Here are the guidelines:
- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by 8pm on the day PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
To me, both of these readings gave me a sense of shock. I thought that many Mexican Americans had liberation by the 1990's, and that they were safe in both Mexico or America. This truly reveals the sick hypocrisy and misogyny in the Justice System of America and in Mexico. These poor girls had been brutally raped or murdered, and neither side cared. In the Article "Murder in Juarez", they are describing a series of violent rapes and murders of Mexican Women in Mexico. While there is no apparent reason for the violent, disgusting surge of rapes and murders, the author has talked about how Social and Economic factors have played in leading to these girls becoming oppressed and ultimately in a situation to get raped. This is due to things like Rape culture and Toxic Masculinity. In New World Border, the author says "Both the anti-immigration activists and the conservative media have utilized extremely charged metaphors to describe this process of “Americanization.” It is described as a Christian nightmare (“hell at our doorsteps”); a natural disaster (“the brown wave”), a fatal disease or an incurable virus; a form of demographic rape; a cultural invasion; or the scary beginning of a process of secession or “Quebequization” of the entire Southwest." So while Mexico is a bad place, it is not entirely to blame for their Societal Problems. Their immediate proximity to the United States and the militarization of the border wall lead to many of Mexico's problems, and this is part of why Mexico is so crowded and filled with violent crime, especially along the border. Michael Gonzalez
ReplyDeleteThe readings of “New World Border” and Livingstons “Murder in Juarez” was very horrific for me because it really makes you feel sorry for these innocent girls and what they and to go through. These female homicides that occurred in Ciudad Juarez were very violent deaths of hundreds of women and girls since 1993 in the northern Mexican region. Even today, Mexico is still a dangerous place to visit or live in since there is still countless violence going on. Some females had been raped even murdered but no one really gave a damn. “Murder in Juarez” was sickening to read because women in general should never be touched or hurt in a certain way. It is a huge issue in today’s society regarding women being raped. It has been going on for years and its sad that there are some sick individuals in this world. In the article, I found it most interesting that maquiladoras were monitored vert strictly rather than the male employees. The female employees worked long hours with very little pay which didn’t surprise me one bit. Similar to today’s society, a woman’s appearance means a lot more than her working skills. During this time, it’s sad and unfortunate that women were treated so bad and discriminated without a care in the world. No matter what situation it is, women should always be respected because that is what they deserve.
ReplyDeleteMichael Garcia
It was problematic to see the physical and social borders that human beings create in order to “be better neighbors”, Is that what it takes for us to coexist with one another? New World Border, to me, was a clever twist on the term “New World Order” which means a drastic change in world political thought and balance of power. This play with words fits perfectly with the border wall, which was built to stop or diminish the influx of illegal aliens into the United States, in doing so creating a social change. The United States along with its border wall created the indocumentado, the wet back, the Mexican-American, all these terms that describe a social class that before did not exist. We are the in-between situated amid two extremes, socially, economically, culturally. “Murder in Juárez” was a shocking article to read, is the concept of machismo so deeply rooted into the society that they are willing to murder women who challenge that notion? These murders are definitely a consequence of industrializing a corrupt country with low or unestablished regulations. When you can’t even trust the people that are supposed to protect you that shows how the government is deeply at fault. (202)
ReplyDelete-Víctor D. Gaytán
After reading “Murder in Juarez” it made me feel really bad for the hundreds of women that were killed in such horrible ways. No one deserves to be killed, especially tortured. Things like this do not only happen in Ciudad Juarez, but all along the border. For example, when I was about ten years old I remember going to Progresso and I heard that a thirteen or fifteen-year-old girl was raped and then killed, which after that it made me kind of feel scared. Now, you usually do not hear about women being killed, but that does not necessarily mean it does not happen. Sometimes women do not get killed, but do get taken away and they get thrown in the world of prostitution, which I think is equally as horrible as being tortured and killed. This made me think of why I am so scared when I cross the border, because I never know if I am ever going to come back home. Some say o well there is violence everywhere, which I do agree, but the difference is that on the other side the crimes go unpunished because they have a government who does not protect its people if they do not have money, which is truly disappointing.
ReplyDeleteGuadalupe Cazares
The article “Murder in Juarez” just opened my eyes a lot. It surprised me that in Mexico, not to long ago, we would still cases from violence toward women in Juarez, they even released a very good film about it. I was shocked to see the years the article was referring to; I was not even born by that time. Sometimes it seems as if prostitution, rapes and violence is not as old, but it has been there for a long time, and it’s more scary that it has not yet stopped.
