“They were taken alive we want them returned alive.” This message has resonated with me deeply as the story of 43 disappeared male-identified students from Ayotzinapa hit the media. They were disappeared after protesting discriminatory hiring and funding practices by the Mexican government.
It immediately echoed of the hundreds of women-identified people who have been disappeared and murdered in Ciudad Juarez (known as the capital of murdered women) over the past two decades. Women seen as labor with declining value in post- NAFTA maquiladoras or as horrific as disposable commodities.
In what many believe, including me, is State sponsored violence and genocide of people all over the nation of Mexico we continue to see the reign of terror of government against its people.
A montage of many people in a vigil with crosses. In the foreground, a woman holds up two pink crosses. Next to her, a young person holds up a large poster of a young man’s face — one of the 43 missing Normalistas, or Rural Teacher’s College students. Above in dark blue lettering against a light brown background, the text states in Spanish: “Desde Juarez a Ayotzinapa.” Below, text states: “Vivos los Queremos!” (The letter “x” is used in place of the gendered “o” or “a” in the original.) Additional small text in white states: “No más sangre. No más violencia. No más injusticia. Solidaridad desde Oakland. Somos la Dignidad Rebelde.”
