 |
| Paint, marker and digital by Liz Peterson, draft work in progress |
The Reyes Salazar family was well known in northern Mexico for their successful activism against a proposed nuclear dumping site in Sierra Blanco, Texas in the 90s. Several members of the family, including Josefina, organized a massive bi-national protest in which hundreds of Mexicans and Americans on both sides of the border walked for miles in protest. They managed to shut down the border in Juarez for an hour. The efforts worked and the plans were abandoned. They were also outspoken about the pollution of the water in Cuidad Juarez and the disposal of toxic waste.
In 2008, Josefina began to speak out against the militarization of the city of Cuidad Juarez in the nation's response to the drug war, in which citizens were routinely detained or "disappeared" without any formal allegation. Her own son, Miguel Angel, was taken by authorities and released soon after she began a hunger strike to protest his disappearance. Soon after, in November of 2008, her other son Julio Cesar, was shot and killed by a paramilitary group while he was attending a wedding. She continued to protest in spite of being arrested on one occasion and in spite of receiving countless death threats. In January 2010, she was gunned down near Cuidad Juarez. Family members suggest that her assailants were targeting her for her activism. According to one witness of the event, one of her killers said "you think you are tough because you are with the organizations."
The remaining members of the Reyes Salazar family have been systematically terrorized since Josefina's death as well. Her brother Ruben Salazar was murdered by "unknown assailants" in August. Her mother's house was set on fire. Her other sister Magdalena, and brother Elias and Elias's wife, Luisa Ornelas Soto were tortured and killed in February of 2011. One of the last remaining members of the Reyes Salazar family, Josefina's brother Saul, moved his family to Texas after being offered political asylum to escape the constant threat of death.
 |
| Sara Reyes Salazar with a portrait of her slain daughter, Josefina |
Sources:
http://dawnpaley.ca/2013/04/19/blood-along-the-border-environmental-activism-and-violence-in-juarez-mexico/
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/mexico-archives-79/2934-the-reyes-salazar-family-and-the-hidden-toll-behind-mexicos-execution-meter
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/world/americas/26mexico.html
No comments:
Post a Comment