ReplyDeleteAs I read I got very sad because this article makes a very good job explaining the real reasons why women, who are typically and ignorantly judged by anyone who might see the way they look or the way they work, have to undergo this situation since they got no other choices. The article makes very clear that women in these maquiladoras are in extreme need of money since the men’s income is not sufficient. They have to put with all of the sexual harassment and involve themselves in parties and contests to live. Ironically people tend to dehumanize them by labeling them as not valuable when instead they should be seen as very strong women that deal with problems most of us will never meet.
It was a very interesting and revealing article; therefore, I am very excited to hear my classmates opinions about this sad but interesting topic.
Ingrid Davila
Both of these articles have opened my eyes to new issues that I had not really taken into consideration. The topics it majorly focuses on are violence, rape, and even prostitution. This is an issue that has been around since a very long time and not many people really pay attention to what is going on around them. In this 2017, I have seen more campaigns in Mexico that talk about these issues because in some areas they are not even aware about. The issues keep getting worse which is why a lot of women are concerned, especially when they know of cases that happened so close to them. There is even a new movie that will come out which focuses on sexual abuse. It will be about a woman who is preparing for the Olympics and finds out that her best friend is being abused by her coach. There is already a lot of controversy in Mexico because the main role is being acted by a Mexican actress. It is sad how these issues are mainly focused in Mexico because the government cannot do their job and prevent these murders with all of the corruption that exists till this day. It makes me mad to realize that some of the worst issues seen today are happening all over Mexico because we cannot have a president who actually leads the country so that people can stop having an ugly idea of Mexico. (242)
ReplyDeleteBruno Morales
The article “Murder in Juarez” helped me opened my eyes to the point that I was not paying attention to. For example, the fact that violence, rape, and prostitution have been occurring even we I wasn’t born. Ad reading how women would be the main case. And seen the film, ‘Senorita Extraviada” got me emotional because its common to hear from women been kidnapped and sexually abuse but experiencing it it’s a whole different thing. That is why I understand why my mom is so scared of me crossing the border because the situation in the other side is worst than past years, my mom says you can even go buy medicine because you fear of everyone. Especially in ciudad Juarez because many women are sold for prostitution all because some don’t have an education and they need one others are forced to sell drugs fearing their life. Some young children are forced to feel the need to work in what are known “maquiladoras”.
ReplyDelete- Maria Leal
After reading “Murder in Juarez” I was thinking why there is so many violence in the border of US-Mexico and I came to a conclusion, murders and violations are very common because the Mexican Government do nothing about it, women are not safe, there is always men harassing them, and no one can stop this because there are not police around. When I used to live in Mexico 5 years ago, it was very rare to see police around, this is because the corruption between drug dealers and the government, that is the main problem in Mexico, it is really hard to be secure if you don’t have someone to protect you.
ReplyDeleteThe murders of women in Juarez in the decade of the 90’s were a big highlight because people from those years were not used to heard about that. In the article we see that women had to go to work in Maquiladoras because the economic situation in Mexico was critical. They had to travel through lonely roads in which many of them suffered rapes, violence, and death. Sadly, nowadays women murdering is a normal thing in Mexico, I believe there are more women going to work than in in the 1990s because they have become more independent, and most people see them defenseless because they’re not married, but in my opinion they are more strong than any men.
Missael Salinas
The article “Murder in Juarez” really opened my eyes on all the things that was happening to women working in the maquiladoras. Most of the article was talking about women being raped, sent to prostitution, and how it wasn’t fare for the women working in the maquiladoras. Many of the women would go to Juarez and work in the maquiladoras because it had a better pay rate than if they would work back home where they lived. Some of the younger women would go to Juarez for jobs at the maquiladoras because they were searching for independence and just wanted leave where place where they lived. It really bothered me reading that women (mostly young) from the maquiladoras were missing and later found dead in a desert with evidence of violence and rape because these women came to make something better for themselves or their families and they turn out like this. I also didn’t like the fact that women were told to get a pregnancy test before getting hired because the people in charge on the maquiladoras didn’t want to have a pregnant woman working because they would have to pay the women’s expenses and if they would get pregnant, they would be harassed by man, so they could quit by themselves. Women should be treated equal in any job. They should not be treated like they are they are something less or nothing.
