La Vida Idealist

A girl sitting on the sidewalk

If fear is where all faith begins, Mexico has the potential to understand faith like never before.

Fear is what kept me from writing this two weeks ago. Fear is just as common in Mexican life as tiled counter tops and concrete floors. Recently, it’s been creeping up from deep, deep down. Creeping like a faithful army of ants marching toward a opened sugar bowl.

Every day the news informs us of a new shoot out. Every day. We tried comparing it to living in Charlotte, Chicago or New York City. But most of the crimes there are randomly done by one hurt person unconnected to the other criminals. Here it’s planned by one criminal who leads many. Bribes are taken by government officials who receive an ultimatum: either give us your money and we’ll protect your town or no more tomorrow for you and your family.

Monterrey, a city that used to be “immune” to drug violence, has recently joined the ranks of Mexico City and Acapulco, all of us hopeful we won’t be labeled another Ciudad Juarez. Since President Felipe Calderon took office 3.5 years ago, 23,000 names have been written on graves due to drug related violence, reported National Public Radio on June 19, in an article named “Violence Reaches New Peak in Mexican Drug War.” Nationwide, 96 people were killed on Monday, June 14. The highest death toll in one day so far.

People here fear saying the name of the drug cartel Zeta. I refuse to let fear control me that much. I am reminded of Albus Dumbledore’s words to Harry Potter, “Fear of a name increases fear of a thing itself.”

Rumor has it, about a month ago, some of the drug traffickers took over an abandoned house right around the corner from where I live. They are no longer there. But I look twice when passing by. Two months ago, the Mexican army found a warehouse full of cartel-owned weapons.

I say a prayer of protection when I drive into Monterrey. And I’m not the only one. When fear increases, prayer increases. The potential for faith to increase is there. But all too often fear overwhelms faith – or rather, we let it overwhelm faith. I am confident that faith, hope and love will always be around, even when tiled countertops turn to ash.

Fear leaves us with a choice: either we join its forces and help spread massive panic, or we choose to believe that hope will never die, even if we do.

Gena Thomas is a faith-based coffee shop co-manager with her husband and women’s coop laborer. For more on her experiences, check out her blog.

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