On September 26th, 2015, supporters of
human rights around the world gathered to
keep momentum
going one
year after the
disappearance of
the 43 Ayotzinapa
students in Iguala,
Mexico.
On September
26th, 2014, a
group of students
from a small rural
community in the
state of Guerrero, Mexico called, Ayotzinapa,
were traveling to participate in a protest in
Mexico, City. Upon arriving in the city of
Iguala, police alongside unknown armed men
dressed in black laid siege on the students.
The siege, which all together lasted more than
3 hours, ended with 6
dead and 43 missing
The case of the
Ayotzinapa 43 has
garnered worldwide
attention as the
government of
Mexico continues its
attempt to cover up
the truth.
A forum was held in
Vancouver organized
by Fire This Time
Movement for Social Justice to mark this
anniversary by calling for justice for the
families of the 43 Ayotzinapa students.
Fire This Time editorial board member, Tamara
Hansen welcomed participants to the forum.
The panel of speakers at the forum included,
Mexican social justice activists, Montse Rueda
who gave a history and chronology of the case
of the 43 and Jannu Casanova who spoke
about the background of the students and the
school they were studying at. Chilean social
justice activist Macarena Cataldo and Cuba
solidarity activist Noah Fine brought the case
of the 43 into the perspective of the Latin
American struggle for social justice as well as
the world-wide struggle against imperialism
respectively. All
of the speakers
have been active
for the last year
in the struggle
for justice for the
43 students.
Leading up to
the one-year
anniversary
of the
disappearance of
the 43, the government of Mexico released its
version of what it says happened on that day.
“What the government wanted to do when
they came up with this ‘Historical Truth’ was
to appease the people by saying ‘Hey, this is
the truth, we’ve done our job, let us be, forget
about it.’” Stated
Montse Rueda in
her presentation.
“But with all of this
international support
it was really hard for
the government to get
away with it. The fact
that we had so many
people backing up
the movement, made
it extremely difficult
for the government
to close this down,”
Rueda concluded.
A dynamic discussion and question period
took place after the presenters finished.
Participants at the forum left energized with
the spirit of the family members of the 43 who
have not given up in the search for justice for
the 43.
One year later, the demand of supporters of
the 43 around the world continues: “They took
them alive, we want them back alive!
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