Libreville, May 25, 2023 (AGP)-The International Day of Missing Children celebrated this Thursday, May 25, 2023, helps to raise public awareness on the issue, while perpetuating a duty of memory for families. Gabon is not spared by the cases of missing children, whose traces have never been found.
There are first names, and sometimes faces, which are engraved in the collective memory. That of little Rinaldi Abagha, 3 years old at the time of his disappearance in 2020, of high school student Malata Doumambila, kidnapped in April 2016 in Fougamou, in the department of Tsamba Magotsi, in the province of Ngounié. Or, the double kidnapping in 2017, of Steeve and Jessy, two boys aged 3 and 4 kidnapped in Mokabo, 18 kilometers from Mouila, still in Ngounie. There are also those minors who have been abducted or hijacked in the context of parental abductions from Gabon for foreign countries.
It is for these children and all these families who live in uncertainty that this Thursday, May 25, is the International Day of Missing Children.
In Gabon, no demonstration was organized to mark the event. Also, there is no association or foundation in charge of these issues to follow the investigations and coordinate possible mobilizations. And even less an alert number to report the disappearance of a child. We can’t wait for Gabonese civil society to quickly see the birth of associations that fight for the cause.
Faced with these shortcomings, it is advisable, if you notice the disappearance of your child, to start by looking for him among your friends, members of your family, your neighbors and in the places where he usually goes. . Also remember to check if your child’s belongings, namely identity papers, bag, clothes, money, etc. are still there, because it could also be a case of a runaway.
If your child is not found, contact the police or gendarmerie services near your home and don’t forget to bring your child’s photo so that it can be distributed to the population. And why not use social networks because, it must be recognized, these communication channels are proving their worth thanks to the power of sharing which has enabled several minors to be found.
TYM/CBO/FE
