Papua New Guinea: Finding closure after two decades of searching for a missing father
Families
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The Search Process
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Central Tracing Agency (CTA)
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Family Needs
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Protecting/Restoring Family Links
Theonila Roka-Matbob was born amidst the unfolding Bougainville Crisis in 1988. Her vivid recollections centre around 1993, when she was just three years old, marking the final moments shared with her father before his sudden disappearance.
07 Sep 2023
Papua New Guinea,
Asia and the Pacific
ICRC
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"I was only three, but I remember him carrying me and walking around the house. I will always remember the hymn that he sang. I knew that was the last time spent with me. He threw me onto the lawn just before he was taken away. That was the last time I saw him," she said with tears in her eyes.
As the hours stretched on, her older siblings clung to the hope of his return, a hope that was never realized. Only their mother returned that fateful afternoon, carrying with her the weight of untold truths.
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