The Argentine Forensic Anthropologist Team (EAAF), a civil organisation that has assisted with victim identification for massacres in several countries, has spoken out about its work on disappeared women in Ciudad Juarez.
The EAAF, originally hired to conduct research in 2005, has been working to match the remains of missing women with collected DNA samples from more than 195 people who have reported the disappearance of relatives as far back as 1993.
In response to the recent discovery of 50 unidentified remains that have been stored at a local morgue for more than a year, the EAAF has addressed the political failures to stem the chronic problem of disappearing women in Ciudad Juarez.
In a report published in 2010, a special prosecutor in Ciudad Juarez listed 379 women murdered and 4,456 missing between 1993 and 2005. Figures from NGOs in the area, as well as from the EAAF, suggest that these numbers are in fact higher.
“It was not an easy job,” said Sofía Egaña, member of the EAAF, whose future in the area is now uncertain after two years of escalating disputes with the city government.
In many cases, investigations have been complicated by incomplete court records and physical remains, or delays in processing bodies stored indefinitely in morgues.
“It seems that they have not spent these years pursuing claims,” Egaña said. “There is an alarming lack of institutional memory.”
In particular, the Office of Chihuahua, which originally hired the EAAF in 2005, claims the civil organisation did not provide a full forensic report of its investigation in 2011. The office also says it does not know why the 50 bodies in question have remained in a morgue for this length of time.
The EAAF denies the office’s claim about its reports, citing one for each of the past two years, and has countered by pointing out that the persistence of the underlying problem remains as though time has stopped.
“Again mothers are protesting, and again there is a demand as if nothing happened in the past,” Egaña said. “Yes, there was an effort.”
Local civil organisations say that in the first two months of this year, at least 26 women have been reported missing in Ciudad Juarez.
08 March 2012
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/currentaffairs/newsfromlatinamerica/mexico-argentine-forensics-speak-out-on-disappeared-women/
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Guatemala: Mass Graves Excavated at Former Military Outpost
Guatemalan anthropologists are excavating mass graves at a former military outpost near Cobán, Alta Verapaz, searching for the remains of 200-300 people.
The bodies are suspected to belong to people who were disappeared during the country’s internal armed conflict, which lasted from 1960 to 1996.
The former outpost – Now a UN peacekeeper training centre – has five mass graves nearby, said the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala’s deputy director José Suasnavar.
“In the fifth pit, which we are working on now, we have already found 14 skulls,” he said at a press conference earlier this week.
A search warrant drawn by the First Court of High Risk allowed Attorneys of the Public Ministry (MP) and researchers at the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala to go to the site, and they have been working there since the 27th February.
“It is very uncertain, determining the number of bodies that can be located in the former military detachment, because there are indications that there are more graves in the region,” Suasnavar said.
Aura Elena Farfan, director of the Association of Relatives of Detained-Disappeared of Guatemala, said the action for excavation was initiated by relatives who complained about their disappeared family members.
“During the years 2004 and 2005, many people approached us from Cobán to ask for help,” she said. “At that time, we started soliciting the MP for an intervention, to clarify the facts.”
Suasnavar said since the institution began the process of exhumations in 1992, the bones of 6,000 victims have been found; 65% of the remains have been identified.
According to a UN-sponsored Truth Commission, about 250,000 Guatemalans were killed or disappeared during the 36-year armed conflict. Most of them were indigenous, and the commission attributed 93% of all atrocities to state and paramilitary forces.
08 March 2012
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/all/guatemala-mass-graves-excavate-at-former-military-outpost/
The bodies are suspected to belong to people who were disappeared during the country’s internal armed conflict, which lasted from 1960 to 1996.
The former outpost – Now a UN peacekeeper training centre – has five mass graves nearby, said the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala’s deputy director José Suasnavar.
“In the fifth pit, which we are working on now, we have already found 14 skulls,” he said at a press conference earlier this week.
A search warrant drawn by the First Court of High Risk allowed Attorneys of the Public Ministry (MP) and researchers at the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala to go to the site, and they have been working there since the 27th February.
“It is very uncertain, determining the number of bodies that can be located in the former military detachment, because there are indications that there are more graves in the region,” Suasnavar said.
Aura Elena Farfan, director of the Association of Relatives of Detained-Disappeared of Guatemala, said the action for excavation was initiated by relatives who complained about their disappeared family members.
“During the years 2004 and 2005, many people approached us from Cobán to ask for help,” she said. “At that time, we started soliciting the MP for an intervention, to clarify the facts.”
Suasnavar said since the institution began the process of exhumations in 1992, the bones of 6,000 victims have been found; 65% of the remains have been identified.