ReplyDeleteIvan Lira
New World Border and Murder in Juarez discuss the gendered discrimination and sexual violence experienced specifically by Latinas and Mexican Women. Murder in Juarez specifically discusses the pure disregard for the labor produced by the poor women in the maquiladores and delves deeper in not only gender but also the economic politics that come into play. Jessica Livingston states that the vulnerability of these women is taken advantage of, mentioning that they come to Juarez for better economic opportunities. Similar to Gloria Anzaldua’s points of view, discussing gendered violence is an important part of this class as well as any other intersecting identities. In this case, gender, race and economic status are intersecting identities that fatally affect these women. All three of these come into play and it is important to discuss each individually. I believe acknowledging the problem rather than ignoring the reasons why this sexual violence exists is the first step to getting it solved. On top of this, directing attention to corrupt governments is also something that many people don’t like to discuss. I believe it is fear of getting rid of our ignorance and actually addressing the fact that maybe the government and law enforcement isn’t on our side that actually scares people. We must rid of the taboo on certain subjects to get helpful conversations started.
ReplyDeleteAndrea Juarez
Through the message of “the border” and the “working women” in Juarez the theme of globalization furthered the film and reading. As seen in the documentary, the border which separates Mexico from the United States is more than a mere fence, for it is a representation and act of defiance and defense on the U.S.’s part. All the while, those desiring to cross over are denied aid and compassion. The dangers of the border area have developed into how Americans view those trying to flee Mexico. For example, the young men who were killed because their belongings were mistaken as being drugs are unnecessary and unrighteous. The notion of “the border” and those who encounter its walls must be examined before being brutally judged. Furthermore, the reading of Ciudad Juarez also displays the demands of globalization and industrial advancement. Women, seeking a place and stance in society, are inclining to become more independent. The factories which catch the attention of young women act as harmful places for its workers who desperately need money. After reading of the practices done in the maquiladoras, I was able to better understand why women are taken advantage of. Even in the workforce women are not respected. If they are not seen as equal in such contexts, why would others value them anywhere else?
ReplyDeleteCeline Brianna Salas
After reading both of these readings I was in disbelief. As I was reading Murder in Juarez the amount of great detailed put into this article almost made it feel like present time. Literally chills ran through my body reading this because of how all these young women who were only trying to better their lives got raped and murder. This goes all the way back in the 1900’s and to know it still goes on today is even more sad and scary. As stated in the article by Alma Vucovich, President of the Mexican Congress Committee on Sexual Equality “Authorities haven’t cared because the victims are women and they’re poor, and many times they have no family in Juarez.” (60) This is so sad but true, even now a days you still see that. Justice isn’t served or even acknowledged, like stated many times in the article the authorities’ first question or comment when a young female goes missing is “these girls live a double life, working by day and going out by night”. That is no excuse to not look, fight or even try to immediately take action in these young girls missing or those who were murder. I was aware of females getting taken, raped or murdered but I was not aware of how far back it went and how many females have been a victim of domestic violence and kidnapping. This breaks my heart because no female should have to go through any of these things. As it is the world is a harsh place for men and women and for people to violate an individual is wrong in every way possible. Reading these really astonished me.
ReplyDeleteBrandi Rae Rodriguez
First and foremost i just want to say that I hope that these poor victims rest in peace. This article, Murder in Juarez by Jessica Livingston, was very heartbreaking for me to read, there is no justice and no help and i can't help but wonder how hopeless their families might feel.. Needless to say this article and Documentary really hit close to home. Cases about women being kidnapped, found dead on arrival, theirs bodies being so decomposed that they can't even identity who the victim is. Cases of women being raped and sold into prostitution, It's just all so heartbreaking and makes me so emotional thinking about it. In the documentary "Senorita Extraviada" the person in the beginning asks, "Why are the deaths of so many young women being ignored. and why are the murders still happening?" Which in my opinion, this question should be an important question that should be addressed, and not just put aside. Something needs to be done about this, there needs to be justice for all these women. Incidents like these are still continuing to happen, Look at the year we're in, and there is still cases about this going on. Why? And some people still have the audacity to make jokes about this. Even our President, makes joke about this. People are afraid to come forth with situations like these, or will keep hushed if they witness something like that because they are afraid of what might happen, when in reality, it shouldn't be like that.
