It is known to be a very volatile place.
I didn't feel like I could live and work at Annunciation House, often serving people from Ciudad Juarez, without knowing where they are coming from. I had to see for myself.
I took all the precautions possible: I went in a group of five. Included in the group were myself, my roommate Kyla, and then three men: Eric, Andrew, and Fabian. We went around noon on a Saturday (one of the busiest times), and only went to public places like the mercados (markets) and catedral.
Many of you may think I'm crazy for going, and you are certainly entitled to your opinion.
This concludes the "disclaimer" portion of my blog post. What follows is a description of what I encountered and the conclusions I have drawn about it...
We weren't planning to go to Juarez until the day that we went-yesterday. Andrew came up to me and asked, "Dara, do you want to go Juarez later?" I hesitated. I said yes. I had really been wanting to go, and the prospect of going with other volunteers (especially male ones) sounded like a good idea. Eric had been to Juarez before, and had actually spent the night visiting the famous "Peter and Betty" there during his day off. (Peter and Betty are an old priest and nun who have been working together on social justice issues in Latin America for years and they have contacts everywhere).
We decided to get lunch and check out the markets. Eric and Fabian had been there before and knew their way around, but Juarez was new to the rest of us.
When we stepped off the bridge into Juarez I was surprised by how normal it felt. Juarez certainly looked more dilapidated than El Paso, but it didn't seem all that different. Everyone spoke Spanish, but everyone speaks Spanish here in El Paso, too!
As we first walked into Juarez, I noticed that there were plenty of people around, but I didn't see any other people who appeared to be tourists or other white/non-hispanics. Being a border city, besides its emphasis on factories, Juarez's economy is/was very much related to tourism and traffic from the US.
People were begging on the streets and shouting after us to come look at their merchandise and to buy things.
We walked around the perimeter of the park in the center of Juarez on our way to the park. The park was PACKED. Eric explained that the people of Juarez come to sit in the park as a measure of solidarity and to make the city safer. Safety lies in numbers.
As we walked around we would see federal police and occasionally military patrolling. Their presence wasn't as pronounced as I had expected after hearing so much about it, but they were certainly around.
The indoor mercados we went to were virtually empty since no tourists were there. I could tell that the vendors were desperate as they followed the five of us, trying to get us to buy things, shouting lower and lower prices as we walked further and further away. I bought a zarape, some post cards, and a paleta de fresa (strawberry popsicle).
We went to the catedral, which thankfully was naturally cool due to its construction. We saw a number of people praying and lighting candles. What I wouldn't have given to find out what they were each praying for...
For lunch, we went to a corner open-air sandwich shop where I got a delicious burrito de frijoles con queso. It was only 12 pesos($1USD). I had also had a delicious coke...it was very refreshing. And gone in a second since it was so hot and I was so thirsty!
I wish I could have spent more money in Juarez because they really need the economic support. Due to the instability that began in 2006 and the wide media coverage about the violence, the tourism market has basically fallen apart.
As we walked around, just about every building looked like it was falling apart. Despite the state of disrepair, the amount of color and life, music and people, was astounding.
I went to Juarez and I got a sunburn.
I felt safe in the places I went in Juarez, and taking the precautions that I did. It's not my place to go and tell people to go to Juarez, it's a decision each person needs to make for him or herself. Personally, however, I would feel mas o menos comfortable going back.
¡Viva Juarez!
I still don't understand why this would upset anyone, you obviously lived through it since you are posting this.
ReplyDeleteGoing there really wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't. Thinking about going there was a big deal. Actually going there, however, was not.
ReplyDeleteI obviously agree agree with you, Tyler. There are important people, though, who were pretty adamant about me not going, and I don't want them to think I take making these kinds of decisions lightly, or that I don't respect their opinion.