Francisco Rodriguez/The Pan American
Volume 67, No. 31
By Saira Treviño The Pan American Stories about the ongoing violence in Mexico bombard the news every day, but the danger is truly never noticeable until it hits home. At a university with hundreds of foreign exchange students from south of the border, the drug cartel situation is beginning to have an impact it didn’t have in the past. Insecurity has become a regular situation for those living in Mexico, especially in the border region. As a result of the rising number of kidnappings since the war on the cartels began in 2006, many students that face the reality of organized crime have decided to come to the United States for a chance at living a safer and more peaceful life. At The University of Texas – Pan American there are a number of students in this boat, although most tend to shy
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Las Hermanas Leal
August 4, 2011
The impact of violence in a neighboring country
away from talking about it, for obvious reasons that deal with safety. Take for example the Leal sisters, whose names have been omitted, have left what they once called home in search of safety and tranquility. In one six-week span recently, a close relative of these young girls who owned a car lot in Monterrey, was kidnapped after being extorted by people allegedly involved in drug trafficking. These apparently ordinarylooking individuals, demanded cars and money from the relative. The doubly distressing part was that, as is often the case in Mexico, the harassing individuals were Mexican authorities. “It hurts to see the people, the police, who should be protecting us, to be the ones most involved with these crimes,” mentioned one of the Leals. A few months prior to the kidnapping these people continually harassed the family member, collected
information on his movements and business and allegedly planned the future crime. One day while their relative was talking to his wife, nephews and mother-in-law, “normal - looking” individuals knocked on the door. Little did the Leal family know was that these people were going to abruptly take him by force. The relative of these girls was taken hostage, together with 20 other captives who were kidnapped for different reasons. For 11 days he was physically abused and starved. He was finally released thanks to the timely intervention of the Mexican army. However, because of this event the Leal family has decided to immigrate permanently to the United States. It is noteworthy that in this particular case the family has legal status in the States, because in many cases the people fleeing the violence do
not have it. Luckily for the Leals, the girls can pursue their education here without fear. “I suppose that everybody is rather aware that the violence in Monterrey is very drastic, but you don’t take it into consideration or acknowledge it until it is your turn to live it,” said one of the sisters. “The kidnapping, in reality, opened our eyes to the great threat that the whole family faced living in Mexico. A day after the captivity we came immediately to the Valley because it just wasn’t safe over there.” The situation in Mexico affects people’s emotional state but also causes sudden changes in the lives of the family members of the kidnapping victims. In the case of the Leal sisters, it meant a change of residence, moving to a country that previously was visited for leisure activities. They have to start again and leave one life behind to start another.
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“I left behind family members, friends, work and my studies. I just needed a few more classes to finish with my education in Mexico, but I had to come,” describes the elder sister. Despite having to leave everything behind, the young sisters understand that their safety and well-being are more important. “My parents wanted to come a long time ago, but there were still things to resolve, like my studies among other things,” one of the sisters said. “But after what happened, our security was more important before anything else.” Many other students at UTPA and throughout the United States have had their lives altered by the violence in their home country. “I would love to return to Monterrey, but to the old Monterrey, in which one does not have to be afraid to live your life,” one of the new Broncs lamented.