blog 12

I was born in Mexico City, my whole family is Mexican. I came to Miami when I was 12 and i was so happy to finally leave that crowded city. I go back maybe 3 times a year to visit my family and friends, and it isn't until now that i begin to realize the horrible situation that my fellow Mexicans are suffering. Poverty is a huge issue in that city, it is slowly growing and there are no opportunities for achieving a better life. Children have to leave their schools because they have to work in the streets in order for them to have enough money to eat that night. In almost every stop light you will see a group of children dressed as clowns trying to perform a worthy spectacle in those 2 minutes that the cars are stopped; they later hurry to collect what people are willing to give them. It is genuinely heart breaking to see the exasperated desperation of these poor children that should not have to be working. Mexico City is one of the biggest cities in the world; imagine how many red lights there are. Corruption is a major component to this devastating issue; not only by the government but by society itself. The parents of these hardworking children are known to take all their money away at the end of the day so they can indulge in their drugs or alcohol. This is why many of these kids decide to abandon their homes (if they can even be considered homes) and live underground. There are huge communities of children living under the sewers; this becomes the tomb of many of them due to the unsanitary conditions and the lack of nutrition. In desperate times, the leader of their communities have to steal paint thinner or even highly toxic glue for them to inhale so the hunger wont seem that penetrating. Mexico does not have the means to offer help to the children, it has been a growing problem and it seem that people have gotten used to it. I have not gotten used to see hunger in my country. When I was 13 and I went back for Christmas I remember that a nine year old girl was came knocking on our door, you could barely see her skin for most of it was covered in dirt. Her eyes were humid and she offered to clean our backyard in exchange of food. My mom took her in and we all ate at the table, she then went to my room to take a shower and I gave her some clean clothes. She seemed skeptical to the whole situation and remembered to keep her distance, but when my mom brought out my dolls we both forgot that this uncomfortable situation was happening and spent hours playing until nighttime came and she said she had to go back to her mom. I never saw her again and it breaks my heart to know that the next day maybe she did have to clean a backyard in exchange of food.