From Russia to Mexico. With love
“Las fortalezas están en nuestras diferencias, no en nuestras similitudes”.
Stephen Covey
September 19, 2017 was not an ordinary day for Mexico. It was a disaster as huge and terrible as a strong earthquake can be.
On Thursday, September 21, the majority of HSE international students from Mexico came together to raise money for those who suffered in the catastrophe. There were 9 of them in total: Zaira Mireya Osornio Vázquez, Ary Ingrid Villanueva Gonzalez, Sayuri Grizel Alderete Lòpez, Quetzali Regina Laktin, Jorge Alonso Lozano Tena, Daniel Alejandro González Suárez, Aldo Fernando Cedillo Castillo, Aura Cruz Vilchis and Jorge Tomas Gonzalez Perez Lopez. They were supported by the International Office and the student organisation ESN HSE Moscow.
We asked Jorge some questions about the actions this group of young Mexicans took in order to help their homeland recover.
- So, do you feel your idea to raise money was supported by other students? Who inspired you?
- If I have to tell how many Mexicans helped us, my answer would be the hundreds of thousands of people who worked till dawn to rescue as many people as possible. Those are the ones who have inspired us in a way that we felt necessary to do something, even being so far away.
- What was the process of raising money?
- We collected donations during the weekend (from Friday till Sunday) On Friday, September 22, we divided into 3 different groups of 2 and went to 3 different faculties of HSE: Social Sciences, World economy and International Affairs and Humanitarian Sciences. The next day, on Saturday, it was the biggest HSE dormitory, Dubki, and Sunday was for Gorky Park.
Mexican students in Dubki with a Russian student and volunteer Julia
- As far as I know, the sign of actual participation in this action was a bracelet with the colours of the Mexican flag. I also have one! How did you manage to do so many of them?
- We made around 400 hundred per night, so that multiplied by 3 nights would be around 1200 bracelets in total, but it could be a bit more.
- And how many people approximately took part and supported you?
- Around 900 people from Russia and other countries (as HSE international students) opened their hearts to this noble cause, but not only with monetary support, but rather with good wishes and immeasurable kindness.
- What was the general attitude towards you? Charity is not as spread in Russia as it could be, people are rather skeptical and distrustful for such cases.
- It was indescribably good. Every single day we were amazed by the big hearts of the people we met. Quoting a partner, Quetzali Regina Laktin, who was there from the very beginning of the idea: “There was much solidarity, people frequently asked us if our families were alright, they also hugged us a lot and said to us that what we were doing was very noble”.
- And what were the final numbers? How much did you raise, and where did the money go?
- The total sum was huge: 81,685 Rubles, 54.67 Euros and 3.32 Dollars, or 27,008 Mexican Pesos. At first, we were planning to buy rescue tools and first aid kits because that was one of the biggest priorities when the earthquake struck. However, by the end of our action, the stage of recovery had begun, so after talking through it was collectively decided to send the donations into 2 different destinations: “Carlos Slim Foundation” which gives 5 Mexican pesos for every single donated peso and uses collected money for reconstructing educative and health spaces. We transferred 12,000 Mexican pesos (38,111.76 Rubles) which were turned into 60,000 Mexican Pesos (190,558.8 Rubles). “Engineers and Architects from costa chica A.C.” - this organization is collaborating with the “Foundation Harp Helu” and the Mexican “Federal Commission of Electricity” to reestablish electrical systems in Oaxaca on delegations “Juchitan, Ixtaltepec, Union Hidalgo and Santiago Astata among others (57 of 570 delegations)”. We donated 15,008 Mexican pesos (47,665.10784 Rubles). These delegations of Oaxaca were destroyed by the earthquake, they didn’t have electricity at all.
- I am sure you have something to say to those who supported the idea, and whose open-mindedness helped during those frightening events. Feel free to express your opinion.
- Thank you! Finally, I would like to add a personal inflection that I got during the whole process. In the beginning of it, I had the idea that the chances of this to be successful were very limited, that is why I had that thought crossing my mind: “These are the people outside of Mexico, why should they even care about what happened in a country so far away?” However, after 3 days of talking to every person and becoming a witness of the greatest response to this cause I realized that this was destined to succeed from the very beginning.
Unity is in the nature of humankind, as well as feeling others’ pain and a desire to help. After this experience, I remain even more in love with this wonderful country that has opened its doors from the first moment I arrived.
From Russia with love
Author: Irina Klimova
Editor: Rachael Horwitz
Special thanks to Jorge Tomas Gonzalez Perez Lopez, and everyone who participated in this action