But it is during these trying times that communities come together and inspire the world. This time was no different. Organizations like Mexico’s Topos (the moles) and the Red Cross, trained rescue dogs and citizens from all over Mexico and work endlessly to rescue people trapped under the rubble of collapsed schools, hospitals and buildings.
It is exactly 32 years ago that Mexicos’s Topos came to life after hundreds of neighbors and rescue volunteers joined forces to search for survivors. Since then, Topos work closely alongside soldiers, police and emergency workers by forging tunnels between floors and between slabs of collapsed buildings to get to the people trapped inside, hopefully alive. Topos even flew a team to rescue victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and have deployed missions to numerous disaster struck areas around the world.
But their progress couldn’t have been done without the tremendous support of local communities that have taken up the challenge of helping responders in any way they can. Whether it’s by providing responders water, or by facilitating the removal of rubble, the people of Mexico have come together to help the country they love.
Political scientists attributed the community mobilization in the aftermath of the 1985 earthquake as the starting point of the emergence of independent civil society that eventually led to the country’s political changes. Maybe this time will be no different.
