In Fresnillo, a mining town of 240,000 inhabitants in the state of Zacatecas, the war between drug traffickers causes dozens of deaths every month. In this city located nearly 700 kilometers from the capital, Mexico City, the inhabitants live with fear every day. The settling of scores and shootings on the public highway no longer surprise the population. Last January, for example, ten bodies were found in an abandoned van in the historic center of the city, in front of the governor’s palace.
To teach the youngest how to protect themselves in this climate of insecurity, the city is organizing a summer camp like no other: safe training for children from 6 years old. Alongside other more traditional activities, such as reading stories and crafts, the organizers teach children how to react in the event of a shooting in the street.
#CiroEnImagen“No estamos normalizando la violencia, estamos respondiendo a una realidad”, our dijo Simitrio Quezada, coordinator of Bibliotecas de Fresnillo, where a simulacro of #balacera con niños y maestros: pic.twitter.com/i7PAIzX4Hy
— Imagen Television (@ImagenTVMex) August 17, 2022
The little ones rush to the ground, face down. The sound of crossfire suddenly resounds in the municipal library of Fresnillo while about fifty children follow the instructions of the police officers who have come to provide this training. Simitrio Quezada, responsible for these courses, says that the current context of unbridled violence makes it necessary to teach children the reflexes that could save their lives.
“In the center of Mexico, there are simulations to train the population in the event of an earthquake. Well, here, in the north of the country, which is an area of drug trafficking, our reality is the shootings.”
Simitrio Quezada, summer internship managerat franceinfo
The second part of the safety training is a bit more creative, with a “interactive theater play“whose objective is “to teach children how they should react in the event of an abduction and how the police investigate“. The little ones are dressed in forensic science suits and must collect clues from the crime scene under the supervision of a police officer. “We address the behavior of the victims, their parents and the investigators”, he continues.
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“The police have a bad image and we wanted through these activities that the children could have another visionexplains Simitrio Quezada who wants to publicize the work of the police during these courses. Of course there is corruption among the security forces. But we want this generation to be able to establish a bond of trust with the police“.
Last year, Fresnillo made headlines: it is the city with the highest perception of insecurity in all of Mexico. 97% of the inhabitants are afraid to leave their homes, as the violence has become commonplace.