Catholic Relief Services Letter

Dear Friends,

Please take a few minutes to support the families of the 63 coal miners who were killed in the Pasta de Conchos mine explosion in northern Mexico in February 2006. This mine is owned by Grupo Mexico, the 3rd largest copper producer in the world, and owner of several mining operations in the U.S.

The bodies of the miners still have not been recovered from the mine, for what are largely believed to be political reasons and an effort to cover up the real cause of the explosion. The Mexican Human Rights Commission has found both the company and the Mexican government negligent in the explosion because of unsafe working conditions at the mine prior to the explosion and inadequate inspection by government labor inspectors.

The families of the miners have been camped out in front of the Labor Secretary's office in Mexico City since September 19 demanding that recovery efforts of their loved ones continue. The government will be making a decision on the case this Friday, October 5, so it is crucial that the Mexican government receive pressure from those of us in solidarity with the families THIS WEEK.

Please take a few minutes to look at the letter, posted below, which we are suggesting you send to the following email addresses. If you want to add a few personal words of your own at the beginning or end of the letter, so that all the letters aren´t exactly alike, that would be great.

Below are the email addresses for President Calderón, Labor Secretary Lozano, and Grupo Mexico representative (please send your messages to all of these addresses because sometimes one or two of them fills up):

felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
javier.lozano@stps.gob.mx
xavier.gdequevedo@mm.gmexico.com
frjramirez@segob.gob.mx
gmartinez@funcionpublica.gob.mx
esojo@economia.gob.mx

Also, please blind copy the following address: cereal@prodigy.net.mx, so that the Jesuit labor rights organization in Mexico which is working with the families can track how many emails get sent.

Finally, in the subject line of the email, please put one of the following: "RECOVER THE MINERS' BODIES NOW", "PASTA DE CONCHOS' FAMILIES HAVE RIGHT TO BURY THEIR LOVED ONES", "RETURN MINERS' BODIES TO THEIR FAMILIES" or something along those lines.

Thank you again!

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[Insert Date]

Dear: President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa
Mr. Javier Lozano Alarcón, Labor Secretary
Mr. Germán Larrea Mota Velasco, Grupo México

I am writing to express my concern for the families of the 63 coal miners who died in the Pasta de Conchos coal mine explosion on February 19, 2006. The families have been waiting for more than a year and a half for the bodies of their loved ones to be recovered from the mine and returned to them.

I understand that the rescue workers who were involved in the recovery operation, until it was suspended by Grupo México in April, have declared that the conditions in the mine are safe enough to complete the recovery effort.

I respectfully request that the rescue workers' testimony about the conditions in the mine be heard and be given serious consideration. I also request that a thorough investigation be conducted into the causes of the original explosion in the mine and that the families be duly informed of the progress in this case.

Thank you for doing the right thing and honoring the right of the families to bury the remains of their loved ones.

Sincerely,


[Name, City and State]