anger and needing to blame are part of healing process, getting it all out helps everyone. a nice plaque outside the sealed mine would be awesome. these guys died doing their job, this should be recognized. then families can grieve and move on...

I dont think that my anger is mistdirected, but I do think that it was up to our prime minister if you could call him that, surely even if he is at his holiday home in hawaii, could have got the media and at least said....I'M SORRY'..To the......Fmilies concerned.....HIMSELF, than leaving it to others to do his DIRTY WORK...for him.

It was him that sorted out that shambles in greymouth...as there was plenty of MEDIA THERE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD at that time..
It was just 2 words he had to say, that a lot of people round N.Z. that think the same.....

Im sure he could have said wherever he was......,

I do think it is time for these people to grieve, BUT, I'M SORRY, would have mean't a lot not just in greymouth, but all over N.Z.,,,,,,,,

Families can grieve and move on,only when they know the circumstances of their loved-one's death and are able to lay him/her to rest in a respectful service of remembrance-they can mourn openly,and be comforted by friends. It is a sort of ritual we go through,which is comforting in its tradition.
However in the case of a 'missing person',when all they have is bewilderment and confusion,dealing with it and 'moving on' has no set pattern to follow-no ending so that you can have a new beginning to another stage in your life without your loved one. They are suspended in time with no clear guidelines-no answers and an uncertain future.

yes emmelle and reine, i sort of agree with you both. horrible horrible... theres something horrible happening monthly at the moment all round the world

Emelle, You are so right. You can only bring some closure when you have their body. We went through a similar experience in 1985 when our only son aged 21years young was killed on his big OE In Munich Germany in a multiple car accident that killed three others.We had no body. We eventually got his ashes. But we for years had lingering doubts because we could not come to terms with his death. IN 1987 Jan Currie an experienced grief Counsellor working out of THE CAMPBELL CENTRE by Christchurch Public Hospital with a group was successful in providing us with the mechanisms to move on.My first wife never came to terms with it though I was able to. We sprinkled his ashes with my parents in Keneperu Sound in Marlborough out from Bird Island at the head of Broughton Bay.

It must be difficult to come to terms when a family is unable to bury their loved one and feel secure that they are resting in hallowed ground in a place which can be visited. I was only ten when the news of my brothers death in the Java Sea battle came by telegram. I know that my parents changed forever after that and mum coped better than dad.

Life was never the same for us younger children and I realise now that they were one of thousands of sets of parents who never had the comfort of knowing where their son lay or if he really was dead. It is only in the last few years that HMS Electra was discovered at the bottom of the sea and I knew that that was his resting place.

The tragic reality is that there will be no bodies to recover. Here, in part, is what Phil Glover, a forensic fire investigator, said.
" There wouldn't be much left of them - you might find small fragments of bone and ash but that's probably about it."
Added to that is that a methane explosion in a confined space blows bodies apart so even if bits are recovered it may not be possible to ascertain which person they belong to.
Dr L - I have every sympathy with the views you express but I think that sealing the mine and turning it into a suitable memorial would be the best solution.

I wonder if for all the families be given a rose of there choosing, so that they can put it in there garden or if maybe moving shortly they still have it but until settle put in a big pot, you can grow them like that, for the children to be able to go and be able to talk to their dad...
It could be 1 way for them to get over what they truely feel inside and at least be able to get some of the anger as well as their love out to be able to talk to it as they they have something in place in a place at home where they can have a place to just sit and feel close to dad....

My sister-in-law died when the children were young and my brother got a seat put in the local part with her name on it, so the kids could be close to mum.
We also found a rose called by her name and that was a place where the little ones could go to, to just chat with mum, it did wonders for them just to get their anger out, and they could tell her things that they couldnt tell anyone else............just a thought....

reinne thats an awesome idea... i like the outdoor bench with the person/s name... could be on a decking, under a tree, in a quiet corner... a special place of time to think and dwell. my cousins hubby died of illness, and she put together a 'life album', a kindof story book on their life together... she said it helped her immensly... remembering the good parts

WELL NOW.............
LOOKS AS IF THE GOVERMENT HAVE DONE IT AGAIN..........WE COULD HAVE HAD LIVE MINERS LEFT IN THE TUNNEL, BUT BECAUSE IT WAS BAD FOR PUBLCITY, IF THINGS ALL WENT THE WRONG WAY AFTER AUSTRALIA AND CHILE, AND NOT WHAT THE PRIME MINISTER WANTED, IN FRONT OF ALL THE INTERNATIONAL CAMERA'S, SO HE JUST SHUT IT DOWN QUICKLY......TO QUICKLY I SAY AND NOW WE FIND THAT THERE COULD HAVE HAD MINERS ALIVE IN THERE...

