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Students unite for justice in Mexico

A candle, a rose and a photo sat on each of 43 chairs surrounded by students in black who assembled to remember the Mexican student-teachers who went missing on Sept. 26.

The Cal State University Long Beach La Raza association and the Chicano and Latino Studies Student Associations held a rally and a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening on the campus quad as part of a mass mobilization that has spread across the border.

“It’s not only affecting people in Mexico, it’s affecting students,” CHLSSA Secretary Julieta Hernandez said. “And as students, we find it necessary to stand in solidarity with them.”

The missing students, named for their school as the Ayotzinapa 43, went missing in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico after their bus was stopped by Mexican police. Prior to their disappearance, they had been protesting what they said were discriminatory hiring practices, according to BBC.

Club members passed out signs to interested passersby, who joined in, adding speckles of color throughout the black and strengthening the voice of the crowd as they chanted their support for the cause in Mexico.

They yelled, “Mexico, escucha, estamos en la lucha,” which translates to English as, “Mexico, listen, we are in the fight.”

The event not only expressed resentment towards the Mexican government, but also a corrupt government in general.

“This is about the loss of innocent lives,” Hernandez said through a megaphone. “This is about human rights.”

Jaye Cho, a member of Anak Bayan, a progressive youth and student association in Long Beach that fights for Filipino issues, took the megaphone and informed the crowd about government-sponsored violence in the Philippines, which she parallels to the human rights violations in Mexico.

“[We need to] link together as peoples across the world,” Cho said. “To take a stand against government corruption, which is not only isolated in countries like Mexico and the Philippines, but all over the world.”

Following the speeches and chants, 43 student volunteers sat in the chairs, standing up one at a time to read the lost students’ names.

The crowd of students responded with, “dónde estás,” which means, “where are you,” after each name was read.

Tea candles in small paper cups were passed around and lit, then arranged in the shape of the number 43.

Humberto Munoz, treasurer of the CSULB La Raza association, said the event was organized no more than two weeks ago, when passions arose and the two associations on campus decided that they, too, needed to show their support for grieving Mexican families and citizens.

He said that many other candlelight vigils and protests in similar format will be held around the nation in mass protest Thursday, which will mark the 104th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution of 1910.

“Anything that happens south of the border will also effect us eventually,” Munoz said.

“Ya me cansé,” the slogan that has appeared on social media for the last two weeks, was originally a news conference sign off by Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo, and is now a slogan for revolution; the phrase literally means, “I have had enough,” or “I have become tired.”

Club members encouraged students to take photos of the event and share via social media, using some of several hashtags, including “YaSeCansó,” a twist on the international trend, meaning either “he,” or “Mexico,” has become tired.”

Groups all over the nation that have voiced their support for Mexico have flipped the slogan to describe Mexican people’s attitude towards the corruption in their government— they say they have grown tired of injustice, according to Reuters.

“We want to say, ‘Hey, we support as Latinos; we support families fighting for justice … We’re not forgetting [the students killed], we’re not tired,'” Munoz said.

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