TIJUANA.- The Peace Convoy led by poet and activist Javier Sicilia will depart this weekend the San Diego-Tijuana area to travel through 27 cities in the US having Washington as ending point.
From August 12 to September 12, activists, community members and violence victims will try to showcase the problems Mexico is facing after declaring war on organized crime.
Not only that, the goal of this peaceful movement will be trying to obtain the US' cooperation to face this situation that affects both sides of the borders, and also trying to stop weapon trafficking; that's what researcher Sergio Aguayo from the Colegio de México said while in Tijuana.
The analyst, who last Friday led the conference titled "De Tijuana a Washington: Lógica y Significado de la Caravana por la Paz" (From Tijuana to Washington: Logic and meaning of the Peace Convoy) at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Colef), said that, in addition, with this movement they intend to set the foundations for a wider social agenda, since it is unknown for how long the "war on drugs" will continue.
On the other hand, he emphasized that it's hard to know what the United States' citizens' reaction will be to this one-of-a-kind convoy since it's the first time a Mexican activist movement crosses the border to send their message across another country.
"Solidarity belongs to the ones who work for it", said the researcher who will also be joining the movement.
He mentioned that this tour will also address the suffering of immigrants from Mexico and Central America in their journey to cross the border.
Through a conference call, the researcher by the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM in Spanish), Raúl Benítez predicted success to the convoy which he qualified as an "unprecedented event" to protest against a war resulting from a "political strategy that did not measure the impact it would have."
He considers California to be an excellent starting point for the movement, having a high concentration of "pro Mexico" democrat leaders.
"It is a region full of social movements and Hispanic identity."
On his part, Enrique Morones, director of the Angels without Borders organization and regional coordinator of the movement, informed that the emblematic Parque de la Amistad (Friendship Park) would be the starting point for the Peace Convoy, to be attended by democrat congressman Bob Filner as well as other important political figures.
It will all start at 11 am and community members from both sides of the border are expected to participate, both in Playas de Tijuana and in Imperial Beach.
After that, Sicilia along with the movement will visit the University of San Diego (USD) and the Chicano Park.
On their journey they will visit places like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, El Paso, Laredo, Brownsville, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas, Birmingham, Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Baltimore and Washington DC, among others.
He said the group's intention is to reunite with legislators and even with the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
Morones, an activist who every year organizes the "Marcha Migrante" that tries to raise awareness about the need for a comprehensive immigration reform, said that they expect a peaceful convoy and that they don't think there will be a negative response from the United States.
"They will remain neutral, the United States believes in freedom of speech and this will be a convoy looking for peace, dignity and equality."
Translation by Karen Balderas
