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National Missing Persons Week
Aug. 2nd, 2011 08:51 amThis is National Missing Persons Week in Australia. The theme this year is when someone goes missing, more than one person is lost.
When someone goes missing, it affects family, friends and colleagues; current estimates are that 12 people are affected for every missing person. Many of those individuals will be affected by “ambiguous loss” – with no idea what has happened to their loved one, and no resolution, they live constantly doubting themselves, wondering if they did something wrong, if they are giving up too soon, unable to grieve properly but unable to move on with their lives. It is a cruel thing. Even the knowledge that a loved one is dead, whether by choice, accident or malice, is less cruel than not knowing.
If you are ever tempted to get away and make a clean start, someone will be affected; someone doesn’t want you to go; someone loves you and someone will be looking for you. For sanity’s sake and their sake and the sake of all the public money that will be spent looking for you, let the police know you are missing voluntarily.
Even if you’re not and have never been tempted to disappear, it’s a good idea to make sure people know of your whereabouts. You don’t want to end up like the man I call the unhappy camper. Nor do you want to be one of the dozens of unidentified people who have been hit by cars when out jogging or walking, without ID, and whose identities are unknown.
If you’re going somewhere that involves moving through deserted or sparsely populated country, make sure someone knows when you leave and when you believe you’ll arrive. Get lots of sleep. Don’t try to drive yourself beyond your limits – it can lead to hallucinations and lack of control. If you're going to drink, don't go near water. The number of young men (in particular) who've drowned just because they were drunk and walking near water - even in heavily populated areas.
Make sure someone knows your accurate height, your weight, your marks and tattoos. Know those things about your own loved ones.
I think we do a fairly crappy job of handling missing persons in this country - witness the woeful incompleteness of most profiles on the AFP site, the fact that we still have no national database of missing persons and the fact that there is no national database of unidentified remains. We're getting better. But we have a while to go.
When someone goes missing, it affects family, friends and colleagues; current estimates are that 12 people are affected for every missing person. Many of those individuals will be affected by “ambiguous loss” – with no idea what has happened to their loved one, and no resolution, they live constantly doubting themselves, wondering if they did something wrong, if they are giving up too soon, unable to grieve properly but unable to move on with their lives. It is a cruel thing. Even the knowledge that a loved one is dead, whether by choice, accident or malice, is less cruel than not knowing.
If you are ever tempted to get away and make a clean start, someone will be affected; someone doesn’t want you to go; someone loves you and someone will be looking for you. For sanity’s sake and their sake and the sake of all the public money that will be spent looking for you, let the police know you are missing voluntarily.
Even if you’re not and have never been tempted to disappear, it’s a good idea to make sure people know of your whereabouts. You don’t want to end up like the man I call the unhappy camper. Nor do you want to be one of the dozens of unidentified people who have been hit by cars when out jogging or walking, without ID, and whose identities are unknown.
If you’re going somewhere that involves moving through deserted or sparsely populated country, make sure someone knows when you leave and when you believe you’ll arrive. Get lots of sleep. Don’t try to drive yourself beyond your limits – it can lead to hallucinations and lack of control. If you're going to drink, don't go near water. The number of young men (in particular) who've drowned just because they were drunk and walking near water - even in heavily populated areas.
Make sure someone knows your accurate height, your weight, your marks and tattoos. Know those things about your own loved ones.
I think we do a fairly crappy job of handling missing persons in this country - witness the woeful incompleteness of most profiles on the AFP site, the fact that we still have no national database of missing persons and the fact that there is no national database of unidentified remains. We're getting better. But we have a while to go.
