by Hollie Nielsen, AWCC Scotland
In March and April, the Education Team is focusing on Global Citizenship, SDG Target 4.7. This goal includes education for human rights, gender equality, and promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence. As part of this focus, I listened to American Dirt by Janine Cummins. The book describes the harrowing journey of a mother and son who are running from drug violence in Acapulco. After surviving the massacre of their entire family at a birthday party, Lydia and Luca run to El Norte with a death sentence on their heads. They bus, walk, drive, and ride the tops of freight trains. Along the way, we see the violence, random and directed, meted out by the drug cartels and individuals. However, we also see acts of kindness from strangers and churches. We meet examples of the wide variety of migrants who are desperate enough to make the journey to the United States, the beacon of hope. 
This book raises hope for a culture of peace and non-violence, and describes human rights abuses and gender-based violence. I found the book passionate and very well paced; I couldn’t stop listening. The narration by Yareli Arizmendi helped me visualize Mexico, especially with the place names and Spanish phrases pronounced correctly. Most importantly, the book humanized the migrants; I see individuals with a host of reasons that make them desperate enough to attempt the exhausting and dangerous trip to cross the border. This is especially topical right now in the United States, as the borders are being flooded with unaccompanied minors.
The book has been controversial because some people don’t believe that a non-Hispanic woman could or should write this story while others resent that it’s a white woman who gets published. While the bias against Hispanic women being published is a problem, we should celebrate a book that raises important and disturbing issues and motivates people to discuss and hopefully act upon these issues. A well-researched work of fiction can be convincing and empowering even if the writer hasn’t lived the life she is describing.
In reading the book, I was struck by how Acapulco in the midst of drug violence reminds me of cities in COVID-19 lockdown. As the violence escalated in Acapulco, the residents stayed home – they didn’t go out to eat and limited their excursions in and around the city. Businesses like Lydia’s bookshop suffered. COVID restrictions have felt the same in cities under lockdown – no one goes out to eat, friends don’t gather to socialize, and stores and small businesses are closing. At least with COVID, though, there is an end in sight. It is hard to predict the long-lasting impacts that continued drug violence might have on the affected communities.
Photo courtesy of Hollie Nielsen
