Previous The 49 bodies now appear headed for an increasingly common fate in this drug war-wracked country: They could join the growing ranks of the unidentified dead.
That group has become legion as nearly 16,000 bodies remain unidentified, says the National Human Rights Commission, an independent government agency. In total, 24,000 people have been reported missing. Many say the country’s police are simply overwhelmed by the number of drug war casualties as they struggle with poor forensic capabilities and the reluctance of some witnesses and victims’ relatives to help.
That apparent futility is drawing increasing criticism from Mexicans weary of the government-led offensive against drug cartels, who are also fighting among themselves. The violence in total has claimed at least 47,000 victims since President Felipe Calderon launched his anti-cartel campaign in late 2006.
“The level of violence we’re living with reflects the critical condition our institutions are in, and it reveals a corrupt government,” said Blanca Martinez of the Fray Juan de Larios human rights center in the northern border state of Coahuila. Hundreds of people have gone missing in Coahuila since 2009, when violence started to erupt in northeastern Mexico.
The most recent discovery of corpses shows just how hard it is to put names to often heavily mutilated bodies.
Although the 49 corpses all lacked heads, hands and feet, police performed DNA tests on them and compared the results, without luck, to hundreds of Mexicans reported missing.
3 Mexico journalists slain, dumped in bags in drug gang-plagued VeracruzSummit of the Americas may by a turning point in the war on drugs
Next The following script is from “India’s Gold” which originally aired on Feb. 12, 2012 and was rebroadcast on July 22, 2012. Byron Pitts is the correspondent. David Schneider, producer.
In the past 20 years, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing economies on earth. Today, as a result, India is now the world’s largest consumer of gold. Why gold? Because in India, there is no possession more valuable. Just as part of the American dream is to own a home, the dream in India is to own gold. As we first told you in February, for Indians, gold jewelry is wearable wealth, financial security that’s also a fashion statement. India’s love for gold is as ancient as its culture. And with its growing prosperity, the one event that drives most of that demand is an Indian wedding.
There may be no wedding like an Indian wedding. The events can last for days with music and dancing and traditions that go back centuries. Everywhere you look, there’s a collection of colors, flowers and food. And then there’s the gold: breathtaking. Here it’s a symbol of purity that also shows off the couple’s wealth and wellbeing.
Byron Pitts: I’ve heard several times since I’ve been here, “No gold, no wedding.”
Divya Chauhan: Yes, absolutely.
Vithika Agarwal: It’s very true.
Divya Chauhan: The bride is ready, the groom is ready, the venue is set, the food is set, but if you don’t have gold, there’s no wedding.
Divya Chauhan and Vithika Agarwal are former beauty queens. Today, they’re business partners as wedding planners. In November, in the small southern city of Tumkur, they pulled together the wedding event of the season.
[Chauhan: She’s very late, could you ask them to come quickly…]
Two of the town’s elite families joined through the marriage of Nivedita Keshavmurthy and Akshay Bavikatte – both doctors.
Agarwal: Unlike Western cultures, where it’s about the bride and the groom, here, it’s about anything but the bride and the groom.
Chauhan: Yeah.
Agarwal: It’s about two families coming together.
Chauhan: Together.
Half of the gold that Indians buy each year is jewelry bought for a wedding. And this was one of the estimated 10 million weddings that take place in India every year. But few rise to the level of this lavish affair, stretched over five days. The tent was custom built for the ceremonies. Water piped in for fountains and musicians flown in from Mumbai, the entertainment capital of India. The lighting, audio and video orchestrated like a Bollywood movie set. The families spent over $200,000 just on gold.
Comentarios recientes