The unbearable waiting game

 TWO men transporting four senior provincial public servants from Pomio to Kokopo, in East New Britain, disappeared without a  trace on Jan 31, 2012.

It is now two years to the date of the disappearance of the six and their banana boat. Despite efforts by the East New provincial administration, there is still no official conclusion.

As much as the families of the missing persons want to know what happened to their loved ones, government authorities are looking long and hard for answers and clues to bring closure this unsolved matter.

As the two-year wait becomes increasingly unbearable for relatives of the missing, the families of the two crew members missing with the public servants says they were still awaiting word from the provincial authorities. They expect a proper report on the incident.

A family spokesman said the families of the two boat crew, boat skipper Kelly Matalau and his cousin brother Smith Samuel, were still in the dark and in prolonged mourning.

In their mourning, the families of the missing men have expected representatives from the provincial government to pay them a visit. That has not happened in the two years since the disappearance of the 

boat and its passengers in 2012.

That the family were looking forward to a visit from the government officials concerned is understandable, however, the provincial administration is itself handicapped. 

What would it tell the families in mourning if it does not as yet, have any report based on conclusive evidence or at least an expert opinion based on technical assessment or past incident?

The provincial administration has since handed over the case of the missing people to police to investigate. 

According to Assistant Commission Police for New Guinea Islands Anton Billy, the case is still open and the progress of investigations depended on credible evidence and information received.

“At the moment we are receiving bits and pieces of information on the incident but all has been hearsay that does not have any weight,” Billy said.

This is not the only case of missing persons police have been working on with very little headway.

The six missing Institute of Medical Research scientists in the waters of West New Britain and a senior PNG Electoral Commission official in Kundiawa in the recent past are two other high profile cases of missing persons in the country that remain unresolved.

Like the East New Britain families of the missing, relatives and colleagues of the others have been living with anxiety and a deep sense of loss since their loved ones disappeared without trace.  The fear of never knowing what happened looms large as months of waiting turn into years. 

In all these three cases, it appears any credible evidence of information has been held back from police investigators and other government authorities.  As in the case of the boating mishap in East New Britain waters, all police may have stumbled on was unverified information or plain hearsay. 

Could it be that police investigators or other relevant government authorities are not pushing hard enough for the comfort of grieving relatives?

Apparently all three cases of missing persons alluded to above were incidents that occurred when persons were involved in the performance of government-assigned duties.

The four East New Britain senior public servants were returning from an official outing in Pomio, the six IMR scientists were on an official research tour, the election official was in Kundiawa for a meeting with his colleagues from the region.

Because all have gone missing while on official duties business, relatives and colleagues of the missing persons naturally look to government authorities for answers. 

They expect government agencies, especially police as the investigating agency, to use whatever resources at their disposal to bring to a speedy closure the tragic disappearances so as to bring some comfort to them.

Time may weather the sense of loss but for some, it would not go away easily. When there is another case of missing persons reported in the media, it would only bring back those emotions, putting them on an emotional rollercoaster.