Thread: TX: Border residents rally for peace

Border residents rally for peace
by Alex Hinojosa \ El Paso Times
Posted: 01/30/2011 12:00:00 AM MST

with 3:30 Video

SUNLAND PARK -- Along the border fence at the end of Anapra Road, residents of Juárez and El Paso protested the drug war and asked that equal rights be given to immigrants in the U.S.

More than 700 people cried out for justice at the binational Peace and Justice Without Borders protest. Protesters carried signs that read "No mas" (no more) and "AmnistÃ*a" (full rights) for immigrants.

Organizations from Juárez, El Paso and other cities attended.

Joel Gallegos, a member of the Act Now Stop War End Racism coalition from Albuquerque, was there in support of his organization and for personal reasons.

"My father, Martin Gallegos, was recently deported," Gallegos said. "He was living here illegally, but it's one of those things where he's lived here since he was 8. Now he's in a place where he is in an unfamiliar country. I am here today to ask that immigrants have equal rights and to bring attention to what is happening in Juárez. I want the U.S. government to stop pretending like it's not their problem."

With only a chain-link fence between them, protesters clutched fingers in support and shouted together in unison: "El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido," (a united community will never be broken) and "Juárez estamos con ustedes," (Juárez, we are with you).

Border Patrol agents and Sunland Park police officers monitored the protest, but the gathering remained peaceful as demonstrators spoke out against the killings.

"We are here because we are no longer afraid to say what we believe and to speak up," said Monsignor Arturo Bañuelos of St. Pius X Catholic Church of El Paso. "We will be quiet no longer. Juárez and El Paso are like the two lungs of one body. We were once a driving economic cultural community, but now our futures are at stake."

Bañuelos and others gave testimony to their own experiences with the violence along the border.

As they did so, protesters on both sides stood silent.

Marisela and Olga Reyes-Salazar, former residents of Juárez, held a sign on the Mexican side that read, "JusticÃ*a para Josefina and Ruben Reyes."

"They were my brother and sister," Marisela Reyes-Salazar said. "Josefina was a strong advocate against injustice and the violence. And to silence her, the cartel killed her son -- my nephew. But she didn't give up and continued to fight alongside my brother, Ruben. They were both killed in 2010."

Both Marisela and Olga Reyes-Salazar said they fled the violence and now live elsewhere in Mexico. Both said they began to fear for their lives in 2008 when the violence began. Now they live in even more fear each day.

"We're tired of the killings and the violence," Marisela Reyes-Salazar said. "We want them to stop, and we want our family's killers to be brought to justice."

Since 2008, more than 7,500 people have been killed in a drug war between the Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels. This year, about 200 have died as a result of the violence.

El Paso resident Martina Morales said that though she does not live in Juárez, she worries about her family members who across the border.

"I have a brother and family there, and they are trying to resist the violence," Morales said. "I hope this war is over soon because every day it's getting worse. And every person that goes over there takes a risk because they may not come back."

Event organizers said they wanted Saturday's protest to gain the attention of the govern ments of both countries and hope that the attention can bring an end to the drug war.

Alex Hinojosa may be reached at ahinojosa@elpasotimes.com; 546-6137.

Originally Posted by jamesw62

Border residents rally for peace
by Alex Hinojosa \ El Paso Times
Posted: 01/30/2011 12:00:00 AM MST

with 3:30 Video

SUNLAND PARK -- Along the border fence at the end of Anapra Road, residents of Juárez and El Paso protested the drug war and asked that equal rights be given to immigrants in the U.S.

More than 700 people cried out for justice at the binational Peace and Justice Without Borders protest. Protesters carried signs that read "No mas" (no more) and "AmnistÃ*a" (full rights) for immigrants.

Organizations from Juárez, El Paso and other cities attended.

Joel Gallegos, a member of the Act Now Stop War End Racism coalition from Albuquerque, was there in support of his organization and for personal reasons.

"My father, Martin Gallegos, was recently deported," Gallegos said. "He was living here illegally, but it's one of those things where he's lived here since he was 8. Now he's in a place where he is in an unfamiliar country. I am here today to ask that immigrants have equal rights and to bring attention to what is happening in Juárez. I want the U.S. government to stop pretending like it's not their problem."

With only a chain-link fence between them, protesters clutched fingers in support and shouted together in unison: "El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido," (a united community will never be broken) and "Juárez estamos con ustedes," (Juárez, we are with you).

Border Patrol agents and Sunland Park police officers monitored the protest, but the gathering remained peaceful as demonstrators spoke out against the killings.

"We are here because we are no longer afraid to say what we believe and to speak up," said Monsignor Arturo Bañuelos of St. Pius X Catholic Church of El Paso. "We will be quiet no longer. Juárez and El Paso are like the two lungs of one body. We were once a driving economic cultural community, but now our futures are at stake."

Bañuelos and others gave testimony to their own experiences with the violence along the border.

As they did so, protesters on both sides stood silent.

Marisela and Olga Reyes-Salazar, former residents of Juárez, held a sign on the Mexican side that read, "JusticÃ*a para Josefina and Ruben Reyes."

"They were my brother and sister," Marisela Reyes-Salazar said. "Josefina was a strong advocate against injustice and the violence. And to silence her, the cartel killed her son -- my nephew. But she didn't give up and continued to fight alongside my brother, Ruben. They were both killed in 2010."

Both Marisela and Olga Reyes-Salazar said they fled the violence and now live elsewhere in Mexico. Both said they began to fear for their lives in 2008 when the violence began. Now they live in even more fear each day.

"We're tired of the killings and the violence," Marisela Reyes-Salazar said. "We want them to stop, and we want our family's killers to be brought to justice."

Since 2008, more than 7,500 people have been killed in a drug war between the Juárez and Sinaloa drug cartels. This year, about 200 have died as a result of the violence.

El Paso resident Martina Morales said that though she does not live in Juárez, she worries about her family members who across the border.

"I have a brother and family there, and they are trying to resist the violence," Morales said. "I hope this war is over soon because every day it's getting worse. And every person that goes over there takes a risk because they may not come back."

Event organizers said they wanted Saturday's protest to gain the attention of the govern ments of both countries and hope that the attention can bring an end to the drug war.

Alex Hinojosa may be reached at ahinojosa@elpasotimes.com; 546-6137.

Immigrants are given equal rights as long as they are "LEGAL AND NOT ILLEGAL" I don't know why these people refuse to call them what they are, "ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS/ILLEGAL ALIENS". I'm telling you, these people have got a lot of nerve.

IMMIGRANTS DO HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS IN THIS COUNTRY BUT, AS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS/ALIENS, WELL THEY HAVE NO RIGHTS HERE AND THATS A FACT DEMAND YOUR EQUAL RIGHTS IN THE COUNTRY OF MEXICO BECAUSE, THEY OWE YOU A DECENT LIFE AND LIVING, NOT THE CITIZEN OF THIS COUNTRY. WE OWE THEM NADA

"We're tired of the killings and the violence," Marisela Reyes-Salazar said. "We want them to stop, and we want our family's killers to be brought to justice."

Guess what Ms. Reyes-Salazar? WE are tired of the killings and the violence we are FORCED to endure at the hands of illegal invaders; this is OUR Country and just 'cause you hopped a border and reside here doesn't mean we have to take the crap you are handing us! And here's another heads up: you ain't gonna get justice for your dead family members by whining about it here in the US when the crime happened in Messico! You want justice? GO TO MESSICO and seek it THERE.