Missing People - Lost In A Society Of Blind People?

Awareness of what is lost often leads us to find what is missing.

Can we say the same for people?

Every year in Australia 35,000 people go missing, according to missingpersons.gov. That’s a person missing every 15 minutes.

With more than 95 percent of that population being found, you could say that hope is prevalent.

But what about the still-missing 5 percent?

It’s a small percentage, and as facts and figures go, you can’t help but automatically think, ‘Oh, that’s not so bad.’

It’s as though we forget that these aren’t just figures – they’re actual people. People who have existed, disappeared, and are still lost within our society today.

Although the rate of being found is often in favor of the victim’s worried families and terrified friends, there are still stories of grief; of sleepless nights, pacing up and down, replaying conversations over and over to make sense of a tragedy that should be resolved.

"It is just awful not knowing if he is safe, is he well? Our life has been in limbo and we can't seem to let go or move on. There are so many unanswered questions. It is hard to plan anything or do anything," says Sydney mother Sylvia Veljanovski, whose son, Nick, disappeared on June 11 2014.

We’ve all heard the mysteries, from Madeleine McCann to Harold Holt, missing people who are never found spark debate, conspiracy theories, even accusations. The media only brings these stories to light when people have been lost for years.

What if these stories didn’t exist the way they do?

Is the 5 percent figure a reflection of how oblivious everyday people are? Perhaps you caught the train to work this morning with Katrina Bohnenkamp – the 19-year-old girl who went missing in 2012, and you’d have no idea who she is.

A family could have rejoiced, broken down in tears, thanking the stars that their daughter was found today.

Instead, they’re waiting, grieving and still searching.

What if lack of awareness could be blamed for this?

If people were exposed to these missing faces more prominently – not just a one minute segment on The Today Show, would that 5 percent figure be lower?

Instead of advertisements at bus shelters, newsagents and supermarkets, why aren’t enlarged photos of these missing people’s faces posted?

If we saw a post of a face, a name and details about a person everyday, would we be able to recognise that person immediately if we saw them on the off chance, face-to-face?

Would we be able to become an everyday hero? Save a family from grief and heartbreak?

We could lower the 5 percent of victims that are left unknown, unseen and undiscovered by the world.

If you believe you have information that may assist in finding a missing person, contact your nearest police station or report directly to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

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References

Power, J 2016, ‘'I have never known pain like this': Families cling to hope over missing persons,’ The Sydney Morning Herald, June 12, viewed 16 August 2016, <http://www.smh.com.au/national/i-have-never-known-pain-like-this-families-cling-to-hope-over-missing-persons-20160610-gpg9z6.html>.

The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre 2016, Who is missing?, The National Missing Persons Coordination Centre, viewed 16 August 2016, <https://www.missingpersons.gov.au/view-all-profiles>