Anonymous Email Asking for “a Truce for Christmas in Juarez”

As Christmas approaches, kids from all over the world prepare a list of all the things they want Santa Claus to drop down their chimneys on Christmas Eve. An 8-year-old boy from Juarez, Mexico, however, is neither wishing for a new robot or a new bicycle. He is wishing for a truce, a truce between the warring drug cartels in the city he lives in.

A simple wish

In an anonymous email circulating all over the Internet, a mysterious man who referred to himself as “tu tio” or your uncle, is extending his nephew’s simple yet inspirational request not only to dear St. Nick but to the rest of the world: three peaceful days in Juarez — three days that are free from irresponsible shootings, unmerciful killings, and unjustified executions.

A barbaric war

The people of Juarez in Mexico are currently suffering from the ongoing conflict between two of the biggest drug cartels in the city. The murder rates are not only increasing, but the killing methods are also equally worsening. The barbaric murders have ranged from a pig-masked man found hanging from a fence to a decapitated man found suspended on a bridge. Journalists cited drug violence, social poverty, and government corruption as the main causes of the Juarez conflict.

A young orphan

According to the uncle, the young boy is asking both Santa Claus and Jesus Christ to put an end to the violence in Juarez. The ongoing conflict, after all, has been a very traumatic experience for him. At a very young age, he witnessed how his own father was killed in the middle of the riot.

An important message

His son’s tragic experience inspired the uncle to compose the email. In his message, he asked the involved parties to put an end to this war for the sake of the children. He said, “Don’t let what happened to my nephew happen to any other children. If you are involved in this, I ask you, I beg you… think of a child you love and do it for them.”