Nobel Women's Initiative - Home
Join Us Donate
  • Home
  • Who We Are

    Since 2006 we have worked in solidarity with women's movements, organizations, and activists around the world to build peace, defend justice, and champion equality for all.
    • The Laureates

      • Rigoberta Menchú Tum
      • Jody Williams
      • Shirin Ebadi
      • Leymah Gbowee
      • Tawakkol Karman
      • Maria Ressa
      • Narges Mohammadi
      • Oleksandra Matviichuk
    • The Board

      • Profiles
    • Supporters

      • Individual and institutional donors
    • Staff

      • Profiles
  • What We Do

    Nobel Women's Initiative delivers programs, events, training, mentorship, advocacy and campaigns.
    • Areas of Work

      • Influencing Change
      • Shifting the Narrative
      • Leading Peace Together
    • News & Information

      • Press releases and Statements
      • Annual & Thematic Reports
      • Blog
  • Our Approach

    This is why and how we work to increase the visibility of women striving for peace, justice and equality.
    • About Us

      • Vision, Mission, Feminist Principles
      • Highlights of our Work
      • History & Background
    • What's Our Approach?

      • Transition and Renewal
      • Strategic Directions 2023-2027
  • Get Involved

    Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on opportunities to join us in our work.
      • Donate
    • Work With Us

      • Jobs
Join Us Donate
  1. Shifting the Narrative
  2. 16 Days of Activism
  3. Meet Martha Sánchez Soler, Mexico

Meet Martha Sánchez Soler, Mexico

“The caravan is something magical that happens where you have mothers who have only been able to cry over their disappeared child, and now the majority of them are organizers in their communities. They are defenders!”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Meet Martha Sánchez Soler, Mexico

Martha Sánchez Soler is the co-founder and president of the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement.  Every year, Martha leads a caravan of mothers from Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala whose children have been disappeared in transit through Mexico to the United States. She spent much of her earlier career as a teacher.

How was the idea to organize a caravan of mothers of the disappeared born?

We travelled the length of the migratory route from Central American countries to northern Mexico, and we found there were small groups of mothers who were organizing to look for their children. But as they came without documentation papers, without money, without knowing Mexico—the majority of them arrived at the border and didn’t find anyone. What struck us as the most important thing was to support these mothers in their journey. The caravans have been building momentum and achieving their goals, which are, first and foremost to find their family members, and second, to put this issue onto the national agenda so that it’s not swept under the rug.

What does the Mesoamerican Movement of Migrants try to respond to?

We respond to the reality of what happens to migrants as they transit through Mexico—they’re threatened, they’re robbed of everything they carry, they are assassinated and disappeared. There are over 70,000 Central Americans who have in recent years disappeared in transit. We are a political movement, strong at fighting: protesting, demanding justice, visibilizing what happens, and also helping families to find each other.

What motivated you to dedicate your career to fighting for migrants’ rights?

I’m the daughter of Spanish refugees. I was born in France, I’ve lived in Spain, Mexico, the U.S. and now again in Mexico, so I’m a professional migrant! I’ve always worked in social struggle.  When you look deeper, you see it’s always the same problem: economic systems that are absolutely unjust.

How has the situation of migrants changed, and has their security worsened?

Every moment, the situation worsens, because receptor countries have decided their strategy to prevent migrants from arriving at their borders is repression and containment. They never advocate to correct the causes of migration, which would be the only way to stop it. Migrants will keep moving if they are in danger in their country, or, if they’re dying of hunger, because there is a lack of opportunity to make even the most basic living. Land gets expropriated to make way for tourist developments and other projects, and the people don’t see any opportunity for themselves!  Migrants are essentially Central Americans, but there are now also Africans and Haitians going through Mexico towards the U.S.

What are the dangers that migrants come across on their journey?

The U.S. used to be the chief deporter [of Central American migrants], but now Mexico is the lead deporter. So, the first thing that can happen to migrants is deportation. The second is extortion along the whole route. The third is that there are lots of checkpoints along the traditional routes used, so now migrants disperse among hills and in forests where they are at greater physical risk, and also in danger of local gangs or organized crime attacking them. And those attacks can start with kidnappings and asking the families of the migrants for money. If ransoms aren’t paid, they’re in immediate danger of being killed. The majority of women are raped on the trail. It’s calculated that over 80% of women are sexually attacked, as much by their companion travellers as by Mexicans.

The caravan draws attention to the plight of the mothers of the disappeared. What do they confront when their sons and daughters disappear?

The problem of disappearance is one where there is no closure, because you don’t know what happened. You don’t know if someone died, or if they are alive. You don’t know if they are jailed, or if the mafia has them. This is what tortures mothers, and keeps them in limbo. There are mothers whose child disappeared 20 years ago, and during the caravan, they are crying like it was the first day.

What do you think is the role that mothers play to address the issue of disappearances?

The caravan is something magical that happens where you have mothers who have only been able to cry over their disappeared child, and now the majority of them are organizers in their communities. They are defenders! The empowerment that this collective work of the caravan gives them is very important for them to change their quality of life. They don’t stop suffering, but now it’s a proactive form of suffering, and not one of defeat. They’ve gone from being victims to warriors.

LEARN MORE

Visit the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement's website.

Read about the Caravana.

Read more about Martha, and her visit to Ottawa this June as part of a delegation of Mexican women human rights defenders.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

16 Days of Activism

November 25, 2022

Afrah Nassar: "Believe that you are worth listening to."

November 25, 2022

Jamila Afghani: “We should extend hands of support to each other."

November 25, 2022

Mèaza Gidey Gebremedhin: “I always need to fight for myself, for my place in this world, and to help others.”

November 25, 2022

A Q&A with democracy activist Khin Ohmar: "I feel at peace knowing there is a young generation fighting for their rights."

November 25, 2022

Amira Osman Hamed: "Don't let them terrify you."

November 25, 2022

Lubna Alkanawati: "What's really helped me to survive is the women's network around me."

November 25, 2022

Nina Potarska, Anna Chernova and Oksana Senyk: "Family peace is a small piece of peacebuilding."

November 25, 2022

Nadia Murad: "We don't get anywhere by pacifying with politeness."

December 10, 2021

Manal Shqair: I’m always fighting every day for my existence as a woman (Palestine)

December 9, 2021

Ounaysa Arabi: Knowledge is power and we have a good inheritance from feminists around the world (Sudan)

December 9, 2021

Ilaf Nasreldin: We as women deserve to live a better life (Sudan)

December 8, 2021

Musu Diamond Kamara: When one woman is affronted, all of us are affronted (Liberia)

More — 16 Days of Activism

Nobel Women's Initiative

Contact Information

General Inquiries
Email:
261 Montreal Rd, Suite 310
Ottawa, ON K1L 8C7
Media Inquiries
Daina Ruduša
Email:

Join Us

  • Join us
  • Donate
  • Event Registration Fee

Social media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Subscribe


© 2025 Nobel Women's Initiative

Sign in to control panel Created with NationBuilder Built by Progressive Nation
Loading…