JANUARY 12, CALI:

An internally displaced woman spreads out photographs of her family members, some of whom have been killed. Colombia, June 2000. Photo © Joanne Mariner/Human Rights Watch

My first interview was with a woman whose husband, a human rights lawyer, was "disappeared." The pain in her voice was still raw. He had never received a threat, and there has not been a single sign of him since. One teacher in exile told a terrifying story. Like many, he had received threats, so tried to vary his schedule and lower his profile to escape attack. One day, he stopped by his sister's house to leave grocery money for his children, who were living with her. Apparently, someone saw him go into her house. After he left out the back door, they came in the front and massacred his sister, her five children, and his children. As he told the story, his voice wavered, but not a tear was visible in his eyes. I got the impression that he still didn't believe it, that even he, who had seen and heard so much, couldn't comprehend the brutality and sheer insanity of such an attack.