Last week I saw this painting on a wall not far from where Alejandro lives. I don't recall having seen it before although it has obviously been there for some time.
The inscription next to the painting says "Sarahi Maricarmen López Pérez disappeared in GAM (Gustavo A. Madero... the borough in which Alejandro lives) on August 27, 2018, at the age of 14 years." It is a sad commentary on the situation in which girls and women are often the victims of kidnappings, sexual violence and murders. I figured that Sarahi was probably never seen again, and was most likely dead.
Before writing this post I decided to do a search on the internet about this disappearance, and I was surprised to have found several articles about the case.
When Sarahi disappeared, her mother, Maricruz, was quite sure who had abducted her daughter. A former employee of the mother had on two occasions molested the young girl. Although the mother reported it both times to authorities, the man was never arrested. Even after Sarahi's abduction, the police made little effort to find the girl. Maricruz and her nephew Pedro took up the search themselves with the help of an organization called "Hasta Encontrarles" which looks for missing persons.
Sadly, Sarahi's mother passed away during this period, but Pedro continued to work with "Hasta Encontrarles" to find Sarahi. On January 25th of 2021, more than two years after her disappearance, Sarahi was located thanks to an anonymous call. The girl was reunited with her family, and the presumed abductor was arrested and charged on various counts. I could not find any information about the progress of the trial, but I hope that, unlike so many cases of violence against women, justice will be served.
As a woman, these kinds of stories anger and sadden me. They happen all over the world. I'm relieved that she was restored to her family, though likely traumatized, in some way, for life.
ReplyDeleteYes, such crimes occur all over the world, but what is infuriating is not only their frequency in Mexico, but the fact that the criminals are rarely brought to justice.
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