Kidnappings in Mexico

 Part 1
The government in Mexico has become so afraid of the criminals of it's country, that the judicial system has become more and more unable to provide protection to it's citizens. According to the New York Times, "studies also show that kidnappings destroy a city’s sense of security and its economy even more than murders do," and with the rise of crime, there is less chance of being caught, and so the crime spiral keeps rising. So many people are being kidnapped and the government is doing nothing. Partly due to corruption, but also because there is so much crime that they cannot keep up. Because the government is not able to keep up, some families like the ones in the article posted below, have written to President Obama in hopes that he will do something for them, along with European countries. Many people see their captors on a daily basis, and know where they were being held, and yet still nothing is heard or done. This is leading to more families starting to take things into their own hands, causing more violence.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/world/americas/in-mexico-a-kidnapping-ignored-as-gang-crimes-go-unpunished.html?pagewanted=all

Part 2
 So far, the most memorable part to me is when the father shoots the man who finds them in the woods. He does it not only to protect himself, but mostly his son. The man tried to get him to come back with him, but he knew that him and his son would be killed and eaten. He took a major risk by making such a loud sound with the gun when he was greatly outnumbered with enemies. The sentence that was most memorable to me from this event was on page 74. The man was washing the boys hair, "This is my child, he said. I was a dead man's brains out of his hair. That is my job". As gory as it is, it is my favorite. As much as he detaches himself from the boy throughout the book, by only calling him boy, it shows that not only does he want him to live, but he is caring too. He creates more of a relationship with his son, and almost a normal job of a father; helping bathe is young child. This scene helps the reader connect with him as a parent doing his job as a father.