It’s just another day in paradise

. . . as millions of others wonder where their loved ones are

As the nation and the rest of the world soak in year-end festivities, the father of a missing person has asked Zimbabweans to spare a thought for those that are searching for family members who have disappeared.
Mr William Muzenda of Muzenda Village in Gokwe North, whose daughter Catherine Judith Muzenda has been missing since 2001, says the Christmas holiday is a horrible and painful reminder of what his family has been missing.
“The Christmas period makes my family sad. It was during this period that my daughter went missing some 14 years ago. As people wine and dine, I urge them to spare a thought for people like us,” Mr Muzenda says softly.
A distraught Mr Muzenda chronicles his anguish.
“She was staying with her brother in Harare and she came home for the Christmas holidays. After the holidays, she packed her bags and left for Harare. She never reached her destination and up until today her whereabouts remain a mystery.”
The Muzenda family has left no stone unturned, hoping and praying for a re-union.
In the past three months, the family has been placing weekly advertisements in the local Press, pleading with anyone who might be aware of her whereabouts to come forward.
The search for Catherine has taken its toll on Mr Muzenda, who looks frail and traumatised.
“I am still waiting for my daughter to come home. Each time someone knocks on my door, I first assume that my Catherine would have returned from wherever she has been. It would have been better if she had died and we buried her. She cannot just disappear into thin air.”
Catherine is just one of the many missing persons.
Each year, scores of Zimbabweans disappear without trace. Some never to return.
Sadly, the majority of the people whose whereabouts remain a mystery do not feature on any international missing persons list.
Apart from notifying police, most affected families do not take any other action.
They silently await for the day that their loved ones will simply show up. For many, that never comes.
Unexplained disappearances are often linked to accidents, crime and death – usually by drowning or burning beyond recognition.
And for any number of reasons, some people voluntarily disappear, slip of the radar and are never heard of again.
The anxiety, uncertainties and lack of closure after a person has disappeared has an emotional toll and long-lasting effects on family and friends.
Despite scores disappearing, only nine Zimbabweans are on the International Police Organisation (Interpol) missing persons list.

These are Abel Chawatama (38), Ronnie Tapiwanashe (12), Nyasha Maponga (15), Raymond Matamike (46), Austin Bere (50), Tapiwa Chitsinde (30), Paul Chizuze (55), James John Haliptflesch (57), and Dylan Munashe Chin’ono (10).
Bene went missing in 2002 when he was 39; Chitsinde disappeared in 2010 when he was 27. Chizuze’s whereabouts are not known since 2012 when he was 54-years-old.
Haliptflesh disappeared without trace in 2002 when he was 46 in Durban, South Africa; while Matamike went missing in 2000 when he was 41-years-old.
Chawatama disappeared at Tlokweng in Botswana in 2014 and has never been found. Maponga was reported missing in January 2015.
Also on the list is Chin’ono who disappeared in Bulawayo in 2013 when he was just 10.
MDC-T activist Itai Dzamara, who went missing on March 9, 2015 in Glen View 7, Harare, does not feature on the list.
This is also the case with Catherine Muzenda, and many other people who have disappeared without trace.
Missing persons are reported in every country in the world, and statistics compiled by Cabinet Martin – a private detective agency in France – indicated that every year, over 15 000 people disappear in that country without leaving a trace.
Many, many more disappear yearly in the United States.
The Interpol website also says South American countries, most notably Bolivia, Columbia and Ecuador have some of the highest number of people whose whereabouts are not known. Jamaica features prominently.
It appears, according to Interpol, that children and the elderly are the most likely to disappear; and it is dealing with such cases that the International Commission on Missing Persons was formed.
The International Commission on Missing Persons attributes disappearances to a number of factors.
Some disappearances can be related to natural disasters, armed conflicts, and such violations of human rights as slavery and human trafficking.
Some are victims of kidnappings and murders whilst others, especially women, can walk away from abusive relationships.
Family abductions also contribute to the phenomenon.
Some cases are related to mental health issues and substance abuse. According to the commission, those with drug and alcohol addiction, psychiatric problems, and the elderly suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s make up the bulk of missing adult cases.
Globally, 607 people go missing every single day. This translates into 221 644 missing persons per year.
Statistics from 2011 show that nearly five million people had gone missing in the previous 20 years.
According to online sources, this figure was more than the then population of New Zealand or almost the entire population of Ireland in 2011.
According to UK Tracing Services, an astounding one million children are reported missing in the United States and United Kingdom annually.
In an effort to raise awareness on missing persons and the impact associated with missing persons, Australia established a National Missing Persons Week.
This annual event takes place during the first week of August.
In most countries, laws related to missing persons are often complicated.
For example, in Zimbabwe, relatives and third parties may not be able to dispose of the assets of a missing person until the missing person’s death has been proven by law and a formal death certificate issued.
In the United States, a person can be declared dead in absentia or “legally dead” after seven years of being listed as missing.
This holiday is just another day in paradise for most families.
But think twice and consider the agony and anxiety of Mr Muzenda – and millions of others around the world – who cannot enjoy the simple pleasure of sitting with and talking to their mysteriously disappeared loved ones.