The Juarez Femicides (This photograph was taken by an article written on Medium)
“Femicides in Ciudad Juarez”
Idania Rodriguez es mi Madre. La mujer que me dio vida. Una mujer fuerte, independente, a single mother of six children, and the mirror that I always come back to when things don’t make any sense in life.
My childhood was filled with many stories, but one story that will always linger is the one of “Los Sombreros”.
The story behind Los Sombreros is from my mother’s experience in Ciudad Juarez. In order to understand why she was there and the story behind the city of missing women is one that has always bothered me. According to the account in history, the timeline of rape and murder, and the insurmountable pain behind one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico is one to never bury.
I want to give you a background story of Ciudad Juarez:
A Headline from The Sun digital magazine
“CITY OF SILENCE: The dark mystery of Ciudad Juaréz in Mexico where 1500 women and girls have been brutally murdered and dumped in the desert since 1993”
Wikipedia on Ciudad Juárez and the missing women:
“It was estimated that more than 370 women were killed between 1993 and 2005 in Ciudad Juárez, a city in northern Mexico. The murders of women and girls received international attention primarily due to perceived government inaction in preventing the violence and bringing perpetrators to justice.
The issue has been featured in many dramas, songs, books, and so on.
After surveying 155 killings out of 340 documented between 1993 and 2003, a government committee found that roughly half were prompted by motives like robbery and gang wars, while a little more than a third involved sexual assault. American researchers found that femicides averaged less than 10% of homicides, a level less than that in the United States. A narcofosa (mass grave attributed to organized crime) containing the remains of women killed in 2011 and 2012 was found in Madera Municipality, Chihuahua, in December 2016.”
The headline from The Sun and the information from Wikipedia are convoluted. No one truly knows the number of women that have been raped and murdered in Ciudad Juarez. The only reason why I say this is because my mother’s story says otherwise.
Esta es la entrevista y testimonio de Idania Rodriguez:
When I was a child, I always loved Los Sombreros. I wanted to wear them and I wanted to know why you were always against me wearing them. I didn’t understand what a souvenir was and the importance of the representations of certain items. I remember taking one of them down and a paper fell out that said, “Ciudad Juárez”. What is your connection to this city in Mexico?
It was 1985. At that time, in order to receive your permanent residence, you either had to go to the Dominican Republic for a year or Mexico for three weeks. The choice was obvious. Mexico is where I went. I didn’t know that Ciudad Juarez was known to be the city of death, disappearance, human trafficking, rape, and murder of many many women. All I knew was that I loved Mexican vaquero culture, desserts, and “El Divo” Juan Gabriel’s connection to Ciudad Juarez in his life.
Did you hear about the stories of missing women in your stay in Ciudad Juarez?
When I arrived in Juarez, I bonkered with another woman who was from Mexico getting her permanent residency as well. We both wanted to know more about the rich culture that surrounds Ciudad Juarez. Ciudad Juárez is a Mexican city on the Rio Grande, it was just south of El Paso, Texas where my friend Maria lived. The neoclassical Cathedral of Ciudad Juárez, stories of the history of the Mexican Revolution, Mexican vaquero culture, the desserts, tacos,..etc, etc. We both only had three weeks. We couldn’t do all those things, but we wanted to. We walked a lot for the most part.
The people who lived in Ciudad Juarez would always tell us, “ten cuidado adonde caminas”. We always found it strange that everytime Maria and I went out, the people who lived there would say that. A week and half in, Maria and I decided to ask around why people would say “ten cuidado adonde caminas”. Almost all the people we went up to, men and women, told us that women and little girls were disappearing, never found or seen again. Remember what I told you, this was 1985, not 1993. The drug wars of the 80’s were real and the cartel of Guadalajara had gained a lot of power and control in Mexico. Maria was very scared after hearing these stories, so she decided to not want to explore Juarez. I, on the other hand, didn’t get far with exploring, but I wanted to know more about the missing women. I went up to a woman who had a joyas stand. I asked her if these stories were true. She told me something that I will never forget. A statement that only families who experience this type of heartbreak would. Me dijo, “Encontraron a mi hermana en el desierto. Ella nada mas tenia 12 anos. Las niñas y las mujeres que abren los ojos el próximo día son bendecidas aquí.”
For some reason, my mother’s story didn’t shock me. I felt like the femicides in Ciudad Juarez extended before 1993. Of course, I’m assuming, but her testimony shows validation to the continuing women who go missing and who still aren’t found. Ni una mas!
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