Thread by @snolen

So, Twitter pals, I need a bit of that most precious of commodities: your time and attention.
I've been working on a story for a very long time, alongside a really gifted team, and it's finally out in the world, and we all hope you'll set aside 20 minutes and read it.
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We set out to report on Disappearances, a human rights violation that happens in many parts of the world, that plagues Latin America, and that, right now, is gnawing at the heart of Mexico. We wanted to show what it's like to live it, and ...2/

... we wanted to talk about this particular issue bc it brings together all the problems that bedevil Mexico today, despite dramatic economic and political change: public insecurity; corruption; poverty and social vulnerability; and impunity and weak justice and governance.
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You can read 100 stories about those things, if you're so inclined. But the thing you really need to know is what it's like, when your teenage son texts you that he's on his way home, "there in 3 min, Mum" and he – never arrives. 4/

Or your teenager, who's goofy and awkward and eating you out of house and home but still sneaks up behind you to wrap his arms around your waist sometimes - he puts his homework aside to go out and do some Christmas errands and – he vanishes. 5/

Your husband, the love of your life, the goofball with 26 corny nicknames for you, the guy who never stops with the practical jokes that your kids roll their eyes at but secretly adore - he leaves for work and he never comes home. 6/

They're there, and then they're gone.
Just gone.
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So you go to the police - frantic - and ... they ask you if your son's a drunk or a thief or a liar. Maybe your husband just left you for his side piece. Maybe he's a criminal. 8/

You check hospitals, and jails, and, terrified, you check the morgues, too. You go back to the police. They mock you. You go to the prosecutor, the human rights commission, and the military base. No one will help you. You put up 100 posters with his face, and then 100 more. 9/

And after years of this – years – you meet other parents, and other wives and other husbands and they're all searching for someone who's just - gone. 10/

And so then, at least, you're searching together. But all around you are people who know the answers, and they don't like the questions you're asking. You're terrified, but you can't stop the search. 11/

That search takes you across the country, but the answer, when it finally comes, is just down the road. 12/

theglobeandmail.com/world/article-…

I hope you'll make a cup of tea and sit down and let these families tell you the story of what they found. 13/

I had the immense privilege of working on this project, over several years with brilliant photographer @felyxmarquez whose empathy is tangible in every one of these pictures. He's the most generous of colleagues, with an unparalleled understanding of the Disappearances crisis 14/

The digital storytelling team @globeandmail – multimedia editor @LBlenkinsop, developer @j_agius, video editor @tmo_video– took our reporting + built something that takes you right into the heart of what this feels like. They're the best + I've been so lucky to work with them 15/

If you're a journalism nerd, here's the backstory on how and why we built what we did. 16/ theglobeandmail.com/world/article-…

I had invaluable help on this project from producers @karencotasoto + @_RCQuintero & I was inspired by the work of @marcelaturati + her colleagues at @quintoelab Many, many Mexican human rights advocates + lawyers + anthropologists spent time generously answering my questions 17/

But most of all, I'm profoundly grateful to the families in Veracruz who trusted me with these stories. Who got out their baby pictures and wedding pictures and showed me the last Christmas present, still wrapped. And the forensic report that lists their children's bones. 18/

They deserve justice, and an end to impunity.

They deserve, at last, to be served by a state that has failed them at every single step of the way.

While they're waiting, please take a few minutes and let them tell you this story. /19