Comadres (CoMadres) is the committee of mothers and relatives of prisoners, the

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiz ...

and the politically assassinated of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

. It was established in December, 1977, with the help of the Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador and the Archbishop

Óscar Romero Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular ...

, to discover the truth behind the missing relatives of the membership. Among their activities are the distribution of flyers to get out the message, and the occupation of government offices to elicit the help of foreign nations in pressuring the Salvadoran government. By 1993, there were an estimated 500 or more members. A leader of this organisation was María Teresa Tula. The offices of the committee were subject to police raids by the government, and the members were allegedly subject to systematic rape in order to destroy the organization. A total of about 48 members were abducted by death squads and subject to torture and rape. Of these, five were assassinated. In 1984, Comadres received the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

for individuals or groups around the world who show courage and have made a significant contribution to human rights in their country. In 1986,

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

of the rock band U2 paid tribute to their cause, and a similar group in Nicaragua, by writing the song "

Mothers of the Disappeared "Mothers of the Disappeared" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the eleventh and final track on their 1987 album ''The Joshua Tree''. The song was inspired by lead singer Bono's experiences in Nicaragua and El Salvador in July 1986, foll ...

", which was released in 1987 on ''

The Joshua Tree ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ...

''.

References

Enforced disappearance Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award laureates {{organization-stub