Las Desaparecidas de Juarez Essay Example

and will forever leave a memory engraved in their respective loved ones. Many family members to this day have not had any answers given to them as to who the killers are. The families are who are affected the most. Nobody benefits from these tragic murders but everybody should consider this to be a detriment to their daily life since the women specially those who travel alone or at certain times of the day should definitely worry about the issue. Not only should the female workers worry about watching out for their life at night or at sunrise but at any time of the day. In the documentary Bajo Juarez a young lady named Lucia was kidnapped and rape during plain daylight. It was only 4 p.m. and she was was waiting for the bus to take her to work. The kidnappers grabbed her and took her to a pick up truck in which she was brutally attacked and raped. Fortunately he was not killed but did end up being pregnant and almost died during the child birth (Juarez Desierto de Esperanza).

Many of the victims are in the younger side of the spectrum although this crime is committed against anyone. The University De Valle De Mexico investigated and found the statistics concerning the females that were kidnapped and raped from July 2003 to June 2004. During that year 40% of the women were between the ages of 15-19, 25% between 20-24, 10% between 10-14 and the remaining 25% are 25 years of age or older (Cardenas, Victor).

Many of the family members suspect that the murderers range anywhere from gang related crimes

to very wealthy and powerful people.There is speculation in which wealthy people buy land and they let the years pass for the best bidder, which does not always happen which in time leaves Juarez with huge empty land lots, in which anybody is able to throw and discard of mutilated bodies (Benítez, Rohry). Many of the places where they have found bodies in clusters and almost in the same area are owned by very powerful people who’s names are kept quiet. Some of the land which the most bodies have been found are in places like Lomas de Poleo, Cerro Del Cristo Negro, Lote Bravo, Los Arenales, and many others. Many detectives investigating this believe that the bodies are being dropped could me a message from authorities, and just how they choose their victims they also choose where the bodies will be thrown (Bajo Juarez-documentary).

There has been many criminal injustice against family members and randomly chosen people. Many of the family members believe this is done to cover those with power. And politicians do nothing about the matter. In one certain case a man was jailed for the murder of 8 women in total. The detectives stated that the information made no sense, since the women were dead at different times which did not coincide with the information given. Some died 3 weeks after the body had been found and the others as long as 6 to 8 months dead which had to mean that the person had to keep the bodies elsewhere for 7 months. People are being jailed with no proof of the crime in another case Latif Shariff Shariff was

jailed for the murder of a woman. He was accused of other murders as well. He pleaded innocent but still sentenced to thirty years of incarceration. Two years later he was interviewed and said the the politicians where behind all of this and they were covering people with power. Latif died five years later from an unknown cause (Bajo Juarez-documentary).

There are people like Sully Ponce which was the special attorney for crime against women from 1998 -2001 who believe that the number of murders in Juarez is not a big number since the population of Juarez is close to 2 million. That people are killed in other places too but everything is exaggerated in Juarez. The question still remains though of why the murders are only against women. An why most of them have not been resolved and why when a month passes after a woman disappears the case is closed and the policemen look the other way. Detectives found it ironic how all these crimes were being committed if there were always cops surveilling bus stops (Bajo Juarez-documentary).

After following up with a multitude of cases and an activist Esther Chavez founded “the first rape crisis center in the region,” Casa Amiga (Wilkinson, Tracy).Esther Chavez was a native to the city of Chihuahua but moved to Juarez during the mid 1980’s. Esther Chavez Cano “a former accountant for an American company, was the first to document each killing and rape in excruciating detail and then to go out and tell the world.”(Corchado, Alfredo).She created a haven for abused women and this center offered food, medical attention, therapies, legal assessors, and many

other useful resources (Juarez Desierto de Esperanza). She was able to aid many women who did not know who to turn to and what to do. She changed any women’s lives and during the first three years of the Casa Amiga she helped in one way or another 6,000 people.

International Stars have also taken a stand and have let their voices be heard. Jane Fonda an actress and political activist went to Juarez and spoke about the murders in Juarez. She expressed her self and said that if anybody were to kidnap her child the police would be on top of the case, but it was wrong to ignore all the other people who are in the same situation simply because they live in poverty (Bajo Juarez-documentary). There are many other hispanic actors and actresses like Eugenio Derbez, Alejandro Camacho, Carmen Aristegui, Sasha Sokol, and many others who are against women violence in Juarez (Bajo Juarez). They make informative videos to make people aware in what is going on in Juarez.

Los Tigres Del Norte are known worldwide for their regional mexican music. Victor Valencia, the speaker for the Chihuahua State Legislature had denounced the popular band because they were promoting their song about the murders in Juarez. He believed that this song gave Juarez a bad image and reputation (Agosin, Marjorie).This song entitled “Las Mujeres de Juarez,” talked about the women working in factory shops were being murdered and how Juarez should be ashamed. This song was another way that allowed people to be informed on what is going on in Juarez even if it is through a song.

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are also websites that are available to anyone that would like to be informed with what is happening in Juarez. The website Mujerez de Juarez which is turning into nuestras hijas de regreso a casa since more families are joining the group, is a useful resource which give detailed information. Their main goal is to find justice not only politically but also socially (Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa). They also try to have people sign petitions to help solve cases in Juarez. They are very informative, giving you resources like books, documentaries, movies, blogs, and poems so people can have a realistic idea of the problem no one seems to want to talk about. Future possible victims can benefit from all that is being created to help them.

What is going on in Juarez has been kept in silence for too long. More and more resources are being founded to inform people against women violence not only in Juarez but everywhere else. One should not be afraid of knowing the truth, but instead educating oneself with the information that can be provided. There are many resources that are being made but slowly the awareness can be raised and the numbers of victims can be lowered in the present and future.