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Constant pain for fathers of missing children By Elicia Murray Memories and photographs are all Trayna Simpson has left of his two sons, Erkki and Rakau Kinnunen.The soft-spoken Maori farm hand can't remember the precise moment when he last saw his boys because, as he explained yesterday, he had no idea they were about to be taken from him. "I try not to remember the first day [they went missing], they all turn into one big, long day," he said.
Mr Simpson, of Tuross, believes his boys were abducted by their mother, Marika Wilson, in October last year, after an acrimonious split and custody battle. After 18 months of fortnightly supervised visits, he arrived to find his former partner had left town and taken the children with her. "It was probably the worst time of my life," he said. In a desperate effort to track them down, Mr Simpson decided to take his story public, gaining permission from the Federal Magistrates Court to publicise his case. Erkki, also known as Howsen, is six and Rakau, also known as Juha, is four. Ms Wilson has dark brown hair, medium build and an olive complexion and has relatives in Canberra, Queanbeyan, Lightning Ridge and South Australia. Outside Australian Federal Police Headquarters yesterday, Mr Simpson appealed for any information on the whereabouts of his former partner and two sons, as he faces his second Christmas not knowing where they are. He will spend December 25 with his new partner, their two-year-old son, and her family, but had this message for his missing children: "I love you, I always have, I always will," he said. "Papa doesn't know how to show love the way I think people expect to show love, but my way of love is that I'm still here looking for them, a year later." Macquarie man Peter Fowler also issued a plea for information on the whereabouts of his son, Anthony Peter Fowler, whom he last saw almost six years ago, aged 18 months. "He was a lovely little boy, with a wonderful smile and a very cheerful sort of personality," Mr Fowler said. Anthony, now eight, is also believed to have been abducted by his mother, Angela Martiniello, after a court battle over custody. She lived in Kambah before disappearing with her son. Mr Fowler said at times like Christmas and birthdays, the hurt was concentrated. "But the pain is there every day, the constant emptiness that you can't ignore." Both fathers were reluctant to criticise the court system or police yesterday, saying authorities did the best with the resources available. But according to Hug Ur Kids Organisation International founder Geoff Day, the system is broken and needs fixing. The Perth man, who set up the support group and web site www.hug-ur-kids.org.au for victims of parental abductions, called for the speedier dissemination of information about missing children, a government-funded public awareness campaign, harsher penalties for parents who took their children, and a central register of parental abductions. He estimated about 800 children were taken by their Australian parents each year, with a further 300-400 abducted to other countries. "For a lot of these kids, their health, their emotional, spiritual and socialisation skills are neglected because they're hidden away, held captive," Mr Day said. "The parent who takes their child will come up with all sorts of reasons to justify what they have done, but at the end of the day, it's just a vindictive act." Anyone with information on missing persons should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800333000.
SOURCE: Canberra Times Newspaper (Australia) December 23, 2005 Friday Final Edition
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