In the mirror of a humble room in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Laura Cardenas posted a note with her wish list, little objectives that would motivate her to be better. There the list stared back at her each day, posted on the mirror with tape, handwritten and without mistakes, its title: “Short term and long term goals.” Laura listed the dreams of a 19-year-old woman: “Make it on the swim team. Work really hard to pay for school … To paint the house in September. Get new chairs for the dining room. Get new shoes. Read Plato. Be nice and kind to others people.”
On Jan. 23, Laura was kidnapped by a member of a local cartel and never returned to home in Ciudad Juarez. Her case is one of hundreds of cases of people who everyday are kidnapped or killed by the increasing violence that affects this northern city in Mexico.