Examination of Witnesses (Questions 253-259)
MS SANDRA
PEAKE, WITNESS
A, WITNESS B, WITNESS
C, WITNESS D, WITNESS
E, WITNESS F AND
WITNESS G
21 FEBRUARY 2005
Q253 Chairman: Thank you very much for
coming, all of you. As you know, we are at the first stage of
looking into reconciliation, dealing with the past. We have started
by talking to people who have been associated with victims, which
is probably all we will get done of what is a very major look
at all the options before a general election, if one is going
to happen. I very much hope that our successor committee, whoever
they may be, will take up the cudgels after the election is over.
Very generally, perhaps, Sandra, would you tell us what the main
objectives of WAVE are?
Ms Peake: It is an organisation
to provide support services to people who are bereaved, traumatised
or injured as a result of the Troubles.
Q254 Chairman: Anyone?
Ms Peake: Yes. It was set up in
1991 and at that stage the original constitution stated that WAVE
was only open to innocent victims of sectarian murder. In 1993
a woman came with three children and they were grieving for the
loss of the father. The organisation looked at whether or not
they could provide services to that woman and her children. She
was unaware that her husband had been in a paramilitary organisation.
Because of that the ethos of the organisation was changed to include
anyone regardless of their circumstances.
Q255 Chairman: As far as the relatives
of the disappeared are concerned, how do those families work together
and how has WAVE facilitated that work?
Witness B: Can I introduce myself?
My name is * * * *, the uncle of * * * *
who disappeared in 2003. If you like, I am the latest member of
this group. There are obviously families who have had relatives
who have disappeared for a longer period of time than us. Can
I just put on public record a couple of things? First of all I
would like to express my thanks and deepest appreciation to WAVE
who have facilitated myself and indeed other families in this
situation in going to a variety of meetings in order to organise,
if you like, the way forward for the group which centres around
certain things. It centres first of all around the issue of the
disappeared being raised as often as possible; it centres around
a strategy for moving forward in relation to trying to find and
recover the bodies of the loved ones and it also centres around
some practical help in relation to recognition of the fact in
our case that * * * * has been murdered and there
are very practical issues in terms of death certificates which
we cannot have access to for seven years in order to initiate
insurance policies, to ensure that mortgages are paid and to facilitate
some financial help for the family. WAVE has been very important
for us both as a group and certainly for my family in terms of
helping us to deal very practically with the trauma we have faced
since May 2003.
Q256 Chairman: That was when your nephew
disappeared?
Witness B: My nephew was * * * *.
He was murdered by the Provisional IRA in May 2003.
Q257 Chairman: Do you know that he was
murdered?
Witness B: I am convinced that
he was murdered. The Chief Constable, Hugh Orde, indicated as
a result of a very extensive PSNI investigation that he had been
murdered and we subsequently have had indications that that has
been the case. There is nothing that I have found or any family
member has found that would indicate other than that he was murdered.
Q258 Chairman: Forgive my asking personal
questions but we just need to establish certain things. Who can
tell me how many disappeared there are, that families are seeking?
Is this a finite number, a number we know?
Ms Peake: There are 17 known about
cases and five bodies recovered.
Q259 Chairman: Of the 17, 12 are still
unaccounted for?
Witness D: Yes.
Witness E: We have a list.
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