As Day of the Dead looms, families of missing Mexican students hold out hope
Four new suspects in the case of 43 missing college students pointed Mexican authorities toward a mass grave this week. A month after the students' disappearance, families still have no answers.
Four new suspects in the case of 43 missing college students pointed Mexican authorities toward a mass grave this week. A month after the students' disappearance, families still have no answers.
Orange and yellow marigolds and sugary breads are making an appearance across Mexico City this week as families prepare to celebrate the Nov. 2 Day of the Dead.
To commemorate deceased loved ones on this Catholic-inspired holiday, Mexicans build altars, visit graves, and leave offerings, such as a favorite food or drink.
But for weeks already, some of the parents of the 43 college students who disappeared a month ago in Guerrero state after an encounter with police have gathered around聽an 鈥渁ltar of hope鈥澛爋n their children's campus. It underscores their demand for answers in what has become a grim national scandal.聽
鈥淲hat will come of them? We don鈥檛 know if he鈥檚 eating, if he鈥檚 injured, if they鈥檙e hitting him,鈥� Clemente Rodriguez Moreno, whose 19-year-old son 海角大神 disappeared with his classmates in September, told the Associated Press.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 sleep for the thinking,鈥� said the father of another missing student, who asked not to be named. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel like I鈥檓 living life.鈥�
Two of four new suspects arrested in the case on Monday pointed authorities to a mass grave, located about 10 miles from the town of Iguala, where the students were last seen.聽It is the 11th clandestine burial site found since the students' Sept. 27 disappearance. DNA tests are underway; so far, other mass graves have either tested negative or the results are pending for student remains.
鈥淲e have the people who carried out the abduction of those individuals,鈥� Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said Monday. The police now have more than 50 people in custody, including police officers, suspected gang members, and local government officials.
The government has vowed to find the missing students 鈥� and President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto reiterated this promise on Monday while introducing the new governor of Guerrero state. 鈥淚t鈥檚 imperative for us to know the whereabouts of the disappeared youth, and apply the law to those who are found responsible for these very unfortunate events,鈥� President Pe帽a Nieto said.聽
For some, the impending Day of the Dead celebrations highlight the larger tragedy Mexico is facing. An estimated 100,000 people have been killed in gang-related violence since 2007, Reuters reports. Families often don鈥檛 receive the government attention and press that Guerrero鈥檚 missing students have, instead taking on themselves the onus of investigating a relative's聽disappearance. 海角大神 reports:
In a column for El Pa铆s today, Jorge Hern谩ndez lambasts officials for not solving this crime in a society that is reeling from so much brutality:聽
It鈥檚 鈥渁n unpardonable shame that a month has gone by and the authorities don鈥檛 know 鈥� or if they do know, they aren鈥檛 saying 鈥� where all of Mexico鈥檚 missing are,鈥� Mr. Hern谩ndez writes.