As of a week ago, I have had to make a commitment to keep up to date with news on a daily basis, due to the nature of the field I will be pursuing for my future career. I won’t deny that it seemed like a difficult task, mainly because I only read about things that interest me, such as sports and entertainment and specific political and global conflicts. However, I came across an article that really shook me. I was heart broken as I read the details of the story. As I was doing more research, I was reminded of the reasons why I enjoy journalism and strongly believe that it is a field that is not dying, but more so growing and changing.
One of Mexico’s most highly regarded poets, Javier Sicilia began the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity after his son Juan Francisco was murdered along with six of his friends by drug gang members on March 28, 2011. His eagerness to stop the war on drugs led to approximately 20,000 protests in Mexico City and over 50,000 in his hometown of Cuernavaca. The movement’s Caravan For Peace arrived in Washington this past Monday. The month long caravan journey that began in San Diego on August 12th was intended to raise awareness about the issue of drug trafficking, not just in Mexico but in the States as well, and to put pressure on President Calderon to put an end to it.
Sadly, I did not know about this until this past Monday when I came across it online at CNN. As I read it, I was reminded of the main reason why journalism is so appealing to me. I believe we live in a corrupt world. Corrupt, but not hopeless. And as horrifying as certain stories and incidents may be, I think we should always be looking for ways to raise awareness and act accordingly for the sole purpose of finding peace. This is what intrigues me about journalism; as heart wrenching as it is, it allows for a human connection that has the potential to reach audiences and viewers worldwide in order to create change. I was inspired by Sicilia’s courage; his cause allowed me to re-evaluate my personal reasons as to why journalism is a career that is worth undertaking in a world that deems it as dying or close to it. As a tribute to the loss of his son and his brilliant poetic abilities, here is Sicilia’s latest poem, which he dedicated to his son.
“The world is not worthy of words
they have been suffocated from the inside
as they suffocated you, as they tore apart your lungs …
the pain does not leave me
all that remains is a world
through the silence of the righteous,
only through your silence and my silence, Juanelo.”
He later on said, “If we do not make peace together, we will never find it.” And to me, the world is definitely worthy of peace.