TIJUANA - More than 2,500 people marched yesterday afternoon through this city bludgeoned by violence, doing the only thing organizers said was left for them to do: pray.
Previous marches had demanded that authorities confront organized criminals who have carried out an unprecedented campaign of killings and kidnappings. Yesterday, the marchers carried this simple message on signs and pearl rosary bracelet stickers: 'God Save Us.'
Meanwhile, deadly violence continued its march across the region, where authorities logged nine killings yesterday, including a 17-year-old fatally shot while riding his bicycle in Rosarito Beach.
The death toll in Tijuana alone has reached a record 627 since the beginning of the year, 84 since Nov. 1.
The demonstration started at 3 p.m. in the downtown area at Teniente Guerrero Park on Fourth Street, where about 600 people recited a rosary for those who had been killed or were missing.
A citizens group that investigates disappearances, Asociaci n Esperanza, estimates that 500 people have been kidnapped in Baja California this year, half of them in Tijuana.
The march was organized by a council of physicians, who are frequent targets of kidnappers.
'Our goal is to raise awareness about what is happening. We cannot take so much violence, so much impunity,' said the organization's president, Dr. Jos Manuel de Jes s Ortiz.
From the park, the participants walked about 90 minutes to the Rio Zone. An estimated 2,000 people joined them along the way.
They carried signs with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and murano glass rosary banner after banner with the names, dates and photos of people who had disappeared.
'We are not going to be quiet any longer,' said one marcher, Imelda L pez. 'Before, we were afraid, but we're no longer afraid.'
L pez, 51, said authorities should investigate every missing-person case.
'We want to find our sons,' she said. 'We don't care what condition they are in; we want to find them.'
She said her son, Pierre Meza L pez, 23, was kidnapped along with a friend, who was released after his family paid a ransom.
L pez said she was never asked for money. Her son was never found.
Another marcher, Fernando Oceguera, said authorities are simply overwhelmed. He said an armed group of men kidnapped his son Feb. 7, 2007, and he has not been seen since.
'We have reached a situation that we cannot tolerate any longer,' Oceguera said.
Just before the march ended about 4:30 p.m., the Baja California Attorney General's Office reported that nine people had been killed yesterday in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and gold rosary bracelets Ensenada.
At 12:15 a.m., two men were found shot to death in the Reynoso development in the La Mesa district.
A man died at Tijuana General Hospital at 1 a.m. after being shot in a billiard hall in the El Rub neighborhood, in the southern part of the city.
At 10:20 a.m., a fatherson were shot to death on a street in the S nchez Taboada area, on the city's east side.
In Ensenada, three men were shot to death.
At 1 p.m. in Rosarito Beach, a 17-year-old was fatally shot while riding his bicycle by gunmen in a sport utility vehicle.
Back in Tijuana, steps from finishing the march, Ortiz addressed the crowd.
'We have been kidnapped in our own city. God, please save Tijuana.'
Omar Mill n Gonz lez is a contributor to the Union-Tribune's Spanish-language newspaper, Enlace.
0 comments:
Post a Comment