The modern and majestic headquarters of the Mexican Embassy in Germany was the scene this Saturday of a rare and emotional act of solidarity with the parents of María Fernanda Sánchez Castañeda, the Mexican student who disappeared two weeks ago. Sánchez lived in a student residence located in the Berlin district of Treptow-Köpenick. The trace of her was lost without leaving traces.
The young woman’s parents, Javier Sánchez and his wife Carolina Castañeda, who arrived in Berlin on July 25, invited all of their daughter’s friends and colleagues to accompany them in a dignified and humble act of solidarity and gratitude. Some 200 young people, the majority wearing white shirts, came to the diplomatic headquarters to place candles on the steps and plan new search actions.
“Due to the great sorrow that seizes them, Mrs. Carolina and Mr. Javier regret not being able to speak in this act,” said an activist from the SorJuanas91 collective, which organizes and coordinates the search operations with the authorities, as well as with all the young Germans and Latin Americans who joined the unprecedented campaign in the main city of the European country to find the 24-year-old girl. When they arrived in Germany, the parents did not know what to do to start the search for María Fernanda. Now, thanks to the cooperation of many volunteers, more than 125 search teams have already been formed and have covered more than 3,000 kilometers in Berlin.
“The idea of this act arose as a way of thanking all the people who have participated in the search for María Fernanda,” said the activist. “On Instagram it went viral and it is helping a lot so that the case of María Fernanda does not become another statistic,” she added. The groups that have supported the search efforts have reported that more than 500 people have joined the efforts in the last week.
The action of the activists is unprecedented in the city and the young people, whose only goal is to find María Fernanda, have managed to arouse the attention of the city. The groups, for example, have covered the streets of Berlin Mitte, the main district of the city, with leaflets and have begun to deploy their campaign in the rest of the neighborhoods of the German capital.
The European University of Applied Sciences, which has its campus in the Kreuzberg neighborhood where the young woman studies in Berlin, also asked the public for help. “The university is in close contact with the Police, the Mexican Embassy and the parents of the 24-year-old,” said the vice president of the educational center, Sascha Bosetzky.
María Fernanda Sánchez Castañeda was last seen on Saturday, July 22. The student had arranged to meet with her friends that afternoon, but she canceled before seeing them. Instead of going to the big gay party in town, the Christopher Street Day, he preferred to work on a project for the university. They never heard from her again.
Berlin police told the DPA, Germany’s state news agency, on Saturday that they had received 120 tips to date. The evidence is being examined. The authorities said that they have more and more information about the moments before her disappearance, although they admitted that there was no concrete evidence that could lead to the whereabouts of the young woman. On Friday, however, a police spokeswoman told EL PAÍS a different version. “The possible whereabouts of her have been verified and the information received has been followed up,” said the official Sarah Braut, without giving further details.
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