Pink Crosses are seen dotting the surrounding areas of Ciudad Juarez, represent all the fallen women.
Photo by Rocco Rorandelli.

Getting there safely
I'm in a car in Colonia Hidalgo, a run down urban area of Ciudad Juárez. Most of the city is run down and urban. Ciudad Juárez shares a river with El Paso called the Rio Bravo on the Mexican side (state of Chihuahua) and the River Rio Grande on the US side (state of Texas). This is the ugly side of extreme industrialization. One must be careful here, even in twos.

My destination is Casa Amiga. As I enter, women glance at me, wondering what a healthy northerner is doing in the hard-knock world of Juárez. I see fliers neatly stacked on the receptionist’s desk assuring a way to overcome sexual abuse. The receptionist tells me to take a seat and I do, smiling politely at the others. The women seated next to me are awaiting a visit with the staff psychologist, some with their kids, waiting their turn to recount the violence they have been subjected to -- and to finally discover what it feels like to be safe.

Meeting an icon
Minutes later, Esther Chávez Cano, founder of Casa Amiga arrives and escorts me into a meeting room where she grants us an interview*. She describes that Casa Amiga is not a shelter, but rather a place for rehabilitation and therapy – where women can come with their children to escape violence and find the courage within to resolve their problems. Sometimes the solution is leaving their husbands, other times leaving their maquila jobs. Maquilas are export-oriented manufacturing plants churning out engine parts and textiles, profiting from the abundance of Mexicans seeking employment.

Cano is striving to bring justice to the hundreds of young girls and women who have been raped and murdered in Juárez. “The police here don’t even investigate,” she states, as a woman enters seeking legal council for the recent rape of her 12 year old daughter. Cano has also met with maquila owners insisting on an improvement in worker conditions.

Young Loneliness
Children are often left alone at home as their mothers need to go to long shifts at work to put food on their plates. The children feel no one loves them. At Casa Amiga, they are part of a loving family who nurtures their growth and hugs them. In addition, they quickly learn that sexual abuse is not okay, no matter what an adult says. In a classroom filled with colorful drawings up on the walls, boys and girls prepare for an upcoming puppet show.

To the international community at large, Cano says “keep speaking about the situation in Ciudad Juárez, keep aware of what is happening and respect others.” She concludes the interview on an optimistic note, affirming “you are the future and the ones who are going to change the world.”


Visit the Casa Amiga website at: www.casa-amiga.org

*Others at the interview were Holly, a doctoral candidate from Ontario, Canada doing research in Ciudad Juárez; Oscar, a translator from Ciudad Juárez; Rocco Rorandelli, a socially conscious photo-reporter; Spencer; and Anthony.