Hey Mom,
Is everything still spiffy at home? I hope so. It would be rather odd if something major happened since I was just there three hours ago. Anyway, in my writing class we were assigned to write a sort of opinions portfolio. And do you know what was the first issue that came to my mind? The Drug Wars.
Although I don’t know much about what is going on, what I do know is that something needs to be done to take care of this problem. Just from a quick search on Google, I found out that last year alone more than 5,800 people were killed; the year before, 5,600. In 2007 though, there was only half of the murders of 2008. The Drug Wars are getting bad fast, and I very much doubt the Mexican Government is going to do anything about it.
Now I’ve heard stories about how corrupt Mexico is; how my cousin, Iovana had to quit being a lawyer because it was too dangerous; how the policemen beat up your brother and his friends just because they were in the park at night when you were young. I’ve experienced a small portion of it myself. I remember the times we’ve been stopped by the police and forced to pay bribes. I remember that every time we went to the marketplace, we had to pass by the police station and you would make me, Gavin and Emily quiet so the policemen wouldn’t notice that we only spoke English. And all of that is nothing compared to what I hear you say now. Mexico is capturing drug lords and criminals. They arrest them, then broadcast it on t.v. as if to say, "Look, we're doing a great job. Look how many criminals we've caught!" Then, when everything is said and done, they let those criminals right back out into the streets. Very few get prosecuted and punished, if they go to trial at all.
I’m sorry, but I think the Mexican government is too far gone to be of much assistance. I think it's up to us, who are in the position to be able to do something about this mess. We need to speak out and bring awareness as much as we can. Only then, when we are unified can we make any sort of dent in the Drug Wars. Anyway, I want to know your opinions about this, so email me back soon.
Love,
Kiara
I really like the points you brought up here, especailly how you said it's up to us. I think we feel that since it's going on down in Mexico it doesn't effect us, but that's not true and unless we do something about it, it will continue to get worse. I'm not sure what I can specifically do other than just make people aware, so if you decide to do something let me know!
ReplyDeleteWhoa, if that didn't convince your mom that sure convinced me! I thought it was great how you were able to make it both informative, but emotional at the same time. It was great that you were able to bring your own stories into it. You might have added a few suggestions as to how you plan to spread awareness. Overall, good job.
ReplyDeleteWell the reason I didn't put any ways to spread awareness is because I haven't thought of any yet. I'm working on it though. :)
ReplyDeleteI served my mission in Mexico. I know the drug wars are bad because there was a fatal shooting 2 streets down from where I lived. I walked that street every day. It's very close to me.
ReplyDeleteI want to take a chance to educate you though. The current Mexican President, Felipe Calderon is doing more than any other President of Mexico in the past against the drug. It's the narcotraffickers war (bad translation, sorry). He is sending as much of the army after the druglords as he possibly can. I have personally been impressed with his efforts to end this horrific scene, which will hopefully end with a Mexico government triumph, because the druglords and winning over a lot of territory.
Man, that IS scary! I've never even thought about the drug wars in Mexico as an issue I should be concerned about. Maybe we really should try to help Mexico to suppress the drug lords. We spend so much time trying to block off Mexicans from our country--maybe we should start opening up to them by helping them out with this mess. Anyway, it did get me thinking, and yea, I liked how you combined your experiences and general facts.
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