According to a UN-sponsored Truth Commission, about 250,000 Guatemalans were killed or disappeared during the 36-year armed conflict. Most of them were indigenous, and the commission attributed 93% of all atrocities to state and paramilitary forces.
08 March 2012
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/all/guatemala-mass-graves-excavate-at-former-military-outpost/
Colombia: Nine Bodies Recovered From Mine
Emergency services have recovered nine bodies from a coal mine in the Antioquía province in the northeast of Colombia.
The miners had been trapped underground since Wednesday, when a local water deposit burst and flooded the mine.
While there was hope some miners would survive, it was extinguished today when the last body was brought to surface at about 5am local time.
“The rescue team recovered all nine dead bodies of the miners trapped in the coal mine El Desespero,” the government body for risk management reported.
The cause of the accident at the El Desespero (Despair) mine is still unknown.
The tragic event has sparked a dispute between local and national governments over the legality of the mine and whether it should have been operating at all.
“This mine had been closed last June because it didn’t comply with the [safety] standards,” said Mauricio Cárdenas, the minister for energy and mining. “It was clearly an illegal activity.”
Cárdenas said he blames the local authorities for letting the mine continue to operate, but did not say if they were going to press charges against mine owner Arnulfo Velásquez, who said he has all the right paperwork.
Investigations into the accident are ongoing, but authorities have announced the immediate closure of El Desespero.
“The conditions of the mine don’t fulfil the security regulations and we have taken the decision to close it until the owner can prove its legality,” Édgar Fabián Morales, director of the Miner Rescue group, announced at the site.
The funeral for the nine workers is to take place today near the mining site. Around 6,000 people, most of whom are involved in coal mining in the area, are expected to attend.
According to government figures, 45 people died in mining accidents in Colombia last year
09 March 2012
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/currentaffairs/newsfromlatinamerica/colombia-nine-bodies-recovered-from-mine/
The miners had been trapped underground since Wednesday, when a local water deposit burst and flooded the mine.
While there was hope some miners would survive, it was extinguished today when the last body was brought to surface at about 5am local time.
“The rescue team recovered all nine dead bodies of the miners trapped in the coal mine El Desespero,” the government body for risk management reported.
The cause of the accident at the El Desespero (Despair) mine is still unknown.
The tragic event has sparked a dispute between local and national governments over the legality of the mine and whether it should have been operating at all.
“This mine had been closed last June because it didn’t comply with the [safety] standards,” said Mauricio Cárdenas, the minister for energy and mining. “It was clearly an illegal activity.”
Cárdenas said he blames the local authorities for letting the mine continue to operate, but did not say if they were going to press charges against mine owner Arnulfo Velásquez, who said he has all the right paperwork.
Investigations into the accident are ongoing, but authorities have announced the immediate closure of El Desespero.
“The conditions of the mine don’t fulfil the security regulations and we have taken the decision to close it until the owner can prove its legality,” Édgar Fabián Morales, director of the Miner Rescue group, announced at the site.
The funeral for the nine workers is to take place today near the mining site. Around 6,000 people, most of whom are involved in coal mining in the area, are expected to attend.
According to government figures, 45 people died in mining accidents in Colombia last year
09 March 2012
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/currentaffairs/newsfromlatinamerica/colombia-nine-bodies-recovered-from-mine/
Mass funeral for victims of Congo blasts
BRAZZAVILLE – Thousands of people attended a memorial service on Sunday for the victims of last weekend’s munitions dump blasts in the Congo capital, as authorities announced a new death toll of 223.
Medard Milandu, who conducted the service, said 159 of the bodies had so far been identified.
An earlier toll said nearly 200 people were killed and more than 2 300 injured in the explosions, which destroyed hundreds of houses, leaving 14 000 people homeless.
Relatives of the victims took their places in six white tents opposite a pavilion for officials erected on the esplanade outside the Congress Centre in the capital.
The coffins of 145 victims arrived 10 at a time on lorry trailers shortly after 11h00. The coffins were draped in Congo’s green, yellow and red flag and adorned with wreaths.
Family members, many in tears, clutched photos of their dead relatives and crosses bearing their date of birth and death on Sunday March 4.
On the other side of the avenue separating the esplanade from the foreign ministry building, thousands of people, mostly in black or white, stood behind barriers put up for the ceremony. The tents were not big enough to accommodate all the mourners.
Congolese President Denis Sassou placed a wreath before an ecumenical service and the reading of a funeral oration by the minister of social affairs.
The coffins were then taken to the city’s main cemetery for burial, where special burial chambers have been dug to receive them.
Sunday’s memorial service marked the end of the official period of national mourning decreed on Tuesday.
