Recently, Missing People attended the International Conference on Missing People, United by Hope, held in Seville, Spain. We attended alongside Pascale Waschnig, who has lived experience of missing and is also an academic doing research on the issue. She has written the following piece about the event.
Pascale is the daughter of Aline Penon who went missing in France on 3 May 2013.
I recently had the opportunity to attend and present on preventative measures for missing people with Alzheimers and dementia with Josie Allan at the International Conference on Missing People, United by Hope, organised by the association QSD Global in Seville, Spain. Spain has a particular place in my heart as my grandparents were Spanish, and while my Spanish is very rusty, everyone was very patient and welcoming.
Photos: Panel discussion with families and professionals on how to prevent people with Alzheimers and dementia from going missing
As we arrived in Spain a week after catastrophic floods decimated the east of Spain, our thoughts were with the families that had lost their loved ones and were still searching for them. The conference was looking at best practice, prevention, research, and emotional support for families of missing people, which couldn’t have come at a better time.
The event started with a social event for the families of missing people, followed by two very packed days of conference. QSD Global had put together a very interesting programme gathering emergency services, charities, the national police, the press and families of missing people from Spain, Italy, France, the UK, and Mexico.
Spanish families also shared a ritual like our Evening of Hope and Remembrance, I was very touched that they also included my mum’s photo.
Photo: Remembrance for the 70 family members present and flamenco singing
The anguish of missing a loved one knows no bounds. It was heartbreaking to hear that families of missing persons in Spain are suffering in the same way that UK families are, as evidenced by their stories and the mental health research studies presented. However, we frequently forget that we, families must also care for ourselves, as the ramifications of our loss can be devastating to our emotional and physical health. We mustn’t hesitate to seek psychological help for ourselves, our children, and our families and attend to our health. One good practice I would like to see implemented in the UK is for the health service to have dedicated mental health units for families of missing people and their loved ones.
Part of the planned activity for families was to weave the tapestry of our emotions by identifying our top 10 emotions in group work, allocating a colour to each and threading them together.
What the activity allowed was to discuss these emotions, allow those who were uncomfortable with naming them to reflect on it with a supportive group and to visualise them as a symbol and acknowledgement of their journey thus far.
Photos: Creative activities with the families
I was very impacted by the stories told by families. What saddens me the most is realising that families in Spain, as well as those in Italy, Mexico, France and England, must fight for justice, not to be ignored, among other issues.
How could this be? How is it possible that relatives of missing persons are still being overlooked in so many countries?
People should not be discussing our courage or hope. It must be stated unequivocally that the families of missing persons are routinely ignored by those countries’ legal systems and law enforcement agencies. Negligence can have devastating consequences for children, individuals, communities, and future generations. We rely on organisations to help us, but they can betray our trust and cause trauma.
What society should provide for all is safety, fairness, trust in institutions, professionalism, humanism, and empathy…
For me, this conference marked a watershed event. It confirmed the need to organise our flight together across Europe.
I’m excited to continue exploring these ideas in my current research which aims to improve awareness of our experience within the health and mental health sectors so they can better support us.
If you would like to participate in an interview and an art therapeutic group, please contact me at pascale.waschnig@uwl.ac.uk
We have launched a regular email so that you can be aware of new missing person appeals and share them far and wide! We are also calling on all Heroes to be the eyes and ears for Missing People on the ground. Your sighting of a missing person could make a difference in a crucial time.
