The Ni Ni: Life and Death in The Northern Pass
"Hay quienes chingan por chingones y quienes chingan por chingar ... Para el mexicano, la vida es la posibilidad de chingar o de ser chingado" - Octavio Paz
This project is about the residents of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico: those who are trapped in a war that is as complex as it is horrifying.
Sprawled across the tail end of the Rocky Mountains where the starved Rio Bravo pushes mud through a barren desert valley sits Ciudad Juarez, one of most violent cities in the world – historically known as El Paso del Norte or The Northern Pass. Over the past three years more than 4000 people have lost their lives in a struggle for power whose roots reach deep into Mexico’s history. Here Mexicans are still fighting the same class war that led them into a revolution in 1911 as droves of unemployed and disillusioned youth turn to crime to move up in a society that’s class lines are firmly drawn.
Mexico’s past is filled with class-based conflicts and violence. The Mexican Independence from Spain in 1810, The Caste War of the Yucatan, The Reform War, The Mexican Revolution, the Zapatista uprising, The Actael Massacre, the Tlatelolco Massacre, and finally the current conflict between cartels and the Mexican government have all been rooted, in sorts, to the frustrations of underrepresented and impoverished underclass that lacks economic mobility and genuine political voice. Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city that has seen the greatest amount of violence, serves as a microcosm for what is happening across the entire country. Despite a robust economy and relatively large middle and upper classes, the city has seen the drug war demolish its infrastructure (material and human) as Juarez continues falling deeper into a recessive pattern of violence, economic hardship, and social injustice.
The Ni Ni – coined from the phrase “ni trabajo – ni escuela” (without school or work) – is Mexico’s largely forgotten youth between the ages of 15 and 30 years old that since the start of President Calderon’s “War on Corruption” have dissipated into the fractures of Mexican society.
June 7, 2010 8:14 pm - Rosario Hernandez Guereca holds back her relatives as they curse at United States Border Patrol agents who shot and killed her 15-year-old brother from across the Rio Bravo. According to eyewitnesses, the shooting occurred after Guereca and several other teenagers crossed into the United States and retreated back to Mexico once they were spotted. One in their group was detained by the U.S. Border Patrol and at least one of the boys threw a rock from the Mexican border into the United States toward the Border Patrol agent. In retaliation, the agent fired several rounds hitting Guereca in the head. Officials would later say that Guereca was assisting members of the group in crossing illegally into the United States by learning the patterns of border agents. They would label the 15-year-old boy a “coyote” or smuggler.
There’s a way of describing someone in Juarez by calling them “muy del barrio” or very much from a bad neighborhood or street. This is how one of Guereca’s schoolmates described him; Guereca was one of the Ni Ni.
The recent economic downturn has only served to exacerbate the situation for the Ni Ni. With the current jobless rate increasing and local funding for public works sent to purchasing arms, the ability for Ciudad Juarez to target social issues has become even more difficult. Countless businesses have closed and are boarded-up. Rows of homes are left vacant. Streets are empty. It is very clear that the city, once bursting at the seams, is now rapidly emptying-out. For those that are left behind the situation is dire.
Over this year, I have come to know a group of teenagers from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city “Diaz Ordaz.” Several of the group are involved in a small street gang known as “Los Noveno,” (The Nine) which formed to protect their neighborhood from rival armed gangs who would terrorize their neighborhood. Since its creation, the Novenos have gone through several periods of changes. Eventually they became involved in criminal activity as well, until two members were killed. Some members quit the gang, and now they have largely returned to their original, vigilante-like status in the neighborhood. Working with this group of teenagers will be a fundamental aspect of my project.
Working in Juarez is increasingly dangerous. In September, gunmen shot two photographers from El Diaro, Juarez’s largest local newspaper, in their car killing 21-year-old photography intern Luís Carlos Santiago. Journalists working there often self-censor for fear of reprisal. After the attack, El Diario issued a plea to the cartels asking for guidelines in order to avoid the future loss of journalists. Over 60 journalists have died in Mexico since 2000 and there are at least nine cases of disappearances. In order to keep working in Juarez safely , I’ll have to adopt strategies used by news organizations working in places like Iraq or Afghanistan. Unfortunately, this is much more costly. The Visura Grant would help with important costs such as staying in more secure hotels in Juarez or across the border, and increased travel costs as trips will have to be much shorter.