re:Peace
It was 2005 in Mexico when I first heard about Lydia Cacho. I was twelve years old, and my parents were watching the late evening news. I did not understand much, but from what I gathered, she had been kidnapped by people in the government because she had written a book that had upset some verypowerfulmen Theyweretryingtosilenceher Theydidnotsucceed Foreseeably,whatIwatched inthenewsthatnightturnedouttobeascandal,tosaytheleast
In 2005, Lydia Cacho published her book Los demonios del Edén (The Demons of Eden), which revealed a child pornography network involving Mexican politicians and businessmen She was illegally detained and tortured by a police squad for two days In 2007, Cacho published a memoir on the subject under the title Memorias de una infamia. (In 2016, an English edition was released under the title Infamy: How one woman brought an international sex trafficking ringtojustice)
Fast forward to 2018 I was on my way to work when a giant red ad caught my eye. Lydia Cacho’s new book was called #Ellos hablan: Testimonios de hombres, la relación con sus padres,elmachismoylaviolencia. Every word of the title immediately struck a chord with me. #TheySpeak, masculine they Testimonies of men, the relationship with their parents, sexism and violence I had never put all those concepts together at the same time. But if Lydia Cacho had, I might as well find out what men had to sayontheseissues.
It opened my mind to a whole new world of information and questions I didn't know I had before.
AsIresearchedfurtheraboutherandthebook, I came across a documentary series called Somosvalientes(WeAreBrave).Infiveepisodes filmed in different Mexican states, Cacho interviews and chats with groups of children
She asks for their opinions on poverty, corruption, discrimination, adults, and when they were brave. Their responses and testimonies are moving and powerful, shedding light on the youth of a country where they are vulnerable to organized crime and whose voicesareseldomheeded.
In May 2019, I found myself in the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society Lydia Cacho was one of the speakers. I could hardly believe my luck. She spoke about CIAM, the high security women’s shelter for victims of sexual exploitation she runs in Cancún, and the attentionmodelsheoffers.
Her model of intervention is not costly and she has shared this with many other shelters both national and international, for free. This has enabled many organizations to provide high quality intervention to women in the face of abuseandhumanrightsviolations.
Less than two months later, in July 2019, two men broke into Cacho’s home and stole sensitive material related to her investigations into pederasty. They also poisoned her pets.
Article 19, the organization promoting freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide, deemed this event as an attempt to inhibit her activism and exercise of freedom of expression She was not home when it was robbed. She left the country immediately afterwards and has not returned since
Justice delayed is justice denied”, and Cacho hitherto has not got justice. It seems unlikely she will be able to return to Mexico any time soon.Shehasreceivedmultipledeaththreats over the years, and the country remains one of the most dangerous in the world to be a journalist. Regarding the 2005 case where she was detained and tortured, the Mexican state offered a public apology in 2019 * , and Mario Marín, the most high profile politician involved, was arrested in 2021. However, this does not mean that the case is solved, in fact itisfarfrombeingsolved
Though Cacho lives in exile, she hasn’t finished writing, researching, or speaking out. Her latest book, Cartas de amor y rebeldía (Letters of Love and Rebelliousness) is a tenderinsightintoherlife,herfamilyandhow she came to be who she is now. At 59, she lives in Spain Her kidnapping has now been portrayed in a play called La infamia (The Infamy). She continues to lecture and promotethedefenseofhumanrights.
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Photography: Eneas De Troya(Cover)
Lydia Cacho Website (page 1,2)
Luis Vidal on Unsplash (page3)
Notes: * According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, public apologies constitute a form of “satisfaction” that may be considered as a reparation for harm suffered by victims
Source: OHCHR
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