The 30^th August, International Day for the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, is a milestone for us and now the final agreement is signed, we hope to be vindicated and for our achievements in the Humanitarian Agreement to be made a reality for each and every victim we accompany and for the 46,000 disappeared people in the country.

This day also marks 29 years since the disappearance of Nydia Erika, it always brings sadness, even now we have found her body, but the impunity still hurts us, and the persecution, and the men who have been watching our activities in recent days.  But we hope that in each of these families we have sowed a seed and inspired them to fight for their loved ones, and that a path will open up ahead, beyond the doorways of transition and post-conflict. We say that our struggle doesn’t end, but continues even stronger in a new arena where we hope that our rights are finally respected after 30 years of being stamped on.

The signature of the peace agreement gives us hope.  We will take our chances with peace, the yes vote, for there to be no more disappearances in Colombia.  So that our children and young people have the right to go out without being disappeared and if they are taken, the right to come back alive, because they were taken from us alive.

Yanette Bautista