Stop the Femicides!

Norma Andrade and María Luisa García Andrade are the mother and sister of Lilia Alejandra García Andrade, one of the young women disappeared and assassinated in Ciudad Juarez. Ramona Morales Huerta is the mother of Silvia Elena Rivera Morales, also disappeared and killed. Nakarawi Leal Ortiz is a young activist living in Juarez. They all work with Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, which raises awareness throughout Mexico and internationally about the Juarez disappearances.

The Andrades spoke throughout the Los Angeles area. At Loyola Marymount University, where their visit was co-sponsored by nine departments and units, 80 students, professors, and community residents attended an evening lecture and reception. The speakers were powerful, and the injustice they described was heart-wrenching. It was so important that they could speak at LMU to inform us more fully and first hand of this terrible femicide. Father Michael E. Engh, S.J. Dean, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, Loyola Marymount University.

Whittier College hosted the women for a presentation attended by 130 people and covered by TV Azteca's evening news program.

A panel discussion co-sponsored by
several organizations at the
University of Southern California
drew 200 . There is a political and social apathy. The murders (of the women) are not looked upon as important, and this has become a cycle. Violence against women has become entrenched both (in Ciudad Juarez) and around the world. Alma Mejorado , USC graduate student and event coordinator.

The Andrades met with Congresswoman Hilda Solis, one of the very few elected officials in the US to take an interest in the Juarez murders. Congresswoman Solis presented the women with a proclamation and discussed past and future collaboration with Nuestras Hijas . Television and radio coverage included an appearance on Univision 's evening news, an interview on the early morning TV show Despierta Los Angeles, and two appearances on KPFK Pacifica Radio programs: Enfoque Latino, Radio Bilingüe, Linea Directa and Edicion Semanaria news. La Opinion , the Spanish language newspaper with the largest circulation in the U.S.A., gave front-page coverage to an interview with the Andrades. Ramona Morales Huerta and Nakarawi Leal Ortiz spoke to large audiences at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania and at Davidson College in North Carolina, where ten percent of the student body attended the evening lecture. They are the two most amazing and courageous women I know, so thank you for giving us the honor of letting us hear their stories. A lot of students were really moved to do something. I just hope in some way we made a small difference. Kelly Sindler, Davidson College student and event coordinator.

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