Dear Jake,
I tried to send you an email, but you didn't give me an address. That's why I'm answering your letter here. I hope you get this. In my opinion Mexico is already in a civil war. It's complicated because several drug cartels are fighting for control. They battle each other as well as the government. The level of violence is as bad as Afghanistan and it is aimed at everyone, not just enemies. Ordinary people get shot all the time for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Children are being killed, even babies. It is clear that a lot of the drug thugs enjoy torturing people and continually come up with new horrors. If I were in Mexico right now WITH a job I would still try to get over the border, especially if I had small children. (And quite a few drug lords send their families to the U.S. to protect them.) Please understand that as a U.S.. citizen I am not in favor of an open border -- the tide of illegal immigrants is killing our hospitals, schools and welfare system. Also, a fair number of these people are drug mules and criminals. I don't give them a free pass, but I know that if I were living in Ciudad Juarez, for example, I would break the law and flee. It depends on where one lives. I honestly don't know what will happen when law and order breaks down completely in Mexico, as I think it will in the next couple of years. Most people north of the border don't know how bad it is because the U.S. newspapers don't write about it. I don't know how old you are, Jake, so be careful with this next bit of information. If you really want to know what's going on down south, look at the website www.borderlandbeat.com/ There are some truly horrifying stories there from the Mexican newspapers. It is updated every few hours. If you are much under age 15 you probably are too young to look at it, or if you get nightmares easily. Take a peek at it and stop looking if it upsets you. I'm mentioning it because it has the best coverage of the Mexican situation I know. Of course you can use my name. Good luck on your paper.All the best,Nancy Farmer
I tried to send you an email, but you didn't give me an address. That's why I'm answering your letter here. I hope you get this. In my opinion Mexico is already in a civil war. It's complicated because several drug cartels are fighting for control. They battle each other as well as the government. The level of violence is as bad as Afghanistan and it is aimed at everyone, not just enemies. Ordinary people get shot all the time for merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Children are being killed, even babies. It is clear that a lot of the drug thugs enjoy torturing people and continually come up with new horrors. If I were in Mexico right now WITH a job I would still try to get over the border, especially if I had small children. (And quite a few drug lords send their families to the U.S. to protect them.) Please understand that as a U.S.. citizen I am not in favor of an open border -- the tide of illegal immigrants is killing our hospitals, schools and welfare system. Also, a fair number of these people are drug mules and criminals. I don't give them a free pass, but I know that if I were living in Ciudad Juarez, for example, I would break the law and flee. It depends on where one lives. I honestly don't know what will happen when law and order breaks down completely in Mexico, as I think it will in the next couple of years. Most people north of the border don't know how bad it is because the U.S. newspapers don't write about it. I don't know how old you are, Jake, so be careful with this next bit of information. If you really want to know what's going on down south, look at the website www.borderlandbeat.com/ There are some truly horrifying stories there from the Mexican newspapers. It is updated every few hours. If you are much under age 15 you probably are too young to look at it, or if you get nightmares easily. Take a peek at it and stop looking if it upsets you. I'm mentioning it because it has the best coverage of the Mexican situation I know. Of course you can use my name. Good luck on your paper.All the best,Nancy Farmer
