Take Action to Support Mexico’s Mothers of the Disappeared

This Mother’s Day, amidst stay-at-home restrictions in both Canada and Mexico, we are in solidarity with the mothers of the disappeared in Mexico as they continue to seek answers to an agonizing question: where are their missing loved ones?

Disappearances in Mexico continue to increase to record numbers. According to the latest figures, more than 61,600 people have been reported missing. Behind that staggering statistic are human beings robbed of all that matters, and family after family tortured by not knowing what happened, where their loved ones were taken and if they are still alive, in need of rescue.

It is thanks to the tireless, caring efforts of families of the disappeared in Mexico – who came together to support each other, formed networks, and then a national movement – that there have been some signs of hope. Legislation, a National Search System and specialized investigators, amongst other advances – none would have been possible without the dedication and bravery of the families, especially the mothers. 

Every year on May 10, Mother’s Day in Mexico, thousands of mothers march all over to country to make visible the faces of their disappeared loved ones and to demand action to find them. The cries of the mothers fill the streets: “Vivos se los llevaron, vivos los queremos. Alive they were taken away, alive we want them back.” In Canada, we have organized marches and public events outside the Mexican Embassy to make visible our concern and echo the rightful demands of the mothers of the disappeared.

This year, because of the extraordinary situation we are all living, marches and public events will not be possible in Mexico or in Canada. That is why we invite you join us online and help us create the biggest ever virtual demonstration.

[Note: for those of you who do not use social media, please read on for a letter writing action that is also a powerful and important way to show your support!]

TAKE ACTION! 

Sign the Updated E-Action

Sign our updated e-action >>> 

If you signed a similar action last year, please do so again, because the demands are new ones and the target is too (as requested by the Movement for Our Disappeared in Mexico). 

Virtual Solidarity March 

This year, amidst stay-at-home orders, mothers belonging to the Movement for our Disappeared in Mexico have asked supporters inside and outside Mexico to flood social media with images and words of support for their cause. This virtual march aims to amplify the voices and calls of the mothers of the disappeared.

Here’s how you can ‘march’ in solidarity with the mothers:

Post your message of support 

Use the hashtags #CorazonesEnMarcha (Marching with our Hearts) and #CanadaMexicoSolidarity to enable us to gather your social media messages on our display page that we will share with the Movement of Mothers of the Disappeared. These hashtags, along with #VivosLesQueremos (We want them alive), also enable people in Mexico who may not speak English to understand your solidarity and to retweet your message for maximum impact.

1. Create a personal message on a handwritten sign or on a mouth mask. Mouth masks are a powerful symbol because they are used by mothers and other relatives when they search places where they suspect bodies have been dumped. Those searches are led by the families in the absence of searches by the authorities. Please do not buy a medical mask for this action. 

2. Take a photo of yourself holding your sign or wearing your mask. 

3. Tweet your photo or post it on Instagram, along with your call from Canada for action. Be sure to tag the authorities in Mexico so that they see your message and use the hashtags #CorazonesEnMarcha and #CanadaMexicoSolidarity on both Twitter and Intsagram. Alternatively, you can pick one of the images here, here, here and here to tweet your concern, again using the hashtags #CorazonesEn Marcha and #CanadaMexicoSolidarity and tagging the authorities. 

The hashtags and handles are  found in the samples below: 

 

Join Our Instagram Solidarity Challenge 

Use this image and post it as an Instagram story that expresses your support for the mothers of the disappeared in Mexico. Support for the mothers from inside and outside Mexico strengthens their calls on the Mexican government to search for the missing and investigate those responsible for making them disappear. Be sure to tag @amnestycanada and challenge 5 other people to join you in this solidarity challenge.

Send a Letter

Write a short, polite letter to President López Obrador.

  • Introduce yourself, where you are writing from and any connection you may have with Mexico.
  • Express your concern that more than 61,600 people are now reported disappeared in Mexico, while the number continues to increase.
  • Signal your support for the mothers and other relatives of the disappeared who rightfully seek truth, justice and the return of their loved ones.
  • Call on the President to fully implement all the commitments made by his government to a National Search System and effective investigation of all reported disappearances, including the emblematic case of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa, with sufficient resources to enable success.

Send your letter to:

His Excellency Juan José Ignacio Gómez Camacho
Ambassador for Mexico
45 O’Connor Street, Suites 1000 & 1030
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4
Email: infocan@sre.gob.mx
Twitter: @EmbaMexCan

Send a copy to:

Hon. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of CommonsOttawa, ON. K1A 0A6
Email: Francois-Philippe.Champagne@parl.gc.ca
Twitter: @FP_Champagne

Please contact campaigner Kathy Price with any questions you may have>>kprice@amnesty.ca 

 

Thank you for your solidarity action!

 

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