By the thousands, Mexicans flee blood-stained Juarez
| FEATURE |
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CIUDAD JUAREZ — They call it the exodus. Thousands who emigrated to northern Mexico seeking better lives have recently fled its murder capital Ciudad Juarez to escape a bloody drug war.
Diego Ramirez was one of countless young Mexicans who flocked to the frontier area with the United States for jobs in the factories and assembly plants that sprang up after the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
But he and his family were among 2,300 persons from the Gulf coast state of Veracruz who, opting for safety over financial stability, recently boarded charter flights back home to start over again.
“We had to leave our house empty. We had nearly paid for it all, but it was either that or risk getting caught up in a shootout,” said Ramirez, who caught a flight to Veracruz paid for by the state government. With him were his two sons and their 76-year-old grandmother.
Ramirez had scraped together what little money he had and borrowed the rest, to buy his house; now he doesn’t know what will become of it..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20101217com7.html
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