I
for Monica Alanís and
all the women of Juárez
So many daughters disappeared
After working long shifts at night
At las malquiladoras rife
With innocents to commandeer
Into a hell of hate and fear
Kidnap, rape and torture untold
Unpunished monsters remain bold
Hunt their prey with impunity
While parents suffer the cruelty
Of their children's bodies grown cold
© Odilia Galván Rodríguez, 2012
By artist: Erin Currier
Mónica Janet Alanís, student of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez
who "disappeared" from the university three years ago and has not been
seen since. Her father Ricardo Alanís, is the coordinator of the Comité de
Madres y Familiares con Hijas Desaparecidas de Ciudad Juárez, (Committee of
Mothers and Family Members of Daughters Disappeared from the City of Juárez.)
Since 1993, hundreds of women have been murdered in the desert city of Ciudad Juárez in Mexico.
There is no clear motive for the killings and the police seem reluctant to investigate. There is no
accurate number of victims. The City's newspaper El Diario puts the figure at 878 women killed
between 1993 and 2010, but other community members say they number in the thousands. Parents
and supporters of the women of Juárez ask what is really going on and why can't these atrocious
crimes be solved and stopped.
I offer these poems in homage to the disappeared and murdered women, for their parents and loved
ones who suffer not knowing if their child is alive or dead, or what in reality, did happen to them and why.
note: This is my first poem for National Poetry Month - NaPoWriMo 2012, 30 poems in 30 days.
