As it gets closer and closer to spring break, students are packing up their swimsuits and heading to the beach. College trips are a carefree time to hangout out with friends and drink a lot of beer. Many students are unaware of the dangers that lurk in every corner of the fun filled week off school. Living in Arizona, the closest beach we have in Rocky Point, Mexico. Many students gather in Mexico every year to stay on the beach and drink way too much alcohol. Not only are students putting themselves into a strange environment, most of them don’t know the language. If something happens to a student in Mexico, it can be extremely hard to translate the problem.
Recently, a California family has gone missing near the Mexican border. Joseph McStay, 40, his wife, Summer, 43, and their two children, Gianna, 4, and Joseph, 3, have not been seen or heard from since February 4. Police discovered the family’s SUV, two blocks from the Mexican border. The car was emptied and the police believe that a criminal act was involved. They don’t believe that the disappearance had anything to do with the Mexican drug cartel because the family had no link to them.
Whenever you are going on a vacation or are in a place that you are not familiar with, you need to take extra precaution to keep yourself safe. Especially if you are going into a foreign country with a completely different legal system. Danger is watching you and just waiting for you to stop watching for it.
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I have always had a negative attitude toward Mexico, I have never been but I have dozens of reasons why not to go. I have always felt like college students and Tucsonans in general have little idea or respect for the dangers that crossing into a chaotic country like Mexico brings. Many of them tell me, but Rocky Point is kind to Americans and it’s just like being in the US. I tell them how crossing a border could be kind of like being in the US. It has been a tough tough year and a half for Nogales, both on the American side and on the Mexico side. The border is becoming a hostile environment and it won’t go away because students are crossing into Mexico to party. People have long told me; well I’ll be ok because I have no connection to the drug cartels. Unfortunately neither did any of the people that have been killed at random by the cartels in Nogales and border lands like Juarez. They are out to demonstrate their anger toward drug trafficking enforcement and the only way to make an impression on folks in the US is to kill at random. Just last week a family had a party in Juarez in their back yard, they were all shot, with no relation to the cartels. My friends tell me; hey you just got to be aware and not get into bad situations. Well ask yourself how awareness is going to help you when you get sprayed with bullets at a party or when you have an AK-47 in your face, they don’t need you to give up your money cause they will just take that for themselves after your dead. Mexico, I have always said, is the most dangerous place, especially right now. And the border towns are getting worse by the minute. Mexico City was just named the most dangerous place in the world, and that’s even taking into account that there’s a war going on in Afghanistan. Especially at 21 years old or older, there aint nothing you can do in Mexico that can’t be done in the US. In a closing thought, my co-worker, Pepe 50ish, lives in Nogales USA and when I asked him about Nogales he shakes his head with disappointment, he tells me at night people used to party, but not anymore, he says some nights he can hear the AK rounds across the border, like a war zone.
ReplyDeleteI agree that travelers should be aware of the dangers of any vacation spot (I thought it was clever to connect the Aruba story with the Rocky Point one), especially when there are people out there who prey on those careless vacationers who have too much to drink. However, in response to Pat's comment I also think it is important to note that Mexico is a beautiful place with a valuable culture that is so intergral to Tucson! Some parts of Mexico are ravaged with violence--and for sure young college students should avoid them--but be careful not to write off a while country on the basis of borderland issues.
ReplyDeleteWow! Annelise this blog is so engaging for readers who are prompted to respond to these controversial and tragic stories. As a mother, I cringed at the stories of child abduction and murder. While we feel we have systems in place to keep children safe, we also need to have systems for parents who are not getting the relief/support they need.
Keep up the posts. Remember that the assignment calls for 2 posts a week (on different days/times) of at least 250 words. Certainly there is enough craziness in the world to fuel your interest in injustice!