A Saddened country

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing great in your actual locations and situation, as many of you know , I came back to my home country Mexico in march 2007; everything has been good, got a job, met with friends and family and little by little have been adapting to my new life.

Unfortunately not everything is ok; I feel the obligation to inform the actual situation of my country.

Right now Mexico is the first place in kidnaps all over the world, a coward and cruel crime that these days is a every day talk among society, media and government. Only in 2007 there were reported 438 cases most of them without solve; Mexico City is one of the most violent cities in the world where there is 24,878 crimes per each 100,000 habitants, so its easy to see is a very unsafe place, people doesn’t trust each other, sometimes, not even family members; and the police force are part of the problem as most of the times they help criminals to get by instead of helping the victims.

The roots of the problem is poverty, Mexico is a rich country with vast resources and opportunities but only 5% of the population is making profit, a scare 20-30% are struggling in the middle class and the rest is in extreme poverty, where the mix between unemployment and lack of education is making people loss their minds and to pursue criminal activities. Taking back the issue with our police forces in most of the cases they are under paid and under prepared; is some cases being a policeman is not a career that brings the joy of serving fellow citizens but a way to get easy money trough corruption and fear, an opportunity that gangs take on account to go unpunished.

Bands of kidnappers in Mexico don’t care about age, profession or anything, some times they don’t even get money because their targets have non at all, but they still physically and psychologically torture its victims and their families, some of them are lucky by get killed fast, others end up mutilated nor traumatized for life plus the economic burdens that paying the huge amounts of money these people ask for brings. Of course if they have connections with the police, doesn’t matter how much status you have, they will not do anything, or will slow the process so the burglars can go immune.

Last week a case went largely commented and shocked the entire country, a 14 years old boy, son of a entrepreneur, was found lifeless in a abandoned car’s trunk, the kidnap was blamed on a very dangerous band named “La Flor” (the flower). Fernando was taken away on the 4^th of June and regardless his relatives paid up to 2 million dollars for his freedom; they cowardly tortured and killed the boy, to make things worst, up to 14 policemen are linked to this crime.

In my opinion kidnapping is the worst of crimes, because not only you loss you freedom and probably your life but also affects entire families that most of the times end up empty inside without any chance for rest; in the end money comes and goes, but the life and mental health of a love one is priceless. Knowing that you can’t trust the people that are supposed to be there to protect you and that they actually took part in ripping away your life, make you stay awake at night thinking, what if someone I love is next? What if I’m next? How much a human life is worth in useless pieces of paper that only brings greed and more violence?

It seems our government is starting to act on this issue, but hundreds of people affected already by these actions may wonder why took so much blood to react? Millions of Mexicans including me, are saddened and hoping someday we can be proud of having a secure and free country were people can live at peace and trusting their fellowman, a place where we can raise families. Hope some day we can live to the image that most people abroad have of a jolly, fun and peace loving place that our tourism department fights so much to promote.

We as world peace ambassadors must be aware of this kind of problems and think on solutions, as little as it may be. At the moment I have the joy and luck of living on a big, industrious but peaceful city, where our main concerns are traffic and drug abuse, still the number of kidnaps here is on the rise as bands already cornered on Mexico City move to continue their criminal activities. We as society feel troubled and concern about this, so everybody must take action on what’s on their power to prevent this. As little it may be we have the power to fight against fear and violence. In times of trouble and turmoil we may never forget that “we are one!” and help whenever we can.

As always I send you all a big bear hug and a smile, greetings to all! I wish my next entry will be a happier one.

Adios!

Julio Perez de Leon

Ps. Good luck and success on EIC 2008!