Guadalajara (Mexico), Feb. 16. The stigma of society, bullying, indifferent teachers and institutions that do not listen to them mark the children of missing persons in Mexico, according to a publication revealed this Thursday in Guadalajara by the Center for Justice for Peace and Development (Cepad ). .
During the presentation of the publication “Sound Childhoods; our voice, our rights”, Sofía Virgen, member of the psychosocial space of Cepad, explained that girls, boys and adolescents want to feel heard and protected in the face of the enforced disappearance of their loved ones.
In the fan magazine or “fanzine”, the product of a workshop with 22 minors from four municipalities in Jalisco, a state in western Mexico, children expressed that they needed schools to understand their situation and stop to stigmatize missing persons.
“We need them not to judge us and the people who disappear”, “we need to feel safe, not to be afraid”, “I want the school to take care of me, the teacher to understand that sometimes I can’t concentrate” , “who don’t speak ill of missing people in the news and on the streets”, “support us in the marches”, are some of the phrases expressed by those who participated in the workshop.
The post comes amid the disappearances crisis in Mexico, which last year surpassed the historic figure of more than 100,000 people untraceable since there was a record, with the state of Jalisco leading the way.
Virgen claimed that minors know the situation their loved ones are going through, but they do not feel listened to by adults despite the fact that they want to know more about the problem and assert their opinion.
“When asked what they needed: (they answered) to listen to me. Sometimes they didn’t even need answers, just to know that their questions, their emotions are valid, that they have doubts and (want) to be seen, that they are there and that they too are going through this” , did he declare.
Rosa María Quezada, mother of a missing person and grandmother of one of the girls participating in the publication, pointed out that schools are often indifferent to the situation faced by children, who often feel harassed by their classmates or the teachers themselves, which affects their academic performance.
Rocío Martínez, coordinator of the psychosocial area of Cepad, said that one of the challenges is that girls and boys are heard by society and educational institutions, in addition to recognizing the impact that the disappearance of a loved one has on their life. and those who care for them. EFE
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