On the day of the explosions, 35-year-old Gildas Assama Ndinga identified the body of his nephew, a sergeant in the regiment where the ammunition depot was located.
“I was able to mourn for a week,” he said. “It’s with sorrow I accompany him to his resting place. He’ll be with us in spirit through his large family he left: six children and two wives.”
Last Sunday’s blasts, blamed on a short-circuit and fire, destroyed hundreds of homes around the depot. The homeless are being sheltered in reception centres while nearly 300 of the injured are still in hospital.
Authorities have warned that the death toll could continue to rise as recovery workers continue to pick through the rubble left by the explosions.
The Congolese Observatory for Human Rights has slammed leadership failures in the wake of the disaster “at all levels”, highlighting the lack of victim support. –
Nampa-AFP - Tuesday 13 March 2012
http://www.namibian.com.na/news/africa/full-story/archive/2012/march/article/mass-funeral-for-victims-of-congo-blasts/
Medard Milandu, who conducted the service, said 159 of the bodies had so far been identified.
An earlier toll said nearly 200 people were killed and more than 2 300 injured in the explosions, which destroyed hundreds of houses, leaving 14 000 people homeless.
Relatives of the victims took their places in six white tents opposite a pavilion for officials erected on the esplanade outside the Congress Centre in the capital.
The coffins of 145 victims arrived 10 at a time on lorry trailers shortly after 11h00. The coffins were draped in Congo’s green, yellow and red flag and adorned with wreaths.
Family members, many in tears, clutched photos of their dead relatives and crosses bearing their date of birth and death on Sunday March 4.
On the other side of the avenue separating the esplanade from the foreign ministry building, thousands of people, mostly in black or white, stood behind barriers put up for the ceremony. The tents were not big enough to accommodate all the mourners.
Congolese President Denis Sassou placed a wreath before an ecumenical service and the reading of a funeral oration by the minister of social affairs.
The coffins were then taken to the city’s main cemetery for burial, where special burial chambers have been dug to receive them.
Sunday’s memorial service marked the end of the official period of national mourning decreed on Tuesday.
On the day of the explosions, 35-year-old Gildas Assama Ndinga identified the body of his nephew, a sergeant in the regiment where the ammunition depot was located.
“I was able to mourn for a week,” he said. “It’s with sorrow I accompany him to his resting place. He’ll be with us in spirit through his large family he left: six children and two wives.”
Last Sunday’s blasts, blamed on a short-circuit and fire, destroyed hundreds of homes around the depot. The homeless are being sheltered in reception centres while nearly 300 of the injured are still in hospital.
Authorities have warned that the death toll could continue to rise as recovery workers continue to pick through the rubble left by the explosions.
The Congolese Observatory for Human Rights has slammed leadership failures in the wake of the disaster “at all levels”, highlighting the lack of victim support. –
Nampa-AFP - Tuesday 13 March 2012
http://www.namibian.com.na/news/africa/full-story/archive/2012/march/article/mass-funeral-for-victims-of-congo-blasts/
Bangladesh ferry sinks with 200 people on board
A ferry packed with about 200 people has capsized in a river in southern Bangladesh, drowning 18 people and leaving dozens more missing, according to the authorities.
Death toll expected to rise from initial 18 deaths after double-deck vessel capsizes near Dhaka
Police chief Mohammad Shahabuddin Khan said around 35 people were rescued after the double-deck ferry sank on the Meghna river after a collision with a cargo boat early in the morning. Divers have recovered 18 bodies from inside the sunken ferry, he said.
He said the dead included a young woman found cradling her baby.
"The death toll is likely to rise as more bodies are feared trapped inside," Khan said. "We will get a better picture of the casualties once the ferry is pulled out of the water."
Hundreds of anxious people gathered near the scene of the accident to look for their loved ones.
The MV Shariatpur-1 was travelling to the capital, Dhaka, from neighbouring Shariatpur district to the south-west. The accident site is in Munshiganj district, about 20 miles south of Dhaka.
Dulal Dewan, a survivor, described a scene of chaos as the ferry collided with the other ship. "I was awakened with a big jolt," said the businessman, who was asleep on the top deck. "I jumped into the river in darkness as the ferry started going down.
"In minutes there were screams all around. People were shouting for help."
Dewan said he was rescued by a nearby boat, but eight other family members travelling with him were still unaccounted for.
Estimates varied as to how many people were on board the ferry.
Khan put the number at close to 200, while Dewan said about 300 people were on board.
Ferry operators rarely keep a list of passengers. Most passengers buy tickets once on board.
Tuesday 13 March 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/13/bangladesh-ferry-sinks-200-aboard