Border Statement

We want to update you on the violence that is occurring in Mexico and what it means for you and your participation in the Corazón program. For the past year and a half rather than address the emotional and often wildly exaggerated media reports, we have chosen to tighten our Saturday security measures, answer your concerns when they were voiced and post the information you needed on the website to make an informed decision.  However, the recent renewal of the State Department’s long standing travel advisory on Mexico this week has caused us to rethink our approach and let you know what is actually going on in Mexico.

There has been a “travel alert” for Mexico for over four years now.  It is not a travel “warning” that says to stay away, it is a public notice to let you know that there has been trouble in the country and you should be careful when you go there. The alert is providing you with the information you need to make an informed decision about a particular travel destination.  It is the same sort of information you would give a friend who is going to the Los Angeles Coliseum for a sporting event—have fun but be careful what you do and where you go.  We reiterate that this is not a new alert but a regular renewal of past alerts.

We do not want to minimize the fact that Mexico, and especially some of the border cities, has experienced some horrific violence in the past few years.  We do want to emphasize that very little has been directed at American citizens and none has been directed at any American doing volunteer work in Tijuana or Tecate.  This violence is the result of a clash of the drug cartels and law enforcement on both sides of the border.  These clashes are often sensational, providing easy exploitation by the media and a distorted sense of the reality on the ground.

Meanwhile, the needs of the people in the communities we serve in Mexico, and the opportunity for education, growth, and spiritual fulfillment that US groups (especially teens) can receive by participation in that service remains.  If anything, it is intensified by the current economic conditions in the US and Mexico.  We are therefore highly motivated to address these issues, implement changes and resolve them where we can in a rational way.

It is painful to explain to our participants how their country is perceived by most Americans.  They know that there is none of this violence in their local communities.  They know the sacrifices they have made to be part of the Corazón program.  They know what a difference your trips to Mexico have made in their lives.  They wish they had the opportunity to explain it to you face to face.

So that is what we are trying to do.  We take our responsibility to both our participants in Mexico and our volunteers in the US very seriously.  We have listened to the advice of both governments and instituted prudent and responsible safeguards for your trip to Mexico with us.  You can review the specific steps we have implemented here.  We ask you to consider what your service means not only for those in Mexico but also for you and your family as well, and what a tragic loss it would be if the program was allowed to fail.