Although the small town of Ayotzinapa is thousands of miles away from San Diego, residents of the county must be aware and support the cause of the 43 dissapeared Mexican students’ families, according to a local activist.

“San Diego should cares about Ayotzinapa,” said Elena Marques, co-organizer and co-coordinator of the Comité Acción Ayotzinapa, which is having a march in solidarity with Ayotzinapa on Saturday, February 28th, starting at 1 p.m. in front of the Mexican Consulate, in Little Italy, and ending at the NBC news building in downtown San Diego.

La Prensa San Diego talked to Marques to find out more about what the committee is trying to accomplish with this march, which is part of a series of events the activists have been organizing in San Diego. In December they had an art show honoring the 43 students.

La Prensa San Diego: Why should San Diegans care about Ayotzinapa, and what’s happening in Mexico in general?

Elena Marques: San Diego should care about Ayotzinapa, and what’s happening in Mexico for a couple of reasons. For one, it is so related to the struggles here against police violence we are seeing in the news. Shooting first, asking second, with Eric Garner, Mike Brown, the countless men, women, and children, unjustly killed by the system, with killers walking free.

Unfortunately this here in the States is only a tiny glimpse into police terror and violence in Mexico that has been coinciding for decades parallel with ours, but to a much greater extreme. It needs to be understood that America’s “War on Drugs” has really aided the militarization of Mexican police as well. It is our responsibility as conscious humans to stand up and ask our government to intervene at some point. We are bordering nations, many people of San Diego having family on both sides, and our responsibility as mothers, fathers, students, sons, daughters, to stand up for those like us who live in a country where those who are supposed to protect you, are those who are most feared and dangerous.

The people of Mexico are demanding transparency in what happened in Iguala that day, and in countless other similar tragedies, as we are demanding transparency of death by police here.

LPS: In general, how has the public in San Diego, Mexican or otherwise, responded to Ayotzinapa?

Marques: The people who are aware of the situation, are very concerned, angry, and want answers and justice, which ties into the main purpose of this march: To demand mainstream media to properly cover this situation. Everyone who sees or hears about the situation in Ayotzinapa is appalled to hear such a grotesque large scale human rights violation, and if there was more mainstream coverage, there is no doubt there would be action from a much broader audience.

LPS: What has been the response from the local Mexican consulate to the protests, marches in the past? (The consulate didn’t respond to a request for comment before deadline.)

Marques: We will only be at the Mexican Consulate as a significant place to start, and for them to see a large crowd gathered in the name of justice for Ayotzinapa. However, people at the consulate are just handling paperwork and business, we are not there to disturb them and once we are gathered we will be marching forward to NBC, which is where the real noise and demands will be made in the name of our missing students and those we have lost while defending them.

LPS: Why does the march end in front of NBC?

Marques: The one consistent request of the families has been “please do not forget us” and we followed the lead of the families they guide our actions and this is our response. Ayotzinapa was a quick flash in the news here, that came quickly with minimal coverage then faded away.

The purpose of stopping in front of NBC is to put Ayotzinapa back on the news. We are demanding coverage of the situation in Ayotzinapa, because the world needs to know this has not gone away. In many ways it is getting harder and we want the world to remember the real struggle has only begun and is far from over.

If they won’t cover it on their own accord, then we will stand as a massive crowd, in front of that building until we are interviewed about Ayotzinapa and we have done everything in our power to it give it the coverage it deserves.

LPS: How many people do you expect at the march?

Marques: It’s hard to say, but we’ve gotten a very positive response in solidarity from the entire county. We are asking everybody of all ages, nationalities, backgrounds to march with us to show how massive the global support for Ayotzinapa is, because this is not just a Mexican problem, this is a global problem.

LPS: Who is Gustavo Salgado and why is his story important to be included during the march?

Marques: Gustavo Salgado was a well known human rights activists who had organized many mobilizations demanding the safe return of the same 43 missing students for whom are marching. Salgado was kidnapped and then found brutally killed for the work he did. His story is important so that he can be recognized for what he did, that the government assassins can try to silence him in his work for the students, but we will not let them. The same way we won’t allow Ayotzinapa to be forgotten.

LPS: Anything you’d like to add?

Marques: I would like to reiterate that at the end of the day, the basis of this movement is human support and solidarity, and this march is here to echo San Diego’s presence in the worldwide fight for justice, to find these 43 students and support these parents. The same we would want someone to fight for our own mothers and furthermore our own children. We must remember they are not looking to start a political party, but looking for their children and it must be treated that way.

To learn more about the march and about the Comité Acción Ayotzinapa, you can contact them at sandiegopresente@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page, Acción Ayotzinapa.