Here and now I'm going to continue to catch up on describing events during my time in Juarez and Chihuahua. But first, I need to mention a little bit about where I am right now.
I just arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico and I'm sitting at a beautiful little café called Longetivity which has wireless access. The place is obviously heavily influenced by eastern philosophy, new age mysticism, and money, but oddly enough the other customers here right now seem pretty down-to-earth, non-yuppie, and almost scruffy. Places like this in Portland and the Bay Area are usually inhabited by upscale pretentious hipsters and such, but the kind of people here would more likely be found at a crusty worker-owned hangout like the Red and Black Cafe in southeast Portland. So, yeah, New Mexico is different. I feel like it's a weird mix of cultures: Mexico, California, Texas, and a little Colorado.
Now, about Juarez:
The 5 legs of the International Caravan for Justice in Juarez and Chihuahua arrived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, about an hour from the border, on Friday, October 30. A variety of non-governmental groups are involved with addressing the problem of the hundreds of murdered women of Juarez and Chihuahua, on both sides of the border, in Las Cruces, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas; and in Juarez and Chihuahua. Las Amigas de las Mujeres de Juarez were our hosts in Las Cruces on that night. The following morning we joined with members of Justicia Para Nuestras Hijas, Nuestas Hijas Regresan a Casa, CETLAC (a Juarez labor organization), and many other activists, along with other members of the Juarez delegation who had just flown in to El Paso on Friday. We all had breakfast at an El Paso YWCA and then headed to one of the several bridges that cross the Rio Grande and the border.
We assembled at the bridge (see stills from my video footage), the 5 mothers who had accompanied the 5 legs of the Caravan (west coast, east coast, east, southwest, and midwest) standing in front. Hanging from each of their necks was a sign with the photo and name of their murdered daughter. Behind were local Mexican activists holding banners and signs. Behind them were gringo Caravanistas and delegates. The corporate media mobbed the mothers and the cameras, competing for the best shot, making it nearly impossible to actually see the assembled marchers. Eventually the press backed off and the march began, taking up one whole lane of the bridge as it progessed slowly toward the Mexican customs booths on the south side. Gathered there was another huge mass of Mexican activists from a variety of organizations showing their solidarity (labor groups, Bracero groups, human rights groups, etc) with signs and banners, chanting and yelling things like "¿Que Quieremos? ¡Justicia!" ("What do we want!? Justice!") The mothers and caravanistas reached this group and the whole mass continued marching, turning onto the main street that runs along the river. The scene was very chaotic, with reporters and cameramen running around, people shouting into various megaphones, cars honking at the blockage of the street, and everywhere pink signs with black crosses.
The march ended at Puente Santa Fe, another border-crossing bridge where a huge sculpture had been erected months ago by the family groups. The sculpture consisted of a cross built out of railroad ties with a pink background into which hundreds of railroad spikes had been hammered. Hanging from each spike was the name of one of the murdered women. A simliar, smaller cross had been built in this location earlier, but was destroyed one night. The family groups built this larger one and announced publicly that they would continue to build even bigger versions each time one was removed. After that this second cross remained, unbothered.
When the march reached this spot, speeches began by the mothers and other activists, demanding justice and an end to corruption and impunity. Interspersed with these announcements were various songs and chants, and the honking of cars trying to get by the crowd so they could cross the border. After an hour or so, the rally ended and the crowd slowly dispersed. Those of us on the delegation got on a bus which took us to a press conference at the spot where 11 of the murdered girls were found, in an overgrown cotton field. On the way, we passed through many industrial parks full of maquiladoras, the border factories where many of the killed had worked. Across the street from the cotton field was the huge building that housed the headquarters of AMAC (in english, The Association of Export Manufacturers), the organization that represents and lobbies for the maquiladoras. At the press conference were more speeches informing the public of the demands of the allied groups and the plans for the delegation. This was watched closely by the press and by a squadron of Mexican Federal police. One officer even videotaped the whole event with a tiny camera, for some reason.
Returning back toward the center of Juarez, we checked into our hotel, a nice business-class establishment ironically named "Hotel Colonial." After a short rest and an orientation, we attended a meeting in one of the hotel's many conference rooms between the Juarez family groups and representatives from the Mexican Federal Congress. All 4 deputies seemed bored during most of the proceedings and mostly responded to the mother's demands with empty rhetoric that was identical to what they'd been saying for many years.
This concludes the first day in Mexico. Stay tuned tommorrow for more...
Posted by steev at Noviembre 7, 2004 02:36 PM