Minervaof 84 yearssearched for his son during seven years and finally found it in the Semefo of Puebla. But it was not the authorities who helped her locate it, but rather her fellow fighters: the seeking mothershe assured.
In the placement of Tree of Hope in the Zócalo of the capital of Puebla —a collective initiative Voice of the Disappeared to make visible the disappearance of people in the state—the searching mother took the floor and told, with tears, the story that marked her for almost a decade.
He said that he always knew that his son “was somewhere,” although he never imagined that, after seven years, he would find him precisely in the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo), a site to which he went countless times while the investigations were carried out.
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“Semefo detained him from me for seven years. He hid him from me. They never gave me a reason for where to find him, until later. But I continued and found him. Not the way I would have wanted, but God gave him to me,” the woman said, dismayed.
Minerva explained that for years she asked for information at Semefo, but constantly received evasion: “later,” “later,” “we don’t know if he is here.” Still, she persisted and returned again and again.
Finally, thanks to the fingerprint identification program implemented by the Puebla Prosecutor’s Office managed to confirm the identity of his son.
Support from ‘sisters’
She firmly maintained that it was not the institutions that opened the way for her: “I found it as a mother, no one else helped me, no authority, other than my fellow fighters, thanks to my fellow fighters, my sisters, they did it and they never tired of searching with me,” she said.
He recalled that, for seven years, search mothers uploaded their son’s newsletter Jose Martinsharing it in the hope of getting some clue.
Although she did not find her son alive, Minerva assured that being able to give him a dignified burial gave her a little hope. His testimony became a message of encouragement for other families who continue in the fight.
‘Without them there is no Christmas’: Voice of the missing from Puebla
One hour after the city council lit the monumental Christmas tree, the bus Voice of the Disappeared of Puebla The traditional Tree of Hope was placed in front of the municipal palace, an act of resistance that accompanies the struggle of the searching families, with one objective: to remind citizens that the missing belong to everyone.
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Mothers, fathers, siblings and children gathered to post search bulletins and photographs of their relatives; With raffia paper and tape, they formed a space for awareness and reflection that also seeks to remind the authorities that there are still many people to be located. More than three thousand citizens, according to data from the State Search Commission.
María Luisa Nuñez Barojasrepresentative of this group made a call:
“Society continues to be apathetic and indifferent, the message of the Tree of Hope goes to society in general, the missing belong to everyone, do not wait for it to happen to you, join in (…) do not treat family members with this indifference, no one is exempt from being disappeared and we do not know when it may happen to us.”