Over the last two weeks my wife and our niece came from Mexico to visit me in Berlin, and with them I got to visit the more touristy parts of this city, which I normally wouldn't have gone to. One such place is the Hackesche Höfe in the center, a number of inter-connected courtyards of Art-Nouveau buildings, hosting a variety of cafés, galleries, theaters, cultural centers, and the like. The walls are covered in stickers and murals, among which one stood out particularly for my Mexican visitors.
Atotzinapa 43, We Want Them Back Alive
This slogan may not mean much outside of Mexico, but over the last nine years it has stirred up the country in a major way. Ayotzinapa is the town in the Mexican State of Guerrero, where the teachers' university Escuela Normal Rural „Raúl Isidro Burgos“. In October 2014 forty-three students from this college attended a demonstration in the nearby town of Iguala, where they were detained by the police, and subsequently abducted, disapeared, and murdered, at least partially by cartells. Since then, the name of the town and the number 43 have become symbols representing the corruption and impunity within the state.
43 Names to be Remembered
As shocking as this story may sound by itself, it is literally drowned out by all the similar pieces of information regarding human rights abuses in Mexico, be it by organized crime groups, or the state, which you could claim are two sides of the same coin. It is therefor even more surprising to see a large mural in Berlin being dedicated to the Ayotzinapa students.
What makes it even more interesting, is the exact location of the mural, right next to the Anne Frank Center. Sure, Anne Frank never lived in Berlin, but there sure was a Holocaust here, which she became to represent just as much as the 43 students do for the situation in Mexico. In fact, you could even say they all share the same fate of becoming victims of state violence and human rights abuse. So while Ayotzinapa is apparently everywhere, so is the Holocaust.
This post is part of my Walls of Berlin series, where I like to collect interesting murals from around the German capital. It is also my participation in the weekly CCC's Street Art Contest #161, where you can see amazing street art from around the world.