Preparing for Change
By Aaron Martinez
It started as temporary volunteer work, but Josh Pirtle soon realized that real change through civic action would require a lifelong commitment.
Through group work at Robert F. Kennedy Charter School, Pirtle learned the awful realities of femicide along the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
It's something that changed his life forever.
“I know now that I'm going to be committed to this work for as long as it takes,” said Pirtle, who at 19 has spent the past two years working to educate people about the issue.
Pirtle organizes his efforts through Nuestra Voz, a group of Albuquerque students from Robert F. Kennedy Charter School, South Valley Academy and Highland High School dedicated to educating the public about the femicide in Mexico, and working to develop action to change the situation.
For the past 12 years, more than 500 women have been brutally raped, tortured, and murdered in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. There has been little action on behalf of the police and investigative bodies in Mexico.
Pirtle hopes that his work in Nuestro Voz will lead to actual change in Mexico.
Nuestra Voz is one of the many youth groups that will be attending the 5 th Annual Summer Institute at the University of New Mexico, an event hosted by New Mexico Civic Engagement. During June 1-4, more than 100 young people from all over New Mexico will take participate in workshops and activities involving civic action that students like Pirtle develop and direct.
“I'm looking forward to the Summer Institute because it is an opportunity to educate youth to show them that there's something going on that needs their attention,” Pirtle said.
The event is titled, MOVE New Mexico, which stands for Making Ourselves Voices of Engagement, and it gives young adults a chance to experience civic action within their communities and network with each other to create strong alliances.
Project coordinator for New Mexico Civic Engagement, Joaquín Griego, said that 20 youth organizations are planning to attend the Summer Institute.
“This institute is an opportunity for the youth groups to get training and learn action strategies in workshops,” Griego said. “They come here to identify issues so they can go back into their communities work toward a goal.”
New Mexico Civic Engagement was founded in 2002 as a way for youth and adults to work together in a statewide service-learning and community involvement program that promotes participating in civic affairs. By engaging students from public high schools, educational alternatives, and charter schools, New Mexico Civic Engagement gives students an early opportunity to be involved in the political process.
Serving as a prime example, Nuestra Voz has already worked successfully to push legislative action through the New Mexico Senate and up to the U.S. Senate. But Jessie Young, a teacher at Robert F. Kennedy who initiated Nuestra Voz, said that more action is needed.
“This issue of femicide needs to reach the world court,” Young said. “There bigger action can be taken and more people can become invovled.”
For now though, Young and Pirtle are looking forward to the Summer Institute when they can continue their fight for justice and the protection of women along the border.
When asked why he participates in Nuestra Voz and New Mexico Civic Engagement, Pirtle simply said, “I do it because I like it and I believe I can make a change, I hope I can do something to change the world and how it is.”