JE #8

         Before this class my knowledge of the Juarez femicides was very limited. I had recently heard about them through a friend who was extremely interested by them. From her I knew that women in the maquiladoras were being killed in high numbers. She told me that it was a way of population control in the border and for women to stop crossing the border and having Mexican children in the U.S. Entry Denied provides historical and social context to better understand rape culture and policies along the border. Chapter 5, talks about the rape cases of immigrant women along the border and the US’s role in offering an asylum. Only “some instances of rape constitute persecution, for which women should be granted asylum” (Lubheid 104). Reading this section in the book really shocked me because rape is taken very lightly. Rape cases of undocumented women are crimes or problems the government does not care to address.  It really made me sick to read how border patrol agents also rape women and there is no way to keep them accountable for those crimes. Since they are the main authority along the border, they get away with it. Overall, this chapter helped but into context rape culture and murders on the El Paso/ Juarez border. Undocumented women are more vulnerable to rape and other kinds of abuse because they are less likely to report anything or if they do, they are not taken seriously. I know get to see why these murders continue in Juarez. Many of the women employed in the maquiladoras are undocumented or are simply seen as women for service and if raped or murder, they are seen as ‘just’ another one. Since there are many women working, women getting murder one by one is not seem as a big deal. Also, the law enforcement along the border is corrupt and usually do not report things or bother making cases and many times they are the predators or accomplices.

            Desert Blood also helped in providing a cultural and social context for these murders. It is helped in providing a personal story with characters names which makes the cases more human and personal. This booked helped in illustrating more in detail the rape culture and Juarez murders. The entire beginning of the book, especially chapter 4 really shocked me the most simply because Ximena’s descriptions of the murders were very detailed. Reading all that made me feel like Ivon, because listening to the descriptions of the murderers for the first time really moved my stomach. Having Ximena describe the bodies she saw and she personally went to discover was shocking. Puts into context how Juarez authorities don’t care too much about the murders because regular civilians feel they need to take it into their own hands. Overall, the book very well describes the scene of Juarez and hearing Ivon’s emotions throughout the process helps understanding my own emotions while reading.

I found the film Bordertown very effective just because it is an actual visual story based on the truth of the Juarez murders. When I read about the murders I usually did not imagine things to be so public, such as in the middle of the town being taken away or even the bus driver being the killer. The film just helped me get a better sense of what it is like and how people are connected. Also got to see how the police is corrupt and try to cover up cases by not letting reporters report on it or lie and say the killings were accidents. Its crazy how shady things actually are.