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Jun. 13, 2007 I recently received an email from a friend who has been involved with both the Natalee Holloway and Amy Bradley cases for a very long time. This individual (who shall remain nameless for his own protection and privacy), has searched and researched ways of finding answers to what became of those two girls. He has been frustrated every step of the way, and has devoted a lot of his time and energy to finding the truth. He has suffered as a result of the frustrating lack of cooperation that he, along with many others, have experienced. He has even been in contact with various Human Rights organizations who have the clout and ability to help. Thus far, there has been no movement by any of these groups to help find out what happened to Natalee and Amy. I made the decision to remove myself from this search for answers quite a while ago, because I could no longer deal with the energy sapping results of my efforts (as minimal as they were). The following is my reply to his email, where he discusses the Lindbergh Kidnapping and how our governmental agencies have dealt with the disappearance of our citizens while on foreign shores. There are also comparisons to the united and cohesive attempts to find Maddie McCann, on the part of several organizations in Europe, and how far these groups exceed what our own government was willing to do in order to protect its citizens, who have become victims of crimes committed while visiting foreign countries. The individual in question is someone that I care about, and who I worry about due to his dedication which is ongoing, and will most likely continue for the rest of his life. It has altered his everyday existence, and occupied a huge amount of his time. It has brought him nothing but frustration and agony because he has a caring soul, and I freely admit that I have tried to persuade him to step away -- as I did -- where Natalee and Amy are concerned. Right or wrong...I have felt the need to protect him because I have witnessed his sadness and hopelessness, and I know how it has changed his life. Here is my reply: I have read extensively on the Lindbergh Kidnapping, and have come to the conclusion that it was a political witch hunt from start to finish. Be that as it may, I don't see Natalee's case as being even close to it, and since she was not a cute little child, or a helpless baby, there will always be people who blame her for her own disappearance, and whatever fate befell her. Others will blame her mother for being outspoken, and still others won't give a damn at all, and that has resulted in a stalemate. It has become obvious to me that other countries (the United Kingdom, for example), have a much more intense interest in what becomes of their citizens, and they band together to become one voice to help find solutions... that is, if the missing person is a child. America is intensely interested in certain cases, but we are guilty of having short memories and a tendency to move on to the next big story, in appallingly short order. We are bored too easily, and we are too hungry for fresh meat. If not for her mother Beth, Natalee's story would have received only minimal coverage, and would NEVER have become the internet phenomenon it did. She would have been covered for a week or so, and then the entire thing would have been dropped. As it is, we have moved on, and what Paris had for lunch, or who visited her, has become more newsworthy than what happened to an 18 year old girl who simply wanted to experience an adventure before moving into adulthood. The FBI can't do anything because of treaties and rules that they are not willing to challenge, and Congress is obviously too busy to care about one single girl, or even several girls, who went missing on foreign soil. We have NO protection, and we need to realize that, and consider it before we send out kids on trips to foreign nations. We need to understand that once we leave our own shores, we can easily fall into an abyss from which we may never emerge. This sounds like a news article doesn't it? Well, it wouldn't even garner a paragraph in a newspaper or a few sentences on a cable network. It no longer has legs, and it no longer pleases the insatiable desire that Americans have for salacious news coverage. Paris Hilton's latest bowel movement holds more interest for the average citizen than what happened to Natalee Holloway, or Amy Bradley, or that they may be suffering the worst possible indignities that a human being can be subjected to. It's sad, but the facts are there for all of us to see, and we KNOW after all this time that NOTHING will be done to change anything. You are one of a very few who still care, and who keep trying, and what has it gotten you aside from heartache and total frustration? If there was some way to change this, I would be at the head of the line to try. I simply don't believe that there is, so I have had to step aside for my own self preservation. I could not take the beating anymore, and the lack of cooperation, and the mean-spiritness of the very people who should be shouting the loudest against this total abandonment of our children. I allowed myself to become a victim of government apathy. I could no longer allow myself to be victimized. I care about you for many reasons, the main ones being that you have a compassionate heart, and soul. These same reasons are why I know you won't stop looking, and that you won't stop caring, for as long as you live. It's also the reason I get frustrated, knowing how much this pains you, and occupies your thoughts and your life. I have suggested that you step away from Natalee and Amy's cases, but I have always known that you wouldn't... perhaps COULDN'T. It's a double edged sword... I care because of who and what you are, and I want to stop you from being what and who you are, so that I can protect you. It's almost as frustrating as being involved in the search for the truth where Natalee and Amy are concerned; maybe worse, because I actually know you and have met you. In the above reply to my friend's email, I once again found myself feeling the frustration that I felt for so many months, and it reinforced my need to step aside. I am not proud of my decision to do so, but it became a necessity. No matter who I spoke to, or how well placed they were, or how much information they had concerning the disappearance of these two girls, nothing changed the facts, and nothing moved the story forward to a positive or satisfying conclusion. There is now more interest in who is dating Natalee's mother, than in seeking justice for the mysterious disappearance of an American teenager, and the horrendously inept investigation that followed her disappearance. Natalee and Amy are still missing. ------------ About the author: Meri has a Medical/Legal background and is a former forensic researcher specializing in psychological profiling. Visit the Xlibris Bookstore! Email: writers2@cox.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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