Madeleine Wattenbarger is a journalist based in Mexico City, where she covers human rights, politics, and cities.
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The Women Organizing the Church in Mexico to Take Action for the Disappeared
People hang photos of their disappeared loved ones on a tree in Poza Rica, Veracruz’s Benito Juarez Park. Photo by Madeleine Wattenbarger for Sojourners
“My name is Maria Herrera,” she told the congregation, “and I have four disappeared sons.” She went on to plead for their solidarity: for anyone with information about where the brigade might find clandestine graves to speak out. The brigade, Maria emphasized, doesn’t look for guilty parties. They don’t care about finding out who took their loved ones. They just look for their family members, dead or alive.
Las Mujeres Que Organizan a la Iglesia en México Para Actuar Sobre los Desaparecidos
Juan Carlos Trujillo Herrera and other family members of disappeared people march in Poza Rica, Veracruz, on February 21, 2020. Photo by Madeleine Wattenbarger for Sojourners
Desde donde me encontraba en la iglesia de Papantla, esperando agarrar aire cerca de la puerta lateral, miré a mi alrededor para ver docenas de mujeres con los ojos llenos de lágrimas. La procesión volvió a las calles de Papantla, encabezada por el obispo con sus vestimentas verde esmeralda. Marcharon durante la siguiente hora por la ciudad, sosteniendo sus fotos y gritando. Los espectadores se reunieron en las esquinas; los dueños de las tiendas se acercaron a la puerta para ver pasar a la multitud. "Unete, únete, que tu hijo puede ser," cantaban.