Violence along the United States – Mexico border has reached staggering levels.  It is not only those involved in the drug trade that fall victims to the kidnappings and murders, young women have become unfortunate casualties in this crisis.

The killings in border cities like Ciudad Juárez has already totaled 400 in the first two months of 2009. According to Amnesty International, more than 370 women have been murdered in the cities of Juárez and Chihuahua “without the authorities taking proper measures to investigate and address the problem.” This crisis, often called femicide, or the systematic killing of women, has been a cause for organizations and blogs to take to the internet to help raise awareness to the plight of the victims and their families.

Life in Ciudad Juárez

Organizations are calling for justice and greater action by local and national authorities. Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa (May Our Daughters Return Home) is an organization based in Ciudad Juárez co-founded by the mother and the teacher of Lilia Alejandra Garcia Andrade, who was abducted and was found dead in 2001. The organization writes on its blog about the context in which many families live:

The organization has received threats for their work to put an end to the killings, according to the blog Contra el Feminicidio en México (Against Femicide in Mexico).

Documentary film “Juárez Mothers Fight Femicide”

Mexican-American filmmaker and videoblogger at Chicana Feliz, Zumla Aguiar took a special interest in this story and worked closely with the organization to produce the documentary “Juárez Mothers Fight Femicide” which is licensed under a Creative Commons license. The film’s description says:

The video does not try to pound you over the head with more information. It basically looks at the opinions of the mothers in regards to what was the final story with each case. Interviewed are mothers from all social strata but this film points out that the pain is equal and all valid emotions. The fact that the “women are poor” is pointed out by Marisela Ortiz from Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa as a reason why nobody does anything about these murders.

Media as a tool

Another organization Red Solidaria Década Contra la Impunidad (Decade Solidarity Network Against Impunity) uses its blog to share news about its activities fighting against impunity for human rights abuses including the murders of young women in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and other parts of Mexico.

The international organization Witness has used citizen media to raise awareness and collect signatures for a petition to presented to Mexican President Felipe Calderón. In 2003, in conjunction with the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights [es] (CMDPDH), they produced a short film called Dual Injustice. The story centers on the disappearance of Neyra Cervantes in Chihuahua, who disappeared in May 2003 and her cousin, David Meza, who who was tortured until he confessed to her murder.

Even though Cervantes’ remains were recovered and Meza was released after being wrongfully imprisoned, those responsible for her death have gone unpunished. Witness is continuing its campaign through a petition drive, which will be presented to President Calderón by Witness founder Peter Gabriel, other well-known Mexican celebrities and the mother of Neyra Cervantes. Some Mexican bloggers are also writing about the presentation of the petition, such as the blog Resiste Chihuahua.

Women’s struggles

As the situation along the border towns remains dire and many crimes unresolved, the women from the organization May Our Daughters Return Home write about their struggles, but also about their hope.

The opinions expressed in this text are those of the author.