Hopeful for a ‘life worth living’ in a city with the highest murder rate

“Mexico offers opportunities to everyone. Life is good and worth living.”

This is the story of Ritine, who immigrated from Haiti, a Caribbean island nation, to Mexico. A former teacher, he eventually gave up his career as an educator due to political and social unrest in Haiti, which had been in a state of anarchy for over three years, and immigrated to Mexico. He is currently working at a convenience store and pursuing a new dream. He said, “We must live to achieve whatever we dream of and change the world.” Mr. Ritine’s story was posted on YouTube on Oct. 26 and has more than 40,000 views.

LG Electronics announced on Monday that the “Good News Are News” corner, produced in collaboration with Mexico’s largest broadcaster, Millenio Televisión, has accumulated 340 million views on air and online. This figure is calculated by reverse-calculating the broadcast viewership and adding the number of online video views. “Good News Are News” is a campaign that spreads LG Electronics’ “Life’s Good” message to Mexican society, like Mr. Ritine’s case, and highlights “unsung heroes” who practice emotion and hope in various parts of society.

Mexico is considered one of the most unsafe countries in the world due to drug cartels and gangs. As of last year, the city with the highest murder rate, excluding countries at war, was Celaya, Mexico. Mexico has seven cities, including Celaya, that are on the top 10 list for murder rates. LG Electronics reportedly proposed a campaign to Milenio because Mexican news mostly reported negatively on drugs and violence. Starting with a video about three people who were deported from the U.S. as illegal immigrants and then started a BBQ chain, a total of six episodes were aired from March to October, including Mr. Ritine’s story.

The response from the Mexican people was also enthusiastic. Comments on Mr. Ritine’s video were filled with supportive and touching comments such as “I hope you can become a teacher again and teach young people” and “I got to see Mexico again through foreigners.” Other videos were also filled with positive comments such as “I wish God’s blessings on you, who are a role model for many people” and “I’m glad to see you happy and feeling a sense of accomplishment.”


박현익 기자 beepark@donga.com