In 2006, former Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared a 'War on Drugs'. In the intervening years, killings and disappearances, perpetrated by all parties in the conflict, have spiralled, with 150,000 people now dead and at least 26,000 disappeared. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/undeniable-atrocities-execsum-eng-20160602.pdf
In August 2011, the group Fuentes Rojas (Red Fountains) started a collective public memorial “Bordando por la Paz y la Memoria: una víctima, un pañuelo,” making visible the scale of the conflict. Embroidering weekly in a square in the south of Mexico City, using red thread on white handkerchiefs, they stitch the names and details of people killed during the War on Drugs; one handkerchief for every victim.
The embroiderers in Nuevo León in North East Mexico are relatives of the Disappeared. They stitch in green, representing hope for the return of their loved ones.
The group in Puebla, as well as embroidering handkerchiefs for those killed and disappeared, also stitch in pink and purple. This is to highlight the issue of femicide in Puebla, where there has recently been a spike in violence against women.
Embroidering in public spaces has spread to other cities in Mexico and further afield. With minimal materials in simple surroundings, these embroiderers for peace publicly denounce the deaths and disappearances, reconnect with the memory of their loved one through the physical act of stitching and actively demand a more peaceful future.
Groups are embroidering in Wales at present and will do so throughout the “Stitched Voices” exhibition programme, in solidarity with the Mexican groups who resist through stitching.
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