Areas of solitude for missing people: With hope in our hearts
There is often little outward sign that someone is missing: a poster on a billboard with a photo of a missing person, an article in a newspaper showing a photo of the anguished family and friends. In reality, of course, the trauma for families and friends and the missing people themselves is very real.
Areas of solitude have been unveiled across Australia as a sign to the community that missing people are not forgotten, nor are the families who are missing them.
"Not a day goes by for me without thinking of my missing daughter Kylie. Is she in trouble? Does she need my help? We would do anything to see her again," said Shirley Houlahan, the mother of missing person Kylie McKay. Mrs Houalahan expresses the feelings of many families across Australia who are waiting to hear what has happened to a missing family member or friend.
An area of solitude for families and friends of missing people in the Australian Capital Territory is being unveiled during National Missing Persons Week 2003. In Glebe Park, in the centre of Canberra, a park bench will bear witness with the following words engraved:
We meet with hope in our hearts
For those who are missing and those who wait to hear
Other similar areas have been opened in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.