Madeleine's Fund : Leaving No Stone Unturned

RACHIE77

stenny wrote: »

Let's not forget the minute silence for Madeleine at 12'o clock GMT (today)

Really?? I hadn't heard about this??

Is it a media hype thing or something?

I thought that 'minute silence' was a sign of respect for the dead? - Oh hang on, I just googled it and it seems that it can be used as a sign of respect for a period of silent contemplation (here)

David_B_2

Lets not forget it's the McCann family & friends doing their own profile raising here. They have set up their OWN financial funding. Nobody has to contribute and it's not as if they are getting a big payout from the government is it?

We can discuss all day whether they should have left their children alone but that gives the scum or scums the right to take a 3 year old from her family?

I'm sure there is not a second goes by that McCann's don't regret what they did but to be honest she could have been taken at anytime if who ever took her really wanted her.

All they are asking for is for everybody (who want to help) to do their bit in raising this case further. I believe she is no longer in Portugal and the World is a big place with no guarantee that the police will ever find the missing links to locate her. The public is certainly the best hope as you can't keep a child hidden for ever and somebody will or may have already see her.

You can't tell me any of you would not do the same or what ever it took to get your child back!

To add, my interest is purely for the little girl. One day she went to bed after a normal day on holiday and the next she's with total strangers in a strange place with no sign of her mum and dad, brother or sister. Hopefully they at least speak English and are looking after her like a daughter. I would not like that as a adult never mind if I was 3/4 year old.

Yes I feel for Ben Needhams mother certainly since she is having to go through hell again with this case been so public. Also there are thousands of children that go missing every single day so maybe the McCann issue should raise and more global problem.

SHE WILL BE FOUND!!

stenny_2

RACHIE77 wrote: »

Really?? I hadn't heard about this??

Is it a media hype thing or something?

I thought that 'minute silence' was a sign of respect for the dead? - Oh hang on, I just googled it and it seems that it can be used as a sign of respect for a period of silent contemplation (here)

An anonymous email has swept through Portugal calling for the "minute of hope". Yesterday there were plans to extend the silence to Britain.

The email reads: "Madeleine, Monday 12 o'clock - a national one minute's silence to raise consciousness about the disappearance. Pass on the message."

I will put my bit in should it being hype or not, Are we all forgeting something here? This is in hope of Madaleines safe return !!!!!

emmaroids

yea cos a minutes silence will bring her back

EagerLearner

full-time-mum wrote: »

Well, lets hope that portugese parents take this as a wake up call.

You are missing the point - the Portuguese community don't **need** a 'wake-up call'. Their life is carefree and has less crime - this recent event involves tourists as victims, possibly the kidnappers being foreign also. The Portuguese are just as shocked as anyone, but I hope this doesn't change the way they live their lives - 4 million people suddenly becoming more mistrusting and not letting their kids have a normal life is disproportionate when you consider that one child has gone missing.

Of course no matter what, this whole event will have made people less trusting regardless.

There is also alot of poverty in their community and the country as a whole, so no doubt all the media news etc is hurtful to some Portuguese, as you would only have to see the local orphanages to see how poor kids suffer there (they experience a very different meaning to the word 'poor' compared to the UK) and yet only one (foreign) child is being discussed and money raised in her name.

The father is here in the UK right now so let's hope something comes of his visit that brings forward more information.

Lifeisbutadream

EagerLearner wrote: »

You are missing the point - the Portuguese community don't **need** a 'wake-up call'. Their life is carefree and has less crime - this recent event involves tourists as victims, possibly the kidnappers being foreign also. The Portuguese are just as shocked as anyone, but I hope this doesn't change the way they live their lives - 4 million people suddenly becoming more mistrusting and not letting their kids have a normal life is disproportionate when you consider that one child has gone missing.

Of course no matter what, this whole event will have made people less trusting regardless.

There is also alot of poverty in their community and the country as a whole, so no doubt all the media news etc is hurtful to some Portuguese, as you would only have to see the local orphanages to see how poor kids suffer there (they experience a very different meaning to the word 'poor' compared to the UK) and yet only one (foreign) child is being discussed and money raised in her name.

The father is here in the UK right now so let's hope something comes of his visit that brings forward more information.

It is very worrying that the Portuguese are assuming that the abducter must be a foreigner.

I hope that is not blinkering their investigation, because the perpetrator is just as likely to be Portuguese as he/she is to be british, or any other nationality. Peadophiles come from all walks of life and just because the crime rate in Portugal is low, does not mean that it does not happen over there. The likelyhood is that peadophiles will be operating underground and they will particularly target an area that is complacent.

I think it has given us all a wake-up call - I for one will be more vigilent when I am on holiday - wherever I am in the world.

I am sure that this has upset the Portuguese people very much but 'assuming' that it was not one of them is very niave.

EagerLearner

The police don't go on assumptions, only we the public do.

Assuming it is a foreign abductor is not 'naive', it's speculation based on analysis that has been made of who perpetrates that kind of crime in the country. Portugal is not known for crimes against children, but the more nordic countries such as Holland, UK and Germany are. That doesn't mean a Portuguese person wasn't involved at some stage, hence the community feeling helpless right now as they really don't know who did this.

Anyway, regardless, if it's a paedophile ring, they exist in every country as you say, so let's keep perspective. No point locking ourselves indoors and ruining holidays in the future by worrying too much. Millions visit Portugal every year and only one child has gone missing so the chances of it happening are miniscule. In 18 years I never knew of anyone who went missing, either Portuguese or foreign, and if you think of the UK, how often does it happen here amongst people you know - very rarely too.

stenny_2

emmaroids wrote: »

yea cos a minutes silence will bring her back

it's called respect

happyhunter

I don't agree with setting up this fund either. Well, at least not until Maddy's parents have drained up all their own savings, sold their house(s)/investment(s).

Why should they get generous funding from other people while they still can afford the outgoings?

loveandlight

I saw an interview on the tv news a couple of weeks ago with an editor from a local Portuguese newspaper who was interviewed about Paedophile rings. It turns out that Portugal is not the innocent place we have been led to believe. (Surprise, surprise). Apparently the newspaper editor had printed in the recent past at least two or three front page newspapers highlighting Paediohile ring connections over there trying to highlight this as a growing problem and the near misses some children have had, as well as the greater risk that children were now at over there. He said a lot of the communities there don't want to believe that it's going on so prefer not to know about it. I don't believe at all that anywhere is safe.

What Madeleine's abduction does do for me is highlight the suffering of all those other families whose children were snatched and never received the support that this family are getting. Their pain is just as heart wrenching.