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Mexico’s landscapes are scarred by the emotional wounds left behind by people who have disappeared in the war on drugs. And in other parts of the world, migrants also disappear continually, drowned in seas, or abandoned and lost in deserts.
Children disappear in illegal adoptions; women who go to another country to seek work vanish without a trace.
Journalists, activists and whistle-blowers who dare to speak the truth about political, economic and criminal elites also ‘disappear’, forced into silence.
The problem is accentuated when there are high-stakes interests and big capital at risk, and when organized crime actors are involved.
This is not a problem to be left solely to multilateral forums or human rights agendas.
You can do a lot to raise awareness about how disappearances are increasingly linked to organized crime in local communities the world over.
Here you will find all that you need to know to cover the "Landscapes" project:
The purpose of this document is to grant you access to a set of exclusive pre-launch material (an embargoed press release, documentary, video, graphics, and launch event details) related to our project, that will be launched virtually on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 30 August 2021.
Background: The Resilience Fund Fellowship 2020
The Resilience Fund is the GI-TOC’s grant-making mechanism that finances, nurtures, and assists local initiatives in their responses to organized crime. It conducts a Fellowship programme and provides capacity building for civil society organizations.
In 2020, the Resilience Fund launched its first Fellowship program to support an international group of individuals responding to organized crime in their local communities. Focusing on the local impact of global organized crime, the inaugural theme was: “Disappearances related to organized crime.” It facilitated cross-sectoral, global, and interdisciplinary cooperation.
The Landscapes project is an outcome of this collaboration that documents disappearances throughout the world featuring contributions by all of the 2020 Fellows.
Throwback to last year:
The main outcomes of this project are a website, a documentary, and a campaign.
A place called disappeared
This project is a collaboration between the Resilience Fund Fellows and award-winning Mexican journalist Daniela Rea, author of the introductory essay "A place called disappeared".
The centrepiece of the project is Daniela's essay and documentary on disappearances, which are closely linked to the Fellows’ work in their communities, and include contributions by them.
Rea's essay explores the sensorial and emotional journey of those undertaking relentless searches to find disappeared relatives. While it focuses on Mexico, her story is an example of all places where disappeared people may be hidden, the physical spaces that they occupy, and a call to acknowledge that they never really disappear.
Watch the documentary trailer:
Accompanying families searching for their missing relatives across Mexico, Daniela Rea allows us to experience these horrific disappearances first-hand. Through not just words and pictures but also music and literature, this 20-minute documentary will transport you alongside their journey and will premier with the launch of the Landscapes project.
Click below to access other visual assets:
Join us on August 30
About the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)
The Global Initiative is an independent civil-society organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a globally dispersed Secretariat and a high-level advisory board. Its network members include prominent law-enforcement, governance and development practitioners who are dedicated to seeking new and innovative strategies and responses to organized crime.
Credits:
Illustrations: Rosario Lucas