April 5, 2004

URGENT ACTION! Please make FAX part of your Holy Week FAST!

Dear Friends,

It is with real sadness and no small amount of anxiety that we appeal for your help this Holy Week.

Many of you learned of the situation in Lomas de Poleo last May when a group of vigilantes was threatening the community living there and attempting to intimidate them into leaving their homes and land. Lomas de Poleo constitutes part of the Columban parish of Corpus Cristi in the Juarez, Mexico diocese.

The same wealthy, powerful and, apparently, ruthless Zaragoza family has once again invaded the mesa, this time with eighteen wheelers full of cement and barbed wire, earth-moving equipment and the same group of vigilantes as last year.

They have already encircled the community with cement posts, barbed wire, huge steel gates and three metal watchtowers strategically placed to keep the entire community in view. The image that comes to mind is one of the WWII concentration camps.

In this case it is not a group being persecuted for their religion but a group being abused because they are economically poor and politically powerless.

We have had two peaceful demonstrations and will march again, today, Monday, April 5, but the situation is critical. We believe that only INTERVENTION by the Mexican federal government can mediate a peaceful and just solution to this abuse of human rights and the Mexican constitution.

Many of the families on the mesa have left out of fear. There are about 300 families remaining but their future is at best uncertain.

ACTION STEPS

If there has ever been a chance to be part of the global, electronic community, this is it. Your FAX to the following Human Rights groups and the President of Mexico, are a contemporary way of welcoming the neighbor in need into your daily life. In addition to these faxes, if there is a Mexican consulate in your area, call, visit or fax them with concerns about the dangerous situation in Lomas de Poleo.

If you have any network of friends who might be willing to join this campaign to appeal for federal mediation by the Mexican government, please pass the appeal along.

Thank you for support of our brothers and sisters at the border.

Columban Justice and Peace Office

List of offices and fax numbers

National Human Rights Commission – Juarez City Office
Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos – Ciudad Juarez
Lic. Eduardo Saenz
Paseo Triunfo Republica No. 2416-1
Cd. Juarez
Chihuahua, Mexico
Phone - 011-52-656-639-0940/0943
Fax – 011-52-656-639-0942

United Nations Human Rights Office in Mexico City, Mexico
Oficina de las Naciones Unidas de Derechos Humanos en Mexico
Director: Anders Kompass
Oficina del Proyecto OACNUDH
Edificio de Naciones Unidas en Mexico
Presidente Mazaryk 29, Piso 2
Col. Chapultepec Morales
Mexico D.F., C.P. 11570, Mexico
Phone: 011-525-55-263-9892
Fax: 011-52-555-254-2473

President of the United States of Mexico
Lic. Vicente Fox Quesada
Palcio Nacional, Patio de Honor, Piso 1
Col. Centro
Mexico D.F., C.P. 06067, Mexico
Fax: 011-52-555-277-2376
Fax: 011-52-555-515-1794
Fax: 011-52-555-515-5729

April 5, 2004
Dear ( insert name):

I am writing to you out of deep concern over a land dispute in the Colonia Lomas de Poleo of Ciudad Juarez. Over the past 30 years hundreds of families have settled on the mesa, but now only about 300 families remain as many have already left out of fear. The Mexican Constitution states that anyone who peacefully occupies a piece of land for five years, without using violence and without ever receiving a personal visit from the owner or his agent showing legal title to the land, becomes him/herself the legal owner. Despite a 1992 court ruling that denied the Zaragoza family the right to claim ownership of the land, and that currently there is an injunction prohibiting eviction, the Zaragoza family continues to claim ownership of the land and is using intimidation and harassment tactics to force people to leave.

Since the conflict began in May 2003 residents have suffered a number of human rights violations such as removal of their electricity, which the residents had legally contracted and paid for. That has meant no light, no refrigeration, and no fans, in the hot desert for almost a year. In addition, because all the streetlights have been removed, groups of vandals can roam easily about Lomas at night, stealing and creating fear in the minds of the people, and intimidating the young women. This raises particular concern because of the hundreds of women who have been abducted, raped, tortured and killed in this area over the past ten years.

Now, the same wealthy and powerful Zaragoza family has once again invaded the mesa, this time with eighteen-wheelers full of cement and barbed wire, earth-moving equipment and the same group of vigilantes as last year. They have already encircled the community with cement posts, barbed wire, huge steel gates and three metal watchtowers strategically placed to keep the entire community in view. The situation is extremely tense and continues escalate.

These human rights violations have been repeatedly reported to the local authorities with no response. It appears that the only peaceful solution is federal intervention and mediation. I am asking you to intervene on behalf of the residents of Lomas de Poleo so that they may live peacefully on the land that is rightfully theirs.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this very urgent crisis.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

5 de abril de 2004
Estimado/a (insertar nombre):

Le escribo debido a una muy gran preocupación por un conflicto en la Colonia Lomas de Poleo de la Cd. Juarez. En los ulitmos 30 años, cientos de familias han habitado la zona, pero ahora solamente 300 familias se han quedado por miedo de su seguridad. La Constiución Mexicana dice que cualquier persona que pacificamente reside en un terreno por 5 años sin uso de violencia y no ha recibido visita del dueño o su representante legal mostrando titulo legal a aquel terreno, se convierte en dueño/a de dicho terreno. A pesar del juicio de la corte en 1992 que rechazó a la familia Zaragoza como dueña del terreno y que actualmente hay un amparo que prohibe la desposesión, la familia Zaragoza sigue declarándose dueña del terreno y usa tacticas de intimidación para forzar el desalojo de la gente.

Desde que el conflicto comenzó en mayo de 2003, los habitantes han sufrido varias violaciones de sus derechos humanos, por ejemplo se ha desmantelado el tendido electrico por el cual la gente había contratado y pagado. Eso ha significado que la gente no tenga luz, ni refrigederación, ni ventilación en el desierto por casi un año. Además, el hecho de que las calles no tienen luz de noche hay grupos de vandalos que pasan por Lomas molestando, robando y creando miedo en la gente, especialmente las jovenes. Esto es particularmente preocupante porque cientos de jovencitas han sido secuestradas, violadas, torturadas, y asesinadas en los ultimos diez años.

Ahora, la misma poderosa y rica familia Zaragoza ha vuelto a invadir la zona, esta vez con maquinas de construcción y el mismo grupo de vandalos del año pasado. Ya ha encerrado la comunidad con postes de cemento, malla cilicónica y torres de vigilancia. Se encuentra una situación extremadamente tensa la cual sigue escalando.

Estas violaciones de los derechos humanos han sido denuciadas a las autoridades locales sin recibir respuesta alguna. Pareciera que la unica solución pacífica es a traves de la intervención y mediación federal. Yo les pido que intervengan por los habitantes de Lomas de Poleo para que puedan vivir en paz en los predios que son legalmente suyos.

Gracias por su atención inmediata a esta urgente crisis.

Sinceramente,


(su nombre)