EthanMarches and protests are occurring all over Mexico over the whereabouts of an estimated 43 students from Iguala, Guerrero. The protesting students were from a teaching college in Ayotzinapa.
The students were protesting over apparent unfair hiring practices for teachers. On September 26, the unarmed students were allegedly exiting the town on buses when police blocked them from leaving and opened fire. Three of the students were killed, along with a taxi driver, a woman sitting in the taxi and a fifteen year old football player.
A further seventeen were injured and hospitalised.
The remaining students were then shoved into police vehicles and have been unaccounted for since.
Unmarked graves were found on the following Saturday believed to be the bodies of the students and is said to contain the remains of 28 people. The remains were so badly burnt that DNA results will take time to identify who the bodies belong to.
30 suspects have been detained in connection to the attacks, including 22 police officers. The others are believed to members of local drug cartels.
The reason behind these attacks is still unexplained and blurry. Protests and vigils are taking place in Mexico urging the government and police to make information public knowledge and to bring justice. Many citizens are conducting searches themselves to try and locate the missing students.
I urge readers to share this story to put pressure on the Mexican government to try to find these missing students and to be grateful for our opportunity to freely study.