Hello everybody, and merry Christmas if you celebrate or happy Saturday if you don’t. I pondered all month if I should keep this series going on Christmas or if I should do some “normal” Christmassy stuff. But I realised that I am not really celebrating Christmas, so it would be a bit hypocritical to full-on Christmas cheer.

However, I do like some aspects of this time and one is its music. Yes, there is a lot of rubbish and cheesy music out there, but some make a statement that makes you think too. One of those songs was John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War is over), and that is what I wish for all the countries that I stand with: May the violence, the war and the fear soon be over for you all!

Today’s country is Mexico and I think most of us have heard about the drug cartel violence and all the migrants desperately trying to get into the US for a better life. But how much do we know about Mexico’s history? Not that much I realised and found this video by Suibhne very enlightening.

As always: I have no rights to any of the videos placed. Please, give the creators a like or even a follow if you like what they do. That is what gives them their income and I feel they deserve our support. Thanks!

Today I chose to have a closer look at one particular aspect of violence in the countries I stand with. Violence against journalists. According to the “Journalists Without Borders” Freedom of Press Index, only 8 out of 180 countries have “good” credentials. Those 8 are Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Ireland, Costa Rica, Denmark and Portugal. Most European countries, the US and Canada are deemed only satisfactory when it comes to freedom of the press and the rest of the world looks rather bad (problematic, difficult and serious). I think that is rather worrying.

Mexico falls under “difficult and this video by Vice News explains what journalists in that country are up against. If you want to understand more about how Journalists Without Borders come to their scoring check this page out.

I could probably fill another ten posts about the violence that is prevalent in Mexico, however, I am not a specialist, and my research is only limited. I also think it is no good to spread too much worrying news. We need to keep our heads over the desperation and rather concentrate on Tuesday’s good news. However, it is also good not to forget how lucky we are if we live in a country that has to deal with relatively low violence. I am babbling. Please forgive me. 😉

Please stay safe, stay kind and remember: you rock!