A Moment of Silence for Oaxaca 💔
Some news stops you in your tracks
Today I learned that a passenger train derailed in Oaxaca, killing at least thirteen people. I have no words big enough for the sorrow their families must be carrying right now.
What makes this tragedy feel especially close to my heart is that I once rode a similar train in southern Mexico, back in 1990. Long before smartphones, before hashtags, before everything moved so fast. That train was more than transportation — it was connection. People. Stories. Landscapes unfolding slowly through open windows.
Not long after, the trains stopped running. Entire rail lines faded into memory.
When I heard in recent years that trains were returning to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, I felt something I hadn’t expected: hope. Hope for reconnection, for slower travel, for communities linked again not just by roads, but by shared journeys.
That’s why this loss feels so deeply sad — beyond statistics, beyond headlines.
Behind every number is a person who woke up that morning expecting to arrive somewhere. Someone who had plans. Someone who was loved.
Tonight, I hold space for the families grieving in Oaxaca. For the injured. For the communities shaken. For everyone who believed, as I did, that the return of the trains symbolized renewal.
May the victims be remembered with dignity.
May their families find support and care.
And may we never forget that progress must always place human lives first.
With a heavy heart,
Tina Winterlik
🕯️
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