Serenity Article Summary

Article summary/ review In the journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly, I read an article called Serenity: Violence, Inequality, and Recovery on the edge of Mexico City. The article was published in May of 2015 and was written by Angela Garcia. The article’s main aspect is a treatment centers for addicts known as anexos. Over the last decade, there’s been an increase in drug additions in Mexico, especially among the urban poor, and the treatment center anexos has been rapidly going up in numbers thought out the country. On the edge of Mexico City there’s a place called Serenity (Serenidad). Serenity is located in a two story building set behind a gated patio. It’s about 20 by 15 feet, fourteen men and two women live at Serenity. These people are self-describe alcoholics, drug addicts, schizophrenics, and neurotic or, more simply los anexados meaning those living in an anexo, which is what Serenity is. Reading though anexo is define as a hybrid institution composed of a 12-part program, mental asylum, prison, and church. Run and employed by Mexico’s working poor, anexos are concentrated in areas affected by drug-related violence and they use a form of violence as care to treat drug additions. Treatments like prolonged kneeling on bottle caps, holding weights with outstretched arms, and being deprived of sleep and food are common. These practices
In my opinion I think anexos isn’t a good place to receive the help that these addicts need to become sober. Making them suffer and abusing them more isn’t the right solution. The government should fund more then what they already do, 10% of the population gets funded but seeing that 90% are going to anexos, they need to organize more humanly programs. Not by beating them down to get the results but by talking to them and communicating though the problems they have. Serenity is not the