AT LEAST THERE ARE 2 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD THAT WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THERE PEOPLE AND TO GET THEM OUT,HOW CARING THEY WERE FOR THERE PEOPLE.... IT SHOWS UP WHAT SORT OF SLACK AND UNCARING PERSON WE HAVE RUNNING THE COUNTRY..........
NOTonly that, but it shows every nation in the world what a LIAR he is..........I WILL DO EVERYTHING THAT I POSSIBLY CAN TO GET THEM OUT..
WHAT LIES WE SAY WHEN THERE IS AN OVERSEAS CAMERA WATCHING WHAT IS GOING ON........

BETWEEN THE PRIME MINISTER GOING BACK AND FORTH, GERRY BROWNLEE THERE, AND THE MINISTER FOR MINING, EVERYONE THOUGHT THAT THE GOVERMENT CARED AND FELT FOR THE PEOPLE...IT JUST SHOWS HOW PEOPLE CAN SPEAK WITH FORK TOUNGE...........
DO WE REALLY WANT THAT SORT OF PEOPLE RUNNING THE COUNTRY THAT DO THAT TO IT'S OWN PEOPLE.......

Now we have jerry brownlee here in the south island for the last several months............Im not quite sure what he has been doing except staying out of the prime ministers way........

WE GOT HIM 1ST BECAUSE OF THE 1ST EARTHQUAKE, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE STILL GETTING THEM HE WAS SENT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND........I DONT KNOW IF HE EVEN BOTHERED TO COME BACK.............SO FAR WE HAD A BAD 1 BOXING DAY....THE 22ND OF FEBRUARY...AND MANY IN BETWEEN, SOME BIG THAT THE....EQC...CALL A NEW ONE TO PUT ANOTHER CLAIM IN........SO ARE THESE WHAT I CALL MORE EARTHQUAKES...........OR JUST AFTERSHOCKS THAT I DONT BELIEVE IN IF THEY ARE SO BIG....

OR ARE THEY REAL EARTHQUAKES THAT THEY DONT WANT TO WORRY THE PEOPLE WITH..............
IM SORRY ABOUT THAT, THEY ARE ALREADY AFRAID...
WHAT ABOUT THE SMALLER ONES THAT JUST MAKE YOUR FLOOR MOVE MOST OF THE TIME BUT AREN'T SO BIG..WELL THEY MIGHT BE AFTERSHOCKS......WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY LEFT CHCH AND WONT BE BACK AGAIN..........

I KNOW THAT I WOULD BE ONE IF I COULD..........I WOULDNT BE SO AFRAID ALL THE TIME, I WOULDNT BE SO AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR, AND I WOULD FEEL SO MUCH SAFER WITHIN MYSELF....I WOULDNT BE ON ANTI DEPRESENTS....IS THIS HOW WE ARE SUPPOSE TO LIVE IN CHCH...MEN HAVE JOBS TO KEEP THEM OCCUPIED WITH....ONES WITHOUT ARE ,TRYING TO KEEP FEEDING, CLOTHING, AND FINDING SHELTER THAT HE CAN AFORD TO PAY TRYING TO SORT THINGS OUT FOR THERE FAMILIES...MOTHERS TRYING TO COPE WITH FEEDING AND CLOTHING THERE CHILDREN.....

IT WILL BE MANY YEARS BEFORE IT STARTS TO LOOK AS IF JUST THE PEOPLE CAN EVEN AFORD TO LIVE BACK IN THERE HOME WITH DRAINAGE, WATER..POWER..WARMTH FOR THE PARENTS AND THE CHILDREN...
WHAT ABOUT THE MORTGAGE THEY ARE PAYING AND NOW EXPECT TO PAY RENT AS WELL....
WHO CAN AFFORD TO DO THAT, EXCEPT THE PRIME MINISTER AND I DONT SEE HIM PUTTING HIS HAND UJP AT ALL TO HELP......IN FACT I HAVENT SEEN HIM FOR AGES IN CHCH.

ALL OF THIS AND WE DONT LIVE IN A 3RD WORLD COUNTRY.....HOW MANY IN THE NORTH HAVE OFFERED TO SIT AND KNIT FOR THE YOUNG IN THE SOUTH THAT HAVE NO CLOTHES FOR THE WINTER...AFTER ALL ITS JUST SITTING DOWN....WINTER IS HERE DOWN HERE IN THE SOUTH AND ITS FREEZING ALREADY.....HOW MANY CHILