Misery for Juarez in 2009, But Hope for 2010

Welcome to my last post in 2009

Ciudad Juarez has become notorious to the world for the events that have left their mark, ending a year of violence that had been growing day by day by day with nothing or any nobody able to stop it.

Over two thousand people were part of the unimaginable statistics which made them the victims of violence. Children, women and men all of whom who have shed their blood on the streets of beloved Juarez.

It is said that Ciudad Juarez is considered the most dangerous city in the world. But only a few years ago it was proclaimed to be the city of opportunity, where everyone who arrived from other places was greeted with a job and with a salary higher than what they earned in their home town.

Today that seems to be over, now it is only a battle ground for the drug cartels to perpetrate violence that seems to dominate the news lately. The most affected by the mayhem are the people who every day leave their home to earn a meager living from their sweat and tears so they can put bread on the table.

How about those brave women workers who regardless of the inclement weather still go out to earn a salary so they can bring their children some warm soup to eat for the night as it has been done every night in the year of 2009.

Today in Juarez, 2009 is leaving and with it goes the peace, the dreams and the hopes of the Juarense people. For we, all we want in the new year is to receive it as we have always done, in our traditional way, with dinners, celebrations, and spirits, but let's take a moment of our time to reflect, and do not put too much emphasis to our resolutions with proposals we can never keep like the famous diet, the perfect job and that tomorrow that will change everything.

Really look at the news on television, in newspapers, radio and on the internet, they don't talk about anything else but only about the same thing, death and more death from all sides and at all times. All you have to do is look within this blog and you can see the misery and pain inflicted upon a community suffering from the affects of the violence. We show it in raw form as it happens, because we must not live in denial.

Businesses have closed and with it all the revenue too, causing more unemployment, there are no safe places to live to enjoy with the family.

Little by little the city is dying.

People are leaving the city seeking refuge in other places. The sale and transfer of homes has increased tremendously, nobody wants to live in Ciudad Juarez anymore and everyone wants to escape the deadly bullets and the extortions. This year there was an increase of 70% from people changing their phone numbers as they received calls from unknown relatives who neither know of someone posing as a police commander who asks you for money in exchange for not hurting you.

Is it not right to assume that the taxes residents pay is at least for security? Take a look at all the police who are paid a salary to just cordon off a crime scene, which unfortunately is all the people see them do.

Juarez native mega-entertainer Juan Gabriel says that the city is number one, but lately only in femicides, in violent deaths and in insecurity. Juarez should not be popular for these events, it must get out of that hole but it seems that every time it tries, it sinks more.

The Juarense families must start in their homes to try to be better parents for their children and the children to be better citizens, only then perhaps we can truly fight the ills of society. Watch over your little ones, be together and do activities together instead of them spending their time on the streets.

Remember not to be held hostage by the fear of everything we see and hope that in 2010 Juarez enjoys the freedom it deserves. Let’s hope that in 2010 Juarez is not worse than what was dealt this past year in 2009. Let Juarez put away the misery of the old and seek for hope in the new year of the future.

Happy New Year.
2010!
Viva Juarez!

Categories: ciudad juarez