A Visit to Co-Madres

Co-Madres is an organization formed in 1978 to help mothers locate their children and other family members who were disappeared before and during the war, which began at the end of 1979 and ended in 1992 with the signing of the Peace Accords. It was Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador, who advised and encouraged the women to form a committee to look for the disappeared. At first they met in churches because at that time meetings were not allowed.

We met with Alicia, the sole surviving founder of Co-Madres. Alicia's 12 year old son and 2 of her brothers were disappeared in 1978. Her youngest son was killed in 1993-after the Peace Accords were signed-because he was documenting cases of the disappeared.

Co-Madres began by looking for clandestine cemeteries and digging up bodies and sending them to forensic labs for identification. However, that task was made difficult and sometimes impossible because of the condition of the bodies. Men with women's heads in their bellies and vice-versa were found. In some cases they found bones that were really white and others with some flesh still on the bones. It was evident that many people who were found hanging from bridges were actually killed elsewhere and hung from the bridge to make it appear as though they had committed suicide.

In 1983 the mothers began to wear black dresses and white scarves as they marched to demand that the government take responsibility for and stop the deaths and disappearances. Because of this and their continuing documentation of abuses, the women were arrested and tortured.

When Alicia began describing how someone was tortured, I thought she was talking about torture in general. She wasn't. She was telling what had actually happened to her. Though I've heard many stories like hers, I'm always amazed at how the tortured survive and are able to have optimism.

Alicia was tortured for 2 days. She was blindfolded during the entire interrogation. She heard the noises of several machines which sounded like bones were being cut and ground. "You're next," was what she was told. A plastic bag with lime in it was put over her head, and when she gasped for air the bag was removed and the process began again. She said she tried to pray the Lord's Prayer but couldn't. For hours she was placed on a bed with no mattress but with electrified metal coils. Her body was wrapped with an electrified metal chain. She was put in a pila with electrified water which caused her to bounce from wall to wall. She was deprived of sleep. The day she was released she was pushed from a moving car-naked and still blindfolded-onto the pavement. Fortunately she was found by some kind men who helped her get home in a taxi. Alicia said she has never lost faith and hope.

Although 80,000 people have been killed and 86,000 disappeared, no one has been punished for these crimes. El Salvador passed an amnesty law which gave impunity to the guilty. Co-Madres asked the Supreme Court to abolish the amnesty law, but it hasn't taken any action. This year the mothers will have a chance to present their case formally to the Court.

After 25 years of pressure the U.N. finally passed a convention to protect people from abduction. Thus far, 75 countries have signed the convention; El Salvador has not.

The Memorial to Truth is a wall in Cuscatlan Park in the center of San Salvador filled with the names of those killed or disappeared beginning in 1979. There are also blank plaques on which more names are added as they are identified. On March 15 at 2:00 p.m. new plaques will be unveiled by the committee.