LatinaLista: “I was born in Ciudad Juarez. I have lived here for many years. It is not a city of thugs; it is a city of hospitable people, hardworking men and women able to leave sweat and breathe every day in their workplaces; ordinary persons seeking to provide, through honest means, a better future for their families. We are human beings, we are not numbers. As such I would like us to be remembered.” — Professor Guillermo Cervantes
The above statement embodies a new book and plea that Professor Guillermo Cervantes wants to get out to the world about what he and his fellow Juarenses are suffering these days.
A college professor who teaches on both sides of the border, Cervantes felt that one of the most powerful ways to get word out about the dire situation in Juarez was to put it in pictures. The result is his bilingual chronicle Ciudad Juarez 2008 – 2010: A photographic testimony of our pain.
In addition to the book, Cervantes has created two companion websites, one in English and the other in Spanish.
On both sites, a slide show presents a procession of photos categorized under headings like: “Under siege,” “We feel fear,” and “Our brethren’s voices.” Each section shows a variety of pictures of daily life in Juarez.
Throughout the book and web sites, Cervantes attempts to give audiences a true picture of what is happening to Juarez and its people so that the world knows.
We cannot resort to the authorities, throughout this time we have been victims of their greed and abuse. Our leaders are indifferent and incompetent. They only simulate a void interest and do little to remedy the situation. With empty words they present, as an official version, a picture outside our everyday reality, while making every effort to hide the shameful events that repeat day after day in this border town.
Our only recourse is to raise our voice to the international community. To submit our testimony and show to the world the extermination acts of which we are victims today.
