 Inspired by the mural , Bono took an extended break from recording into July , travelling to Nicaragua and El Salvador with his wife , Alison Hewson , to see firsthand the distress of peasants bullied by political conflicts and US military intervention . While there , they worked with the Central American Mission Partners ( <unk> ) , a human rights and economic development organization . In El Salvador they met members of the <unk> de Madres Monsignor Romero ( COMADRES : Committee of the Mothers Monsignor Romero ) , an organization of women whose children were forcibly disappeared by the El <unk> government during the <unk> Civil War because they opposed the military regime that was in power . At one point during the trip , Bono , Alison , and a member of <unk> were shot at by government troops while on their way to deliver aid to a group of farmers . The shots were a warning and , according to author John <unk> , the incident made Bono realize that " they didn 't care for their intrusion and they could kill them if they felt compelled . " 
