Posted by: Carmen N.
{Source: www.redribbon.org}
The National Family Partnership organized the first
Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. NFP provides drug awareness by sponsoring the
annual National Red Ribbon Celebration. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red
Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In
response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth
in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of
their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by
drugs in America.
Enrique (Kiki) Camarena was a Drug Enforcement
Administration Agent who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985. When he
decided to join the US Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to
talk him out of it. "I'm only one person", he told her, "but I
want to make a difference."
On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to
meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him
in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found. He had been tortured to
death.
In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal
drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick
of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions.
Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his
belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the
symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon.
In 1988, NFP sponsored the first National Red Ribbon
Celebration. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities
to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities.
Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children and
families. The National Family Partnership (NFP) and its network of individuals
and organizations continue to deliver his message of hope to millions of people
every year, through the National Red Ribbon Campaign.
