability for the atrocities resulting from drug war policies.

Caravan for Peace chanters

Today members of the Movimiento continue to voice their outrage about the Mexican government’s failure to provide assistance in the search for the disappeared, chanting: “Vivos los llevaron! ! Vivos los queremos!” (Alive, they took them. Alive, we want them!) This grito corresponds with the posters that the family members of the victims hold with them, showing the faces of their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, brothers, and sisters that were kidnapped or forcibly disappeared, with no trace of their whereabouts.

Javier Sicilia and fellow Caravaneros chanting

Another popular chant is “Que queremos? Justicia! Cuando? Ahora!” (“What do we want? Justice! When? Now!”)  This refers to facts like only 2% of the crimes in Mexico are investigated and solved. This statistic is even more shocking given what Javier Sicilia frequently describes during speeches as the 72,000 murders connected to the drug war that have occurred during President Calderon’s term in office.

While the Caravan was in the Southwest, we were either close to or actually touching the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Many Caravan allied organizations in this region focus on immigration reform and holding the government accountable for the human rights abuses perpetrated against migrants. So some common gritos have been borrowed from those commonly used in the immigration reform movement, including “ningun ser human es illegal!” (no human is illegal!)  and the classic “el pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!”  (the people, united, will never be defeated).

Chanters on both sides of the Rio Grande chanting back and forth.

Another gritos session took place across a river, the Rio Grande, to be specific. At sunset on August 22^nd, after a 10 hour journey from El Paso, the Caravan went directly to the bridge that spans the river dividing Laredo, TX from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Mexican civil society groups gathered on the Mexico side, while across the narrow river we bellowed gritos of solidarity and of hope, including “Obama, eschucha, estamos en la lucha!” (Obama, listen, we are in the fight!)

Caravan participants at the Vigil for Peace in Brownsville, TX

A few nights later, we stood at the metal fence in Brownsville, Texas, the tip of the state where the border dips into the Gulf of Mexico. Into the darkness on the other side, members of the Caravan and local families yelled the names of loved ones lost to drug war-related violence: an endless roll call of pre-maturely dead. The entire crowd would respond with a shiver-inducing cry in unison “PRESENTE!” (PRESENT!)

The Caravan is traveling across the U.S. demanding peace with justice and dignity and an end to the senseless drug wars rending families and communities across the continent. We are present, we are united, and we will not be defeated.

Join us as we continue our gritos along the Caravan route. Below are ways you can take action in support of the Caravan for Peace, but first, here’s that video of chants in action that I promised you:

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 needed, now more than ever, to help fund this important trip. Will you give?

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:

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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?

Welcoming the Caravan to El Paso!

Global Exchange Executive Director Carleen Pickard has joined the Caravan for Peace!

I arrived Monday night to the main square in El Paso and thought ‘oh no, we’ve double booked the plaza for the Caravan for Peace arrival!’ as Mexican rock blasted through the empty downtown streets at 8:30pm. When I arrived to la Placita it turned out that the party atmosphere was for the Caravan’s arrival, pleasing the few hundred people that had gathered with banners of bienvenidos, candles, pan dulce and hot chocolate.

When the 2 buses arrived, the worn and bleary eyed caravaneros walked through an aisle of supporters and treated to a beautiful ceremony. Representatives from Border Network for Human Rights communities presented the Caravan with:

Javier Sicilia giving testimony to El Paso Council.

• a symbol of Human Rights from East El Paso County;
• a symbol of Justice from Mission Valley;
• a symbol of Respect from Mission Valley;
• a symbol of Peace from Southern Dona Ana County;
• a symbol of Liberty from Las Cruces; and
• a symbol of Dignity from North of Las Cruces.

Tuesday morning

We rose early, boarded our buses and sat in the audience as the City Hall council heard a resolution presented by Ruben Garcia of Annunciation House and other El Paso community members. Read into the record by Councilwoman Susie Byrd, the resolution calls on El Paso to endorse a voluntary Code of Conduct for gun sales developed by mayors across the U.S. (for more info on the problems with lax gun laws, watch ‘U.S. Guns: the Awful, Shocking Truth’), discuss drug policy, money laundering and prioritize human rights.

The Caravan outside the El Paso DEA offices.

With the support of more than 50 victims of the War on Drugs in the room, many holding photos of their loved ones, dead or missing family members, Javier Sicilia spoke in favour of the resolution and appealed to the Council by stating, “The United States helped create this war, so that’s why we come to you today to help us create peace.” Despite challenges from 2 community members about the resolution’s language concerning U.S. citizens’ right to bear arms and clarification about the resolution’s intent of a discussion on drug policy, the El Paso City Council passed the resolution with 7 votes in favour and 1 abstention.

Tuesday afternoon

We protested at the DEA offices, and over lunch victims met with members of the Border Network for Human Rights, and later Javier Sicilia spoke at the University of Texas – El Paso campus.

Annunciation House with names of victims of the War on Drugs projected onto it.

After a symbolic community signing of the voluntary Code of Conduct for firearm sales in the same la Placita the Caravan was welcomed to last night, we marched to the immigrant support center Annunciation House for a closing vigil. Names of the victims of the drug war were projected onto the side of the Annunciation building, while classical music played.

It was astounding to spend 35 minutes watching hundreds of names reach upwards with classical music playing through the streets as everyone sat in silence. I believe each of us re-committed our pledge to impact the dialogue in the United States on the war on Drugs as our El Paso hosts wished us well as we travel eastwards across Texas tomorrow morning.

Watch the names projected onto the Annunciation House:

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.

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

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.

Sign up for our Mexico News email list to get the latest updates about the Caravan.

