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| Stories From Members: "Open Invitation to Kill: Murder and Impunity in Guatemala" |
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By Joan Dawson
They do not necessarily reflect the positions of the Women Thrive Worldwide. To submit a story contact Mckenzie Lock at mlock AT womenthrive DOT org. "When They Killed Her, They Killed Me" |
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 Maria Isabel Franco | Rosa Franco stepped into the small, light-filled room and began to tell us, a human rights delegation from the States, her story. Her daughter's name was Maria Isabel and she was only 15 years old. It happened just two weeks before Christmas. Rosa was waiting for her daughter to come home from a boutique where Maria Isabel had been working. Her daughter was only working there for three months, during her vacation from school. It was her first job. The next day, when Maria Isabel failed to come home, Rosa reported her daughter missing. The day after that, she saw her daughter's body on the news. Is there a worse way to inform a mother that her daughter has been raped and killed than on the evening news? And what reasons could you possibly give to that distraught mother as to why her daughter was brutally murdered? Rosa Franco had to identify her daughter's body at the morgue. The only name attached to it was "XX." The body had wounds, the skull was fractured, and the fingernails were bent back. Maria Isabel had been raped and strangled. |
| Rosa buried her daughter on December 20, 2001, just five days before Christmas. Nine months later, Rosa suffered a heart attack. She's also had migraines, high blood pressure and thoughts of suicide. On top of that, people have threatened her and made fun of her. Since December, some of the evidence from the case has disappeared. Some have said her daughter was a prostitute. Often, in these cases, the police refer to a woman as a prostitute, especially if she is wearing red nail polish or a “short” skirt. In this way, the murder serves to rid society of a harmful element, kind of like Jack the Ripper did in Victorian England. |  Rosa Franco |
Femicides in Guatemala
and their murders are not as brutal. Men are often killed by firearms. Women are not. Many women suffer the same tortuous fate as
Maria Isabel: torture that, on average, lasts about five hours.
That is why many families are hoping that the international community can put pressure on their government
"Impunity Is The Invitation to Crime"
 Claudina Isabel Velasquez | Rain was now coming down outside, dripping slowly down the windows. It was dreary. Then, as Jorge Velasquez walked into the room, it was as if a ghost had appeared. Goose bumps went up and down my arms. Just last night, our human rights delegation had viewed "Killers' Paradise," a BBC documentary about the killings of women in Guatemala. Jorge had been filmed for the documentary, and here he was today walking into this room to talk to us about his daughter, Claudina Isabel. |
and described her goals in life. She had hopes to finish law school, travel to Spain to study criminal law, and to marry and have four
children of her own.
But her hopes and aspirations died with her on a warm summer day. It happened on August 13, 2005. Claudina was shot in the
head, a death typically reserved for men in Guatemala.
 Jorge Velasquez | Two years later, the case still hasn't advanced, Jorge laments. What could a family possibly expect when authorities placed her time of death seven hours after the autopsy? Furthermore, the police, upon finding her belly button ring and sandals, classified her as a prostitute. They didn’t save her clothes as evidence, took her fingerprints at her wake and gave her the identity as "XX" like so many other women killed in Guatemala, he says with disgust. When these crimes are not investigated properly, the result is impunity for the killers. This impunity becomes an open invitation to rape, dismember, mutilate and kill women. Indeed, it is one of the main reasons why these homicides are increasing. |
Politicians do not seem very concerned about the rising rates, however. When asked, many blame women themselves. They blame it on women's increasing rights, their infidelity, and their refusal to obey their husbands. In Guatemala, like so many other Latin American countries, machismo dictates that men be the head of the household and make the decisions. Women and family are often treated as property.
Mr. Velasquez says he will never abandon the case for Claudina or for the women of Guatemala. Indeed, he has not worked at his job for two years now. He says he is tired of the corruption, tired of the apathy and tired of being tired. "Don't we deserve justice?" he asks, with tears streaming down his face.
To help the families in Guatemala, please contact your US Senator and ask them to support Senate Resolution 178. It asks the government of Guatemala to act on these crimes, to implement an effective missing persons system and witness protection program and to adequately fund the National Institute for Forensic Science.
For your senator’s contact information, go to: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
For further information on femicides in Guatemala and for help on what to say to your senator, go to: http://www.ghrc-usa.org/