I felt like Simba when he lost his father

Luz del Carmen Sosa El Diario (2-23-13) 

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

At night, just when it's time to go to sleep, is when Lilia most feels her mother's absence. She can't prevent the tears and silently says the prayer that, night after night, they would repeat together.

"At the end, she would always tell me. 'Good night, love', that's what I miss most about her," says the little girl, who didn't witness her mother's murder but lived for months with the fear that the killers would come back to finish off the rest of the family.

"I saw the film of the Lion King and I felt like Simba when he lost his father. I was very angry," the 9 year old recalls, orphaned months before when an armed group murdered her mother on the street.

The animated film was part of the group therapy that Lilia received through the Department of Justice's Special Office for the Care of Victims (FANVI: Fiscalia Especializada en Atencion a Victimas), created to provide services to those who lost a loved one in a violent crime. And in Juarez, that happened by the thousands.

The little girl remembers that it was in the cemetery, after her mother's body was covered with dirt, that she assimilated the magnitude of her reality.

"Everything changed. Everything. She would help me get ready to go to school, now I comb my hair by myself," she says, sadly.

"Well, sometimes I look OK, other times I don't, but there's nothing I can do about it, I go like that," she says with a half smile on her lips.

The girl can now talk about the murder of her mother and how much it took to get through the tragedy.

The assistance that this agency offers has not yet gained acceptance among the families of the victims of intentional homicide, perhaps due to ignorance or mistrust because of the impunity that prevails in the investigation of these crimes.     

An analysis performed by the Citizens Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice (Consejo Ciudadano para la Seguridad Publica y Justicia Penal) stated that Ciudad Juarez is the fifth municipality in the country -- among the 60 most violent at the national level -- with the highest index of impunity regarding the resolution of homicide cases.

According to the study, "The violence in Mexico's municipalities", presented by the civil association in Mexico City, in the 20 municipalities that showed the highest number of homicides, only an average of 4.81% of homicides were punished, a percentage that is three times lower than the number for the entire country in 2011: 16.21%.

In the case of Juarez, the city occupied 13th place among municipalities with the most homicides, with a homicide index of 48.97 per 100,000 population, while the sentencing index [crimes that were actually punished] was only 2.63%, that is, a level of impunity of 97.37%.

Here, only one out of every ten families seeks government assistance.

So far during this (state) administration, FANVI opened only 1,200 files and provided benefits to approximately 5,000 persons, mostly children, reports Israel Anaya Alarcon, the Northern Area coordinator for this agency.

"Justice is something we're working on. Building solid foundations so justice can reach the families requires movement of many aspects in social life, from the one who commits the crime, the victim, the one who reports it, the one who investigates, the one who delivers justice, the one who issues a sentence, the one who rehabilitates. We all have our tasks, there's still work to do, but it's everybody's duty," says the public servant.

The Strategy

Anaya Alarcon specifies that, through the trust fund for care for children of the fight against crime, they have provided care to families that have lost a loved one.

The assistance consists of comprehensive care for children, however, emotional health is the priority.

"In the context of the social violence we experienced in past years, workshops on mourning are offered as part of the emotional health care provided for families," he says.

"We are looking for the children's social and emotional rehabilitation, for families to retake life's projects, for it not to be truncated by a deplorable act of violence," he states.

He explains that the workshops on mourning must first be accepted by the person left in charge of the legal custody of the boy or girl.continues on next page

"And, it must be said, not all families are the same; some persons do not accept the service, neither for them or their families," he states.

The official says that many families refuse help for several reasons, among them the stigma associated with victimized persons. 

"Stigma is very common, many social references are made after an execution, whether the father or the mother was involved in illicit activities. etc. There's all sorts of moral judgments, but the boy was the son and the father was the victim, independent of what he was involved in, the emotional effect exists," he says.

In the last workshop on mourning, which ended with a movie, attendance was 190 children, whose ages fluctuated between six to twelve years.

He adds that the trust (fund) covers general health care provided through public health institutions, in addition to assistance like food, school uniforms, shoes and school supplies, as well as waiver of fees that parents pay in pubic education institutions.

"In the majority of the cases, the deceased was the provider and the family is left very impacted. Mothers are left with many necessities to cover and few opportunities to do so, that's why the government seeks to provide these necessities, but this is not an assistance program, it only tries to provide the initial necessities so the family can continue its life projects (sic)," states the official....continues on next page

Although he does not mention the budget that this agency manages, Anaya Alarcon states there's a possibility for helping more people.

A lack of precise facts

Statistics disseminated nationally report that there are 12,000 orphans in Juarez as a result of the violence that took place since 2007, however, for FANVI, that fact is difficult to determine with any degree of precision for several reasons, among them the fact that Juarez is a border city.

Anaya Alarcon explains that many families affected by the murder of their loved ones migrated immediately, and, in other cases, the children were not properly registered.   

"It's difficult to know how many minors have lost their parents as a result of homicide; first, we have to know if they are (legally) recognized. Because we have had cases where the children were not even registered by the father, and for them to solicit benefits, we have to begin there, by registering the minor. That's why determining the exact number of orphans in Juarez is complicated," he explains.

He argues that persons go to FANVI voluntarily to solicit any kind of assistance, which is why they have only 1,200 case files.

"Due to their social and economic condition, they may have gone to solicit some service, but many have not requested help, either because of ignorance (of the program) or because they did not want (the help). But they can join any time," he offers.

The psychologist emphasizes the need for children to receive psychological care:

"We are barely seeing the results from these strategies; these children are the ones who will make decisions in the future. We are trying to make sure the effect of this violent act will not have a negative impact on their lives, so that they will not go to the other side, which is what society is afraid of, and adopt antisocial conduct because they were exposed to violence and didn't get help," he points out.

Lilia states she does not think of revenge, but rather, of continuing with her studies and to continue to live with her abuelita (grandmother). "I want my mother to be proud of me, like Mufasa was of Simba," says the little girl.