The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

Has your mother ever worried about you when you haven't come home from school during the usual time or if you stayed out later than expected? She probably has whether you have noticed or not. Mothers have a special love for their children and often worry if things don't seem right. Understanding this can help you understand a special group of women in Argentina. During the Dirty War (see above), many young people seen as opponents of the military dictatorship were disappeared without anyone but the kidnappers knowing what happened to them. To this day no one knows what happened to many of the disappeared. This represents a sad time in Argentine history.

Since 1977, mothers of the disappeared have peacefully protested. Every week for the past thirty years they have gathered in la plaza de mayo [lah plah-sah dey mah-sho] in Buenos Aires (right in front of the presidential residence) to ask their government what happened to their children. They carry signs with pictures of their children and the symbol of their movement is the white scarf they wear around their heads. All they want, they say, is to know what happened to their children.

During a time when protesting was prohibited, the dicatorship in Argentina never suppressed these protesters. They were older women who peacefully marched; to arrest or kidnap them would have been terrible for the government. Now that Argentina has no dictatorship, the government sympathizes with the women more but still won't say anything, if it indeed knows, about their missing children. Until the government does, or perhaps even after, las madres de la plaza de mayo [lahs mah-dreys dey lah plah-sah dey mah-sho; "the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo] will continue to march.

They have been recognized all over the world for their courage and strength. They promote freedom, justice, and compassion. Here is a part of a tribute to the madres from Bono, the lead singer of the band U2. The phrase he uses in Spanish is el pueblo vencerá [el pueh-bloh vens-air-ah], which means "the people will triumph."



Who cannot sympathize with them? These women represent an ugly period for Argentina and the importance of remembering the past. Argentines don't forget easily; they remember the past in order to try to make the future better. Here are some pictures of las madres de la plaza de mayo.