Just this morning, Javier appeared on Democracy Now! to talk about the national emergency in Mexico and how the major mobilizations he has led to make visible the fear, suffering, and thirst for justice of thousands of families impacted by drug related violence in Mexico.

He went on to explain why the MPJD has chosen to cross the border to organize a major caravan in the U.S., the birthplace of the disastrous war for drug prohibition.

Watch the interview:

UPDATE: Watch the second part of Javier Sicilia’s interview on Democracy Now!

The MPJD 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.

Sign up for our Mexico News email list to get the latest updates about the Caravan.

Javier Sicilia with Juan Mora, from DePaul University in Chicago

Javier Sicilia’s message to the audiences of four public events in Chicago, IL was clear and powerful;

“In 1994 subcomandante Marcos introduced the Zapatistas to the world, declaring Mexican President Salinas’ signing of NAFTA opened ‘the gates of hell’ for Mexico, and now Mexico is living in that hell.”

He begins every speech quoting terrifying statistics: Since 2006, there are 60,000 Mexicans dead, 20,000 Mexicans disappeared and 250,000 Mexicans displaced from their homes, all a result of a drug war launched by a deaf and dumb government. And there is no end in sight. More than 98% of homicides committed in Mexico are never resolved. He brings home the message that if anyone in the audience decided to kill someone in Mexico, there would be less than 2% chance of ever being held accountable.

The cost of the war reflected in these numbers has grown inexorably since last year when the respected poet announced to an adoring Mexican public that he was putting aside his poetry to protest the government’s complicity with organized crime and inexcusable inaction in investigating the deaths of those killed in drug war related violence.

Altar outside of the Municipal Palace in Cuernavaca Morelos, with names and pictures of drug war related victims

Javier’s son Juan Francisco was murdered along with six friends on a fateful night in March of 2011 in Temixco, Morelos. Suddenly, Javier –who had long been active in Mexico’s cultural and political life — became the voice for a movement led by people who are simply called ‘las victimas’.

He is emphatic that the statistics don’t convey the real picture. He says that the face of the person who suffered ‘one death’ or ‘one disappearance’ is one person who had a character, a personality and merits justice. One death represents a family torn apart in grief. The fact that more than 98% of the time those seeking answers from authorities get no satisfaction adds to their pain and misery. One disappeared person represents a family consumed with fear and unanswered questions. One displaced family lives in constant upheaval and suffering. In short, the statistics are overwhelming but even one is too many.

The public events were co-sponsored by the National Museum of Mexican Art, UIC (Latin American and Latino Studies Program), DePaul University and The Resurrection Project and well attended by students, activists and members of the Latino community in Chicago. In each speech Javier repeated the urgent demands of the Mexico-based Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity – the organization of victims that came together last year to declare Estámos hasta la Madre/We Are Fed Up (with the drug war) – to the Mexican and US governments. The Pacto Nacional (link in Spanish) was signed May 12, 2011 with the following demands:

• End the drug war, a failure of tragic proportions;
• End the easy access to high-powered weapons that facilitates weapons smuggling;
• Crack down on those who help criminal enterprises by laundering money;
• Defend the human security and dignity of immigrants;
• End US support for the militarization of Mexico.

Mothers of disappeared victims, criticizing the government’s inaction to investigate their missing loved ones

In Mexico, the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity is campaigning for approval of the Ley de Victimas this week. This law would place new responsibility on the government to investigate drug war related crimes and provides a fund for impacted families.

Carrying the voices of las victimas to the United States, Javier is widening the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity’s profile and building support for a US Peace Caravan this summer (link in Spanish). Javier and the Caravan will cross the United States in cars, buses, and RVs joined by victims of drug war related violence from Mexico, supporters, activists and journalists. The Caravan will stop at key cities along the route for public conferences, demonstrations and meetings with key local leaders.

TAKE ACTION!

• For more information about Javier Sicilia’s speaking events in the USA, click here.
• For more information about the US Peace Caravan, click here.

Don Nepo turns away after talking with Felipe Calderon during a meeting on Oct 14th . Flanking the President are his wife, Margarita Zavala and the late Secretary of Gobernacion, José Francisco Blake Mora who died in a helicopter crash on November 11, 2011. photo: Pepe Rivera

Nepomuceno Moreno Núñez, an activist of the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD) was gunned down on November 28th while walking in Hermosillo, Sonora in northwestern Mexico.

“Don Nepo” (as he was known to friends) joined other victims of Mexico’s violence to speak out and seek justice – in his case on behalf of his son, Jorge Mario Moreno León, who was kidnapped and disappeared in July, 2010.

Don Nepo with photos of his murdered son, Jorge Mario Moreno León during a healing ceremony for victims of violence who participated in the MPJD “Caravan to the South” in September, 2011. Photo: Ted Lewis

Don Nepo took part in the Caravans that crisscrossed Mexico earlier this year and was part of a small group that met with President Calderon in mid-October. That same month, several armed men came to his home and threatened him with death if he did not stop looking for justice for his son. Despite his high profile complaints, the government offered him no protection.

MPJD supporters surround an inner circle of movement leaders, including Nepomuceno Moreno Núñez, who have lost loved ones to violence. The early morning ceremony took place at the ruins of Monte Alban in hills above Oaxaca City last September. Photo Ted Lewis

Now, after his murder, concern for the safety other family members has led the MPJD and others to request pressure on Mexican officials to provide necessary protection and carry out a full and credible investigation of both murders.

Please join us in making that call. Tell Mexican officials to protect Don Nepo’s family and to investigate his murder! Send a letter today!

Links in Spanish:
Exigir justicia, una sentencia de muerte en México
Pronunciamiento del MPJD ante el asesinato de Don Nepo
En memoria de Don Nepomuceno Moreno Nuñez