Extortion of Mexican schools: Parents stand guard (Feature)

By Nolan Beiner Jan 15, 2011, 0:58 GMT

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Teachers in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez have to worry about more than just inspiring children to learn.

They have to worry about keeping them alive.

Schools in the most violent city in Mexico are being subjected to extortion by criminal gangs who demand the payment of 'dues' in exchange for protection, lest they torch the school or kill teachers and students.

With 2,738 deaths in the city linked to organized crime last year alone, according to official Mexican government figures, the threats are hardly empty. The deaths represent 17.9 per cent of criminal deaths for the whole country in 2010.

School extortions increased in the last months of 2010. Faced with what many perceive as only scarce support from the authorities, parents are policing the facilities themselves.

'We take turns and we guard (the school) every day,' Isidro Briseno, president of the Parents Association of the primary school Maclovio Herrera, told the German Press Agency dpa.

'Fifty per cent of the parents are supporting this and we do rounds around the school, we watch from inside our vehicles, and we are in touch when we see a suspect. That is how we keep looking after our children and praying to God for the threat to be just a bad joke,' he said.

Intimidation takes the form of signs posted on the main gates of schools. At Maclovio Herrera, criminals requested 13,000 pesos (some 1,000 dollars) by Saturday. If they do not pay, the facilities risk being set afire and children face physical harm, two threat messages said.

Bus and taxi operators and commercial firms have been threatened - and attacked when they did not pay up.

Some parents are reluctant to give their names, out of fear. But they said they have friends and relatives with children at other schools who pay up on extortion demands to avoid attacks.

'You don't hear about it because education authorities forbid teachers commenting, but every week children have to take in a given amount so that all together they can pay the dues,' said a woman who is on the surveillance committee at Maclovio Herrera.

Last year there were at least six cases of schools that faced extortion demands and were forced to suspend lessons. The criminals threatened to behead the children and kill the teachers. Beheading is one of the terror tactics of Mexico's increasingly violent criminal gangs.

Manuel de Jesus Flores Lopez, headmaster at Maclovio Herrera primary school, told dpa that he has no support from either the state's Education Ministry or the public prosecutor's office. But he is grateful for the help of brave parents who keep watch while their children learn.

'Of the 228 children we have, 95 skipped school. We do have absentees, but still the parents do rounds around the facilities. We have orders from the Education Ministry that lessons should not be suspended, although we take the threat seriously,' Flores Lopez said.

Alberto, a second-grade student, said he was scared to go to school. However, he said he gained confidence from seeing his father and other parents outside the school, watching that no one gets too close.

This group of men and women has no weapons - only determination and self-designed strategies to keep the area safe. It remained to be seen whether this was enough.

Education Vice Minister Javier Gonzalez Mocken told reporters that paying up on extortion demands is not the best option, and that police would be able to protect these schools.

However, Maclovio Herrera officials say they have no federal or town police officers assigned to their facilities. While they have filed a formal complaint about the extortion, they say no investigators have visited them even to discuss the issue.

Read more about Mexico Crime