Culture

In Guerrero, It’s More Than Just 43 Who Are Missing

Lead Photo: Cuartoscuro
Cuartoscuro
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As the one-year anniversary of the Iguala mass kidnapping approaches, The Associated Press shot a video to remind us that it’s far more than 43 that are missing. On July 1, 2013, more than a year before the students from an Ayotzinapa teachers college were kidnapped, more than 15 people disappeared from Cocula. At first, the families didn’t speak out for fear that they would be signing their loved ones’ death warrants. After Ayotzinapa brought international attention to Iguala, people began to speak out. There’s now a list of more than 25,000 people who have been reported missing in Mexico since 2007. They are known as los otros desaparecidos. After Sept. 26, 2014, about 292 people were added to the missing persons list from Iguala. But much like the families of the missing 43, very few of them have gotten answers on what really happened to their relatives.  

The heartbreaking black-and-white video focuses on two women who have gone through a cycle of emotions – fear, anger, and desperation. Watch the video below, and read the AP feature about July 1, 2013 here.