ReplyDeleteJoanne Lopez
The documentary “New World Border” and the article “Murder in Juarez” by Livingston was something that I really wish never happened. These women who tried to find a better lifestyle for them to either be independent or provide more for their family deserved to work as they wished and not had been murdered. Sadly, this occurred at the borderland of El Paso; Ciudad Juarez. These women would work for little pay but was still more than any other job that was available. They had to dress a certain way when going to work. A lot of these maquiladora owners would hire these women based on their looks. When these women started missing, things got suspicious. They would go missing, then appear to be raped, strangled and killed. Almost three hundred women were raped and murdered. I feel like this was something that could have been prevented if women spoke out more to the authorities. Now a days, you don’t see cases like this much often but they still do exist. Women should be able to protect themselves throughout any circumstance just like men do. They shouldn’t be harassed if they got pregnant either. Women have their rights and shouldn’t be in fear of anything.
ReplyDeleteGiselle Sanchez
After reading “Murder in Juarez” and “New World Border,” it was shocking to me everything that innocent woman had to go through. The fact that they would randomly disappeared and appear back after a month died and raped was very sad and nobody seemed to care. I remember seeing a movie back then and it was somewhat related to this. It occurred in Ciudad Juarez, and it was basically based on young woman working in a factory and they would work long hours. After their shift, there was some bus that would take them home and unfortunately the last one that was left in the bus was the next victim. Nobody seemed to care the police didn’t do much they would just assumed that they just went home with some random guy. One of the parts that upset me in the article was “when young women have disappeared, police have frequently suggested to family members that the missing woman left with a boyfriend or have suggested that the woman was as fault,” or where they blamed about having a “double life” How can a authorities say that, their job is to investigate not give suggestions about the victim, that really showed how much they cared back then. Sandy Martinez
ReplyDeleteLivingston “Murder in Juarez” is an interesting reading since it talks about the murders happened in one of the most critical cities on the border between Mexico and the U.S., Ciudad Juarez. After reading the article I think it is sad how in our culture, women are more propense to suffer from violence than men, violence that in most cases it can lead to death to some of these women, and many more missing. Also, the article says most of the cases of violence were not solved because of the incompetence local authorities had to manage most of the cases, I agree whit the article when it says that police should focus more trying to solve the cases, instead of focusing more on the background of the victim. It got me thinking if the victims of the cases were men, would the local authorities act the same? I think they wouldn’t do the same. The film “New Border World” talks about how the U.S. implemented a new operation trying to control illegal drug crossing from Mexico to the U.S. Operation Gateway is one of many excuses the government used to try to stop Mexicans and other immigrants from coming to the U.S.
ReplyDeleteLuis Reyna
After reading both “New world order” and “Murder in Juarez” I found it very saddening to see these women raped and tortured in such horrific ways while trying to work for a better life in the maquiladoras. This is not only a problem along the border but an issue all around the world that needs to be taken more serious as there are also hundreds of rape or harassment cases that are not reported, which is even more grieving to know. As human beings, even though it could be a bit shameful or frightful to retell such a scenario, we should always be able to rely on someone to report to and get assisted with when such things happens. As awful as it sounds, Mexico has really become known as a corrupt nation with a gang affiliated militia running the grounds and laws of its place, which is also another problematic issue that possibly leads to the increase of these crimes. However, I believe that we could reduce the amount of problems personally by creating somewhat of a guideline for women. These guidelines could include things such as not walking out alone late at night in the dark, not having a dead phone, and basically just being with people you know you could trust in sketchy places as they are the ones often stalked or followed home by creepy people.
ReplyDeleteAdrian Martinez
Reading ‘Murder in Juarez” saddened me because these young women went to the city of Juarez to become independent and as it says on the article that some women did not even need a job to survive, it was just for them to buy themselves clothes and things like that. And that is the same reason I have a job, so I can buy all the unnecessary things I want because I do not like asking my parents for money for things that I do not need, so I got myself a job. These women were young working people and many of them just disappeared because they were living in one of the most dangerous cities of Mexico. It is so unfair that they were raped and killed because they go into the city in hope of a better life, new adventures and the sad thing is that the government tried to justify these murders because they went out at night. I do not see why a woman can’t have fun every now and then, and if something happens to her, it should not be blamed on the fact that she was out late or by saying that what she was wearing was too provocative and she was asking for it.
ReplyDeleteYadira de Leon
“Las muertas de Juarez” a very polemic yet painful topic for Mexican families since the 1900’s. I remember when it all started, the terror traveled through the whole Mexican territory, mothers, fathers, entire communities protecting their little girls from the hands of those sadistic killers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a job for the citizens, but for the Mexican authorities who seem to not care of feel the pain of hundreds of families.
ReplyDeleteI have very vivid memories of watching the news and listening to stories about “otra muerta mas en Juarez”, “otra desaparecida mas en Juarez” almost every day in national news Ciudad Juarez was the most relevant topic. What most shocked me back then was knowing that Mexican authorities were so apathetic, what hurt the most, was their silence...their lack of interest.
The article “Murder in Juarez” gives me a totally new perspective of these events. I did not know how deep the correlation between las desaparecidas and maquiladoras was. It makes me angry to learn how maquiladora executives saw women, as a cheap and disposable item.
I can totally understand the reasons why young women leave their hometowns and relocate at the border. In Mexico more than 46% of the population live in poverty, this means, no educational and medical resources in their communities, no decent housing, and hunger insecurity. Women living in these conditions have more than enough reasons to leave their towns in search of a better life, a life they believe can be obtained by working in maquiladoras.
For what I know, a maquiladora salary is very low, it is about $7 U.S dollars A DAY and their weekly payment consists of part of their earnings in cash, and the other part in pantry vouchers. This quality of life in my opinion is not worth the inhumane treatment, however, the lack of education in Mexico, and in many cases illiteracy, leaves women with no other option but to work in maquiladoras, endure the dishonored treatment they receive from their superiors, and face their day-to-day with the erroneous mentality that women are less valuable and that everything we contribute to society and the economy is trash...produced by a cheap, disposable human being.
Rossy Tapia Cervantes
When the women who traveled across their country in look for a better life they were in hopes of something different, yet they come face to face to what they were running away from their country. The way they treated these girls just because they wouldn’t follow directions or because they were out late at night and men just saw them as a delicious treat for them to have fun with. They lived in dangerous times back in the days and although now it is not perfect, things have gotten better for women. We now have more rights and privileges as well as men. We are now looked as the weak sex who is just meant to give birth and serve our men whenever they want, we now speak our minds and endure our power as women. I had heard that Ciudad Juarez was bad, but not to this point. It seemed to me as people came to see it as normal, as if it were just another walk at the park and that is very terrifying and intense. How can people live like this? Do they not live in fear, or do they just walk out of their houses and expect for them to return that day? The maquiladoras would hire the women based on their appearances! Not what they could offer the business with their skills but how attractive they were! It just comes to prove that they were seen as sex objects where they could claim and use as they please without respecting a women’s say or decisions. It is still done today but there are now laws to protect the women, something that was not enforced in the 1990’s. the lack of law enforcement lead to all the cases of murder and missing/unidentified bodies of young ladies snatched by whatever man found them.
ReplyDeleteAshley Escalante
Before even reading the article the title “Murder in Juarez” remains me when my mom use to leave over there in Juarez with my aunt, she would tell me that In Juarez there has always been violence and specially with women that they would get raped and disappear mostly. My mom said that she would go work in a maquiladora and that they were always hiring young women to work their mainly because there would be a lot of women that would disappear or leave to another place. Know after reading the article I realize that what my mom had told me was true she wasn’t lying about young women working in factories or even attending school would disappear and later on they would find their bodies with marks that lead to violence and rape. Some women would even get strangled. This has happed since 1993, they would find young girls dead. In the mid-2002 around three hundred women had been murder I mean wow! How can people still live there specially women. How can they allow that to happened I mean I know it’s not their fault but by them leaving there is it kind of show that they like that or maybe its they just can’t afford it right!?
ReplyDelete-Mayra Saldaña
In the readings provided, “New World Border,” and “Murder in Juarez, “by Jessica Livingston, I have come to realize and acknowledge the brutal crime against women that either go unnoticed and or swept it under the rug. In the city of Juarez many young women were taken and murdered. I do believe that women should always come together and always stand up for each other. And the fact that there were Mexican Feminists that would make themselves known as an empowering action. What honestly angered mw was that when a young woman would go missing the authorities assumed that she had run off with her boyfriend. This assumption characterizes and generalize that all women are “bad” being that can be the only explanation for the women’s disappearance. This even occurs today that when some young women are harmed the first extinct men have is that it is the woman’s fault. They had to be doing something wring for there to be something wrong. “State authorities have assumed that some of the victims were prostitutes and moved slowly on investigations,” this proves my point that women were blamed first. The assumption that they must have been prostitutes to be in the situation they were in. Well through these reading we see the truth. That it does not matter what kind of woman you were you can always be harmed. It is a sad truth, but it is the reality. And through these readings I felt double heartache because first they were women. Secondly, they were mainly women of color.
ReplyDelete-Alma De La Llana