Sudden separation, a lack of news, uncertainty and fear of reprisal makes the mourning of a loss impossible and causes indelible suffering for the families.
Enforced disappearance is a serious violation of human rights not only of the direct victim, but also those of his or her relatives. They, too, are considered victims of enforced disappearance as they suffer its dire consequences.
Victims from different corners of the world share their stories
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ema Cekic saw her husband Salih for the last time in 1992, before the Serbian army forcefully disappeared him. The memories have remained intact: “The last time we saw each other, he placed his hand on my shoulder. At times, I can still sense that touch.”
Salih Cekic was last seen on 16 June 1992 in the concentration camp known as Planjina kuca, located in the municipality of Vogosca.
The memorial for the disappeared for in Vogosca is a few kilometers from the town center. One must leave the tarred road and follow a small dirt track to get there. A peaceful place by a river… that shrouds a sinister past.
“Two bodies were found in that stream” explains Ema. “We believe that other bodies were thrown there. On the 30th of August, we cast roses in the water. It’s a tribute to the missing, but also a message to the criminals who still live among us: we know what they did and how they disposed of the bodies”.
“All I want is answers. I will fight until the truth comes out” says Ema. “I do not want my children and grandchildren to carry this burden. I want them to turn a new leaf and move on.”
Mexico
Oftentimes the disappeared was the breadwinner, so children replace them in the household, forced to leave the school and begin to work. Hence, these youth suffer grave violations of their rights to education, health, social security and property.
That is the case of Kimberly and Heber, whose father forcibly disappeared in Tijuana in 2009.
"We had to sell everything to pay lawyers and the detectives. That’s when we realized our situation, and that our lives would never be the same again." says Heber Reveles Castaneda.
At the moment, Mexico has no effective public policy to attend children and adolescents victims of disappearance.
Last year, in a report to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), TRIAL International and a coalition of local NGOs denounced that children or adolescents with a disappeared relative are often subjected to a multiple violation of their fundamental rights.
In the report TRIAL and the coalition of local NGOs recommend that processes are consistently simplified, in order to launch the search operations without delay.
Nepal
The enforced disappearance in Nepal is part of the context of internal armed conflict which the country has experienced. The recourse to enforced disappearances, torture, summary executions and arbitrary detentions by State agents and Maoists was generalized during this period.
The perpetual violence of the social, economic and cultural costs of the disappearance of a family member still lives among scores of Nepalese people. The disappearance of a relative has created a deep vacuum in these families.
Kamala Katwal was only 12 years old when her father was taken by the authorities – never to be seen again. As the eldest of her siblings and because her mother was illiterate, she took it upon herself to seek justice.
"It's almost 13 years that my father disappeared. The situation has not improved yet"
"When my father was at home, many people would visit us. He was known in the village, politically active and respected. But after he was gone, we were treated like strangers by our community." explains Kamala Katwal.
TRIAL's Senior Legal Advisor, Gabriella Citroni warns that the phenomenon remains on the rise, despite years of struggle against enforced disappearances and it's meaningful results.
"It is high time for domestic authorities and the international community to adopt new strategies and implement existing instruments not just to redress, but to prevent these abuses" says Gabriella Citroni.
How does TRIAL International support victims?
Families of disappeared persons often find themselves trapped in a bureaucratic maze. TRIAL International provides them with full legal assistance and, if they so wish, submits their cases to international human rights bodies.
Kommentare