f-word

Why Speak Out?

In 1993, life began to change for the young women of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Promises of employment at the city’s hundreds ofmaquiladoras had stirred hopes of a better life. But instead, hundreds found a violent death.

One by one, their violated and mutilated bodies began turning up in the barren lands that rim the industrial border city, juststeps from the United States city of El Paso, Texas. At last count, more than 400 women and young girls have perished here, andcountless others have simply disappeared without a trace.

Although information about these horrific crimes is readily available, little has been done to expose the conditions that continueto fuel them. In fact, for the past 13 years, these victims—the majority poor women and girls from the impoverished slumsof this burgeoning border city—have lived in a silent cycle of discrimination that has belittled them. And, despite the findings ofseveral prominent organizations, the formation of numerous commissions, the appointment of federal special prosecutors and theundying efforts of local women’s rights activists to right the wrongs, the abuses against Juárez’s young women continue seeminglyunabated.

Insiders and advocates for the victims have raised the possibility that aserial killer or killers is operating here, but there is little evidence to support such a claim. Othershave suggested that members of Juárez’s powerful drug cartel, in concert with a handfulof leading businessmen on both sides of the border, may be responsible for a number of thekillings—and that members of Mexico’s law enforcement may also be complicit in some of thecrimes. These same sources have also pointed to certain members of government who appearto have focused their attention on covering up these crimes and protecting the perpetratorsinstead of solving them and bringing closure to the many bereaved families.

As anchor and correspondent for Univision, the largest Spanish-language televisionnetwork in the U.S., I have interviewed bereaved families, victims, human rights leaders,authorities, private investigators, attorneys, suspects and forensics specialists. The more Ilearned about the murders, the more appalled I became.

I remember reading each article and wire story over and over again, trying to retracethose last moments of each victim and asking myself “why?” Then there were the pictureswith captions of the surviving parents, a pain so deep that to this day, I can close my eyes andremember their faces.

I am fortunate to live in a country where an Amber Alert is issued every time a child or young person is reported missing. Juarez is not far fromEl Paso, just a five-minute car ride over the Rio Grande, and yet no such alerts exist there.

I have always felt strongly about battling injustice and now, as a parent myself, I could identify even more with these grieving families.Furthermore, I was appalled that these crimes weren’t even receiving the media’s attention north of the border. This was a story I not only wantedto cover—I had a duty to do so. It was a mission that went beyond defending young poor Mexican women against a society that treated themas second-class citizens; it was about exposing the lack of basic human rights. Someone once asked me if the reason I had decided to speak outon behalf of these victims was because I was a feminist. I have never been one to identify with labels and the reasons for my investigations wentbeyond seeking equal treatment for men and women. However, if feminism also means being strong-willed and using my brain and talent to helpother women, and if it means taking a stand and expressing my sentiments against this travesty of justice—then there is a warrior very muchalive in me who is proud to use her feminine side to expose the prevailing machista attitudes in Juarez, Mexico, and the apparent ineptitude andnegligence by the authorities in solving some of these cases.

By writing about these horrific murders and the historic, socioeconomic and gender issues that have allowed assassins to remain free, I hopeto reach readers outside of Mexico. I hope to instill in them the outrage I felt when I first read about this cycle of violence. But most importantly,I hope to provoke immediate action, ending the impunity once and for all.

Teresa Rodriguez is a veteran journalist, recipient of 11 Emmy award and is the main co-anchor and correspondent for the award winning news-magazine showAqui y Ahora. For over 10 years, Rodriguez has been investigating the unsolved murders of over 400 women in Juárez, Mexico. Her book, The Daughters ofJuárez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border, is the first major nonfiction work to examine the Juárez murders.

~Teresa Rodriguez