All of them got a mercy killing shot in the head. The five people from La Narvarte were, people say, 1) the photojournalist Rubén Espinosa, who came to Mexico City self-exiled because he was threatened to be killed in the state of Veracruz, where he resided since 2009. The governor of Veracruz (Javier Duarte) has created a very hostile and dangerous environment against journalism: so far, since he came into power (in 2010), it has been “officially” recorded that 37 journalist have been murdered and 37 have gone into exile. 2) Nadia Vera, an anthropologist, a cultural promoter and humans rights activist from Chiapas but graduated from the Universidad Veracruzana. Nadia was also threatened, to such point that she said in an interview that if something happened to her, she wanted to blame the despicable governor of Veracruz in advance. 3) Yesenia Quiroz, a young make-up artist, whose family (originally from Michoacán) lives in Mexicali; she had recently arrived to Mexico City straight from Mexicali. 4) “Alejandra,” a forty-year-old and “divorced” woman, who apparently worked as a housemaid, and whose last name has not been released to the press yet. And 5) “Simone” or “Nicole” (the Attorney General's Office has not been very clear about her, arguing that no one knew her last name in the building where her body was found), a 29 year-old Colombian girl, a “model and personal assistant,” at first assumed as the owner of the Mustang in which apparently the killers escaped (although the registration doesn’t have her name, also according to the Attorney General's Office). The Mexican press is suspiciously pointing at the statement released by the Attorney General’s Office: “despite not having a job, she was the owner of the Mustang, contributed to the expenses and owned a few jewelry and gold,” which, in other words, means that she was a whore (“like all the Colombian girls”).
This case is paradigmatic and disturbing for many reasons. Because Mexico City is no longer the safe refuge where threatened journalist once used to find peace. Also because, at first, the crime was reported as the murder of Rubén Espinosa and four other victims, whose names have been released slowly during the last days. Why at the beginning only Espinosa was mentioned? For two reasons: because authorities (and the press) tend to make FEMINICIDES invisible by not mentioning the names of the victims. And because the journalist, Rubén Espinosa, had solidarity and social networks in Mexico City that became aware of his absence. But why these women did not have this sort of networks? The answer is quite sad: because besides being women, they belonged to the most vulnerable social groups. The multiple homicide of La Narvarte perfectly exemplifies (and also makes us aware of) the great vulnerability suffered by women, journalists, activists, immigrants, domestic workers and sexual workers. This is a very clear message to those social groups: There’s no place where they can feel safe. I should also mention that all the stereotypes divulged by the press and media about these groups make easier that these crimes are eventually forgotten with impunity. Neither being a prostitute, nor consuming drugs, nor doing activism, nor criticizing the Government, nor “not spending our time picking up coffee beans” are justifications for rapping, torturing and murdering.
Based on the public information, all “the evidence” points at the fact that the Colombian girl will be the scapegoat of this atrocious crime. Soon, people will say that it was “due to drugs”. However, if the authorities point at Rubén Espinosa and Nadia Vera as the main victims, this will become a clear attack against freedom of expression, and will eventually have a very high political cost, mostly because people won’t be able to say that the Colombian girl was murdered for “being a prostitute and a drug dealer.” In fact, the words “Colombian girl” are being often used as an euphemism for prostitute. Do you remember when Colombia felt terribly offended “as a country” when a Chilean comedian called Colombian women “whores”? Well, this crime is not a comedy sketch: a “Colombian girl” has been brutally murdered, stigmatized for being Colombian and discarded only for being an immigrant. No one will feel terribly offended for this crime? This is the time to feel indignation, to reject impunity, to demand our rights and, of course, to shout for the respect of the Colombian prostitutes.
This case is paradigmatic and disturbing for many reasons. Because Mexico City is no longer the safe refuge where threatened journalist once used to find peace. Also because, at first, the crime was reported as the murder of Rubén Espinosa and four other victims, whose names have been released slowly during the last days. Why at the beginning only Espinosa was mentioned? For two reasons: because authorities (and the press) tend to make FEMINICIDES invisible by not mentioning the names of the victims. And because the journalist, Rubén Espinosa, had solidarity and social networks in Mexico City that became aware of his absence. But why these women did not have this sort of networks? The answer is quite sad: because besides being women, they belonged to the most vulnerable social groups. The multiple homicide of La Narvarte perfectly exemplifies (and also makes us aware of) the great vulnerability suffered by women, journalists, activists, immigrants, domestic workers and sexual workers. This is a very clear message to those social groups: There’s no place where they can feel safe. I should also mention that all the stereotypes divulged by the press and media about these groups make easier that these crimes are eventually forgotten with impunity. Neither being a prostitute, nor consuming drugs, nor doing activism, nor criticizing the Government, nor “not spending our time picking up coffee beans” are justifications for rapping, torturing and murdering.
Based on the public information, all “the evidence” points at the fact that the Colombian girl will be the scapegoat of this atrocious crime. Soon, people will say that it was “due to drugs”. However, if the authorities point at Rubén Espinosa and Nadia Vera as the main victims, this will become a clear attack against freedom of expression, and will eventually have a very high political cost, mostly because people won’t be able to say that the Colombian girl was murdered for “being a prostitute and a drug dealer.” In fact, the words “Colombian girl” are being often used as an euphemism for prostitute. Do you remember when Colombia felt terribly offended “as a country” when a Chilean comedian called Colombian women “whores”? Well, this crime is not a comedy sketch: a “Colombian girl” has been brutally murdered, stigmatized for being Colombian and discarded only for being an immigrant. No one will feel terribly offended for this crime? This is the time to feel indignation, to reject impunity, to demand our rights and, of course, to shout for the respect of the Colombian prostitutes.
Article in Spanish:
Related articles:
-“Sex Tourism Drives Underage Prostitution Boom in Cartagena, Colombia” by Meredith Hoffman
-“Prostitution in Colombia”
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