I Couldn't Even Imagine That They Would Kill Us: An Oral History of the Attacks Against the Students of Ayotzinapa

On the night of September 26, 2014, students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers College were riding in buses in the town of Iguala, Mexico, on their way to a demonstration. Suddenly the municipal, state and federal police opened fire on them, killing six, wounding many and "disappearing" 43. In a different part of the town, a fifth bus, carrying a boys' soccer team, was also attacked.

In Latin America, to "disappear" someone is a murderous crime, an act of violence. For I Couldn't Even Imagine That They Would Kill Us, John Gibler (To Die in Mexico: Dispatches from Inside the Drug War) has compiled first-hand accounts of the atrocities. These come from students who survived the assault, other eyewitnesses and parents of the disappeared. Although repetitious in places, each youth's retelling from his perspective helps to build the tension and disbelief each one felt through the long hours of that night. Why were the police attacking them? Why didn't anyone respond to their calls for help? Why were their friends taken away? As Gibler slowly reveals, the answers lie with illegal drugs being trafficked into the United States coupled with rampant violence and corruption sanctioned by the Mexican government.

The afterword is particularly important: it clears up details of that night as well as exposes the cover-ups, tampering with evidence and lies the police and government officials at the highest levels continue to insist are fact. By pulling together all these traumatic narratives, Gibler helps the parents of the disappeared throughout Mexico say, "Basta" (enough). They won't give up on searching for their loved ones and for the truth. --Lee E. Cart, freelance writer and book reviewer

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