Las Mujeres de Juarez: The Womyn of Juarez
For many years now unidentified serial-killers have roamed in the shadows of a forgotten border town prying on innocent womyn. For over 10 years these faceless and nameless victims have fallen to vicious attacks.
Femicide is the deliberate act of killing a group of people based on their female gender. It is evident that femicide is currently and continually occurring in Cuidad, Juarez. These people are not just any type of womyn. They are hard-working womyn: they are mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, neighbors, teachers, students and the list continues. Many times they are US citizens.
Cd. Juarez in Mexico is the the border and hermana (sister) town of El Paso in Texas. The City of Juarez has been a violent arena of rape, massacre, and injustice for thousands of muxeres, please read fellow blogger 'so X amor' accurate description in her entry 'Who's Killing the Women of Juarez' (http://progressiveu.org/013010-who-killing-women-juarez).
People are constantly arguing what role the US should play towards this situation of mass assassination. A few argue that this femicide has nothing to do with US, others mention the poor social status this country is currently in and how priority to national issues should be given over international ones.
It is simple to see that the blood of the womyn in Cd. Juarez pour across the border into the US. This femicide is a direct consequence of US foreign policy and actions. The products US citizens unknowingly use are products of these assassinations.
Please do not be offended. Most every US citizens' hands are spared of the blood of these innocent womyn.
Let's make this as simple as possible.
It is the disgustingly wealthy business corporations and their greed.
The following occurred:
Step 1
"Disgustingly wealthy business corporations" in the US and Mexico, that account for less than 1% of our entire population, decided to come together and devise a plan to make even more money.
Step 2
With their global-super-economical power they decide to influence legislation and undetectably compose, vote, and pass a horrible foreign policy called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Step 3
Subsidized US product and businesses infiltrates Mexico which leaves the elite richer and the citizens in poorer social conditions.
Wait a minute...
How does this have to do with the killing of thousands of womyn?
Like this:
Example 1: Tommy Hilifiger
With NAFTA, Mr. Hilifiger can take his polo producing shops called maquiladoras to Mexico. When taking his business across the border he is not charged any tariffs, thanks NAFTA! Once in Mexico, he can pay his workers, mind you - mostly muxeres, less than he would have to here in the US but still significantly higher than the normal Mexican salary. With his maquiladora in Mexico he can also work these womyn for 12+ hour days and not have to pay over time. Production is key, thanks once again NAFTA.
Here is where it ties in:
Many times these womyn are bussed from rural areas to Cd. Juarez into these maquiladoras. Some womyn have to walk miles to get to that bus stop. These womyn's shifts start very early in the day or end late at night, both of which a small amount of people are awake.
This is the perfect time for malicious intents to arise, a perfect time to take advantage of Mexico's unstable enforcement system. A few suspect that the actual enforcement system, which at times has proven to be corrupt, has a role in the femicide.
Others argue that it is the high demand for a job at the maquiladoras that are causing these deaths.
The undeniable truth is that this femicide, this holocaust, is being created by power hungry assassins. The ones lurking on the deserted streets of Cd. Juarez and the ones in expensive suits strolling safely around their mega-million residences in the US.
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