
A group of around 40 persons disguised as clowns have begun a protest walk from the Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauración in Santiago to the Basilica Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia in Higuey, a distance of approximately 317 km. The protest march is to call attention to the increasing number of sexual abuses to minors and child abuse.
The “Caminando por una sonrisa” (Walking for a Smile) expects to reach Higuey in time for the 21 January celebrations of the Day of the Lady of Altagracia at the basilica.
Joan Martínez, (Payamín), organizer of the protest march, says: “The message we want to deliver is that we as clowns are not just to make people laugh with joke after joke. Rather, we are also parents and social entities concerned about the degradation of seeing abused children walk the streets, homeless minors who are victims of exploitation,” said Martínez.
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El Caribe
17 January 2019