Valdez has a new book coming out and several crews have been making films and documentaries about the story. Here's an excerpt from the article:
The filmmaker emphasizes the complexity of the story can be hard for outsiders to grasp: "It's not just about finding copycat murderers or serial murderers; it's the overall violence toward women, the way society there sees women as pretty much dispensable. You've got to question everything, and that's why the victims' families opened up to Diana."
She describes a scene in the documentary in which she confronts the spokesman for the state attorney general's office with the names of some suspects Valdez has turned up, and he tells her that no inquiry is necessary, since the five men are "upstanding citizens, very good people." He then warns her that Valdez "should be careful."
Diego Zavala, Amnesty International USA's specialist for Mexico, praises Valdez's book for ferreting out hard-to-find information, and laying out the systemic failures in both the government and police organizations that render them incapable of solving the murders.
"I think it's very courageous of her to do this," he asserts. "She identifies all the state officials involved directly or indirectly in investigations, and demonstrates how utterly inept and insensitive they have been. When she tried to get information from actual witnesses, they wouldn't dare say anything. These young women disappear from downtown Juarez in the daytime, and no one claims to have seen them. It makes you wonder -- who are these people they're so afraid of?"
The Juarez murders are no longer "just" a local story, thanks in part to Valdez's reporting. In May, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution condemning the killings and encouraging U.S. involvement in bringing them to an end. In Mexico, a special federal prosecutor has been named to investigate the crimes.
No comments:
Post a Comment