Macrina Cardena, an activist for the women in Juarez, presented the attendees with a snapshot of the current situation in Juarez, with the help of Mt. Holyoke College Special Teaching Assistant Rosario De Swanson, who served as a translator. According to Cardenas, the situation is not improving. Juarez women still find themselves victims of torture and kidnapping. According to Cardenas, the Mexican judicial system is plagued with corruption at all levels, and the Mexican police have not seriously investigated any of the crimes against the women of Juarez.
The identities of the criminals and their motives are unclear. Epiphanie Marquez '06, a member of the Juarez Activism Group, said that the prevalent opinion is that drug lords are involved.
"Nobody really knows why Juarez women are being murdered," said Marquez. "Last March, when [student delegates] visited Juarez, a local professor compiled 33 theories as to why this is happening. Many believe it is the drug cartels who are doing this."
Lucha Castro, a lawyer representing the Juarez women and one of the panelists, discussed the lack of resources for Juarez women. "The crimes go without punishment, and some of the women have not been found even now," she said.
Castro has worked with the families of Juarez victims for two years and continues to help them utilize the legal system to express their stories. She admitted that although she has heard their testimonies dozens of times, listening to each case is as painful to her now as it was when she first spoke with the women two years ago.
Castro focused on the multi-layered and widespread discrimination against the women who seek retribution and justice in Juarez. She explained that the women come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and therefore are not a top priority for Mexican law officials. Because that is the general consensus in Juarez, the government is comfortable turning a blind eye to the crimes.
As a result of the international publicity generated by various human rights organizations, the Mexican government was recently forced to act. It set up a commission to investigate the crimes and appointed special district attorneys to prosecute the offenders. However, the panelists explained that the commission is useless-they all believe it was created more for appearance rather than for action. According to the panelists, few people have been brought to trial for the hundreds of crimes, and those who were stood trial had to endure torture inflicted by Mexican authorities.
"Torture in the Mexican justice system is quite common," said Cardenas. "This is the way by which the police extracts confessions."
Soledad Aguilar, who buried her daughter nine years ago as a result of one of the murders, spoke briefly about how she feels about the situation in her hometown. She nearly brought the audience to tears when, at the end of the discussion, she presented Marquez with a shirt that bore the name of her late daughter as a token of gratitude to the Juarez Activism Group, which organized the panel and provided the women of Juarez with some desperately needed publicity.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette, along with several radio shows, interviewed Marquez and asked her to explained the situation in Juarez. "We have been able to get these women a lot of publicity," she said after the panel.
For Marquez this issue strikes close to home. "I grew up in El-Paso, Texas, and so I've been hearing about these incidents for years," she said. "A change for the better is that once they used to talk about the crimes and now they talk more about what's being done to help these women."
Callie Fogler '07, another member of the Juarez Activism Group, expressed her hope for change. "We still have a long ways to go. The Mexican government, however superficially, has responded to the pressure and set up the special commission," she said. "We are making some progress."
The event was sponsored by the Mexican Solidarity Network, Justicia para Nuestras Hijas, Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, Centro de Estudios y Taller Laboral, Casa Amiga, Comision Mexicana de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos, Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez, Amnesty International, the Amherst Office of the President, Amherst Student Activities, Amherst Women's and Gender Studies Department and the Association of Amherst Students.