Tragedy In Juarez example essay topic

The Missing Women of Juarez "Since 1993,281 women have been murdered and 400 are missing". This was the first sentence spoken on the night of this heartrending documentary. I didn't know this situation had gotten so out of hand. Why has this issue been ignored? This question was addressed in the documentary we watched. Juarez, Mexico is on the border of El Paso, Texas and is the largest border crossing in Mexico.

There are over one million people living in Juarez, forcing city development to immerge at intense rates. As population increases, crime is usually never too far behind. This statement has proven true in Juarez. For some unexplained reason, there are women disappearing in Juarez. Families and friends of these missing women are desperate for an explanation.

They pursue for justice, but none is found. Eventually a body appears, showing family and friends the dreadful reality that they had been trying to ignore. To make matters worse, it seem as though law enforcement is not concerned with this unjust cruelty. After many kidnappings and murders, police finally began an investigation. Search teams walked the desert sand for any signs of buried bodies. Corpses were examined for any evidence the kidnapper may have left behind.

Markings on the victim's bodies were disturbingly similar. A deep cut in the abdomen, an inverted V shape cut into the lower back and the victim's hands were always tied. Finally there was a major turning point in the investigation; an alleged victim had escaped the murder's hands. From this woman's testimony, police were able to construct a physical description of the killer and make their first arrest. Police detained Shariff Shariff and charged him with the brutal murders. Because of his arrest, the people of Juarez were allowed to feel free once again.

Unfortunately the murders continued with the same gruesome details. Police insisted that Shariff Shariff was coordinating the murders from his jail cell and they were being carried out by the Rebels Gang. The entire gang was arrested and still the murders continued. Police would find new leads, pursue those leads, and still someone was killing the woman of Juarez. The horror continued one night when someone attacked Maria and her husband. They went to police for help, but instead were fined for no reason at all.

Since the fine was a large amount and Maria and her husband could not afford to pay it, they were detained for 24 hours. What happened in those 24 hours was so detestable I hate to relive the memory. Maria was sexually assaulted by a female officer and raped by a male officer. She was given a sleeping pill, taken to a room full of panties and bras and was shown pictures of explicit and gruesome acts of violence.

She asked why the police had these items and the officer told her that these items were from woman they had taken. The officer then took pictures of Maria, threatening her that if she passed on any of this information they would find her with these pictures and kill her. The main topics of this documentary were to expose the public to this devastating problem, to display vivid examples of violence against women and to inspire us to help put an end to this tragedy. Exposing the public to this devastating problem is very necessary.

When I told family and friends about this documentary, no one had heard of the tragedy in Juarez. If people are not made aware of the problems in other countries, there is no way they can work together to help resolve them. The personal reflections exhibited in the documentary drew a vivid picture in the minds of the audience. Maria gave graphic details about her experience with the ludicrous officers. This helped the audience empathize with her, and see the urgency in this situation. It was obviously a painful situation for Maria to relive, but by bravely sharing her story she was able to gain closure when those three officers fired.

However, she saw no justice as the three officers never saw the inside of a jail cell. After being exposed to this horrible reality, I was anxious to find out what I could do to help put an end to this tragedy. In my personal experience, I was angered to see that authorities could be the problem and not the solution. It seems as though they were afraid to investigate because they were more concerned about their own safety.

The fact that police burned vital evidence (over 1,000 pounds of clothing) revealed an obvious fact: the women of Juarez do not hold a very important position in their society. Because of this reason, people from all cultures (especially women) should feel empowered to speak for those who do not have a voice of their own. The reason I chose to attend this event is because I was completely unaware of this tragedy and I wanted to learn more about it. I was astonished to hear of the happenings in Juarez and I'm very glad I attended this documentary. If this situation where happening in the United States, I would try to make as many people as possible aware of the situation in hopes that a resolution could one day be found. Because I am a woman, I was personally affected by this tragedy.

When I walked into the auditorium, I felt overwhelmed by all the crosses taped onto the Ostrander walls. I remember hoping that the crosses didn't symbolized death, but I was wrong. I felt sympathetic towards the women of Juarez and the urgency to help. I am angry with investigators for how carelessly they are handling these cases. Yet I am still hopeful that the families of the many victims can find peace, and the innocent women of Juarez can feel safe.

For this dream to evolve into reality, the women of Juarez need our help. While listening to the documentary, I thought back to a reading from Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism. In Siobhan Brooks's article entitled "Black Feminism in Everyday life: Race, Mental Illness, Poverty and Motherhood", she speaks of a concept called everyday feminism. "It is for women like my mother and friends' mothers that I do activist work with women of color: to bring the everyday knowledge of these women back into feminism" (Brooks 118). Siobhan felt that if she took what she learned in college back to the projects, she would eventually make a positive difference in her community.

I feel that this concept also applies to me. It is now my responsibility to expose others in my family, church and community to this tragedy in Juarez in hopes that a common alliance may be formed to fight for the justice of these defenseless women.