Help Juan Pablo Zamorano

Hello everyone,

Juan Zamorano, a 14-year-old Otomí student, was set on fire by his classmates at the beginning of June for being indigenous according to witnesses.

Juan Pablo, 14, was sprayed with alcohol and burned inside the classroom by two of his classmates, which is why he is in the Children's and Women's Hospital. Eugenia Eduardo Marcelino, mother of the victim, reported that it was a teacher who had given alcohol to the two minor aggressors, who sprayed it on a chair in the classroom and then sat her son down. "When he felt that he got wet, he stood up, but one of the children set it on fire with a lighter and it would not go out until he managed to take off his pants," said the mother.

Juan Zamorano, father of Juan Pablo, reveals that since February his son had already refused to attend school and asked to be changed to another classroom, however, the director of the telesecundaria denied the change on the grounds that there were no elements to justify it and that there was no space in other rooms. In addition to the fact that it is an issue that has been coming up for a long time and that it is a consequence of the discrimination and bullying that Juan received from his classmates and teacher, for being Otomí and not speaking Spanish well, the father of the child denounces. “Since those times they were already bullying him and we realized that even the teacher herself was bullying him, just because we are of the Otomi race, she thinks that we are not of her class, we are not of her race, she thinks that she is being human and we belong to other people”, he denounces.

According to don Juan, his son is quiet and never wanted to point out the classmates who harassed him, but he does not rule out that the school was aware of who his aggressors were, however, the school authorities did not want to change it, which led to having been attacked. The incident caused second and third degree burns. The minor is admitted to the Children's and Women's Hospital. According to the mother of the affected, they have already performed at least two reconstructive surgeries. There are burns that are very deep and will need skin grafts.

—— This breaks my heart personally, I have always taken pride of my city and its culture, which I’ve seen fade slowly and it’s a huge shame, indigenous people are looked down on and because of that, they’re afraid to speak in their native tongue in public. My grandparents were Otomi and I’ve seen the struggle, not just from that community but of many others too. ————

Every single penny is going to be given directly to the family. I live 4 minutes away from the hospital and 16 minutes away from Juan’s school, my pediatrics teacher is a head doctor in the hospital, I’m willing to do anything possible to reach the family and give them the help anyone tries to get to them, along with their kind words and support.

About me: My name is Samuel Garcia Alcántara, I’m 24 years old and I’m a Physiotherapy student at Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro. I saw many international outlets reporting on the news while scrolling on instagram and saw people looking to help out.

*****If you want to leave a message of support to Juan, you can send me a message or video with your name and location to let him know he’s not alone in this

*****Samuel Garcia Alcantara sgarcia41@alumnos.uaq.mx Instagram: @samuelovoxo Facebook: facebook.com/samuelgarcia65 4426387170 Calle Santa Maria, Colonia Vista Alegre Segunda Sección, 76074, Queretaro, Qro, Mexico