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WTC Attacks Compound Grief during Mexico's Day of the Dead KRTBN |
| Kevin G. Hall 11/02/2001 MEXICO CITY-- Across Mexico this week, families are honoring the dead in a pre-Hispanic ritual in which they visit the graves of loved ones. Picnics, often featuring the favorite meals of the dead, are held in front of elaborately decorated tombstones.But for families of Mexicans who are missing and presumed killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York, grief is compounded by the cultural weight of not being able to honor their dead properly. With no body -- fewer than 500 bodies have been identified from the World Trade Center rubble -- there is no grave to visit. So organizations in Mexico and New York have been trying to help families find other ways to honor their dead. In New York, the Tepeyac Association, a network of 40 immigrant-aid organizations in the area, has created an elaborate altar at its office to honor Mexicans and others who are missing in the World Trade Center rubble. In Mexico City, a colorful Day of the Dead altar was erected this week near the U.S. Embassy by the Cortinas, a Mexican family whose members were moved when they heard that some of the firefighters their grandchildren had visited months earlier in New York had perished in the crumbling towers. Decorated with pumpkin-orange flowers and lavish sweets, it lists the names of the dead Mexicans and New York firefighters. Last Sunday, the Mexican government, with the help of the Tepeyac Association, took 24 people from the families of nine known victims to an emotional remembrance ceremony at the site of the towers in New York. The victims' families were given urns full of ashes to remember their dead, whose bodies may never be recovered. The date was fitting -- the traditional Mexican remembrance of the dead begins Oct. 28 with ceremonies for those killed in accidents and through violence. The observance ends Nov. 2, the Day of the Dead, with large family meals, often graveside. "One of the ladies told me when I was in New York, 'I came to find my husband and I wasn't able to. Can you give me a little bit of dirt from there so I can take it back home and bury it with my family?' " said Juan Hernandez, the head of an office of the Mexican presidency that is charged with looking after the interests of Mexicans abroad. "I think culturally it is something that helps us Mexicans deal with this tragedy." "I think for a Mexican, indigenous or not, the Day of the Dead is extremely important. Those who were part of the family require a certain level of attention," said Joel Magallan, a Jesuit priest and executive director of the Tepeyac Association. At least 18 Mexicans are believed to be buried in the remains of the towers, according to the Mexican government. But some estimates from immigrant organizations suggest that as many as 500 undocumented Mexicans may have been killed in the tragedy. Getting a firm number is difficult because many surviving families are undocumented and fear persecution from U.S. immigration authorities. Some may have been illegal immigrants working for cash cleaning offices or delivering food and documents. The Day of the Dead holiday is among the most sacred in this intensely Roman Catholic country. Instead of fearing death, Mexicans embrace it with a tradition designed to let the souls of their departed family members know they may be gone but remain in spirit with those who live on. Among those wrestling with how to honor a loved one who died Sept. 11 is Felix Martinez, 36, a mother of four with a fifth on the way. Her husband left for the United States in midsummer to find a job and told her he was working in New York. He called a cousin after the first airplane struck the buildings, but was never heard from again. Martinez knows only that her husband cleaned a pizzeria and a vending stand at the trade center. The day after the attacks she left her home outside Mexico City and illegally crossed the Arizona-Mexico border to search for him. She was taken to New York by a smuggler whom she must eventually pay. Overwhelmed by the smoldering ruins, grief-stricken and pregnant, she was hospitalized and found to have diabetes. "He said he worked in this huge building," she recalled before breaking down and ending a phone interview from New York. "I couldn't find him, and I have looked everywhere. Nothing was going to stop me from coming here. I don't know how to read or write, I am here, but don't know how to get home." The Tepeyac Association is trying to assist in cases like Martinez's. |