May Our Daughters Return Home, Civil Association

"Not one more death" - Susana Chavez

In my relatively short time on earth, I have learned that acknowledgement of an issue is often the starting point to finding a solution.  We hear a lot these days about Mexico; whether the debate on immigration, the issues with drug smuggling, or the lack of jobs within the country.  What we don't hear about is rampant ongoing femicide devastation that is taking over the town of Juarez.

According to Nuestras Hijias de Regreso a Casa a.c. (May Our Daughters Return Home, C.A.) more than 420 girls and women have been killed in Juarez in the past decade.  Many of these victims were raped and mutilated prior to death.  These women come from poor families to work at the border town's factories called maquiladoras. 

Despite several pronouncements by local officials that these slayings are unconnected or that the crimes have been solved, women keep disappearing with their bodies turning up later in ditches and abandoned lots.  Many people suspect the investigations into these femicides have stopped or halted sue to the corruption within the local police, the incompetence of the investigators, and the intimidation and harassment of witnesses.

But how can we help?  Isn't that always the fundamental question?  Again I say that acknowledgement and knowledge of the issue is power.  Juarez is just 10 miles from El Paso, TX separated by the Rio Grande River.  It is a huge border crossing and yet despite it's proximity to and ties with our own country we have consistently looked the other way at the raging violence happening in our own back yard.

There have been several documentaries made and books published regarding the femicides in the past few years:

The Killing Fields: Harvest of Women by Diana Washington Valdez is an investigative look at the Juarez murders, drug cartels, and government corruption in Mexico.

The Daughters of Juarez by Teresa Rodriguez is another book with over 10 years of research.

Juarez is a documentary film about the murders and their lack of investigation.

Each and Her is a book of poems about the Juarez women's murders

Border Echoes is a documentary film made with the help of Diana Washington Valdez

Take the time to search out these materials, educate yourself and your loved ones.  These killings won't stop unless we demand that the international community puts continuous pressure on the Mexican government to find justice for the victims and their families.  Not one more death.