In Buenos Aires, the Mothers of the Disappeared who met for 25 years in May Square have stopped demonstrating. In Medillin 's public squares, families of victims of the Colombian conflict continue this practice.

This article is written in La Libre Belgique by Matthieu De Nanteuil, sociologist and philosopher, professor at The Catholic University of Louvain and member of the Cross-Curricular Study Group in Economic Sociology (LISE-CNRS, Paris). Matthieu De Nanteuil is one if the leaders of the "Ingrid Por la Paz" organisation, the umbrella group of Ingrid Betancourt committees in Belgium.

The first buds emerge from under the aging layer of an already distant winter and then May. Heralded by a religious or lay festival, a sprig of lily of the valley…. And in the street, the laughter of children is released from the confines of winter and blends in with the evening dust. May. Its light, its hopes, its laughter and in this sound box between two seasons, we hear all the echoes of the world.

Some months ago, in Buenos Aires, Mothers of the Disappeared stopped campaigning because after more than 25 years of almost daily demonstrations they finally obtained what they sought: those who were responsible for the disappearance, torture, and killing of their husbands, sons, brothers and friends would be brought to justice and the bodies of their loved ones returned to them. On the windswept squares of Medellin and Bogotá, families of the victims have continued the campaign.

They show their unstinting support for their relatives, demand an end to an amnesty for those who kidnap, torture or kill, ask for the implementation of a humanitarian agreement between rebel insurgents, mainly FARC and ELN, and the government. With this simple demand: "Liberty, with Dignity". Against the government option which is a military solution, a refusal to negotiate, protection of paramilitary action that is responsible for almost all the killings of those who defend human rights, allowing social injustice to lead to criminal violence, in which the rebels draw on the unexpected source of their obstinacy and fanaticism.

Pleas for peace, echoes that have resounded in 1607 towns or villages worldwide, have led to Ingrid Betancourt being given a symbolic Freedom to show support for every hostage in Colombia, and have maintained international pressure for a humanitarian agreement. Pleas that remind us that in a world full of technology and inequality, genuine politics comes from the courage of a few people. They fought unceasingly for democracy and justice and now pay the price: their lives have been suppressed.

May, a mixture of chaos and struggle. And suddenly, this unexpected news, officially announced some weeks ago, just prior to the presidential elections which take place at the end of the month: Clara Rojas, Ingrid Betancourt's campaign director, has had a child while in captivity more than a year ago, "a wanted child", according to Colombian journalist, Jorge Botero who published the information in a recent book. The news is disturbing and causes a scandal.

In 2005, the office of the UN Human Rights Commission "continued to record complaints about forced disappearances". These activities, " established by the discovery of hidden individual and massed graves " are the result of "the neglect of the state system or the links noted, in certain areas, between state officials and paramilitaries. Before they were killed, victims were dismembered to take up less space". In addition, "attacks against the civilian population and random attacks blamed on FARC have grave consequences for civilians. In some alarming incidents, children have been affected because their school was used as an operational base or located near the planned target". Are we sure what a scandal means?

Apart from the fact itself- that cannot be confirmed in the present war conditions- there is a reminder of Clara's exemplary action, when she decided to follow Ingrid on her journey into a hellish situation, out of loyalty to an ideal. We are reminded especially, in a stark and unexpected way, that daily life makes us forget all too often: these people held hostage are indeed living beings and not things, they are unique and irreplaceable. They are hidden in cold statistics that allow us to forget.

In an impressive book, Nancy Huston had one of her characters, a Hungarian Jew who escaped from the death camps, who witnessed helplessly atrocities committed in Algeria, say: " And in Algeria, how many fellow victims were tortured, dismembered, massacred, died? A lot. Andras knows the total number of victims, just as he knows how many victims there were among his own people, unbelievable and unimaginable numbers. It is necessary to think of them one by one, not to slip into intellectual laziness and talk in terms of thousands, but to remember: each man a child, each woman a widow or a mother in mourning, each broken head a lifeless world. So come on now, we must protest".

May. The Square of the same name has seen tears and fights, tomorrow it will look different, have other names.

Like this little village square in Drome where short letters of solidarity with all those held hostage are collected and sent to Colombia. (Editor's note. See httpp://www.Aeropostale-3000.org)

May, between two seasons, announcing the joy of a life that is stronger than imprisonment as well as the shame of allowing matters go beyond repair. At least, listen to Nancy Huston's call: "So come on now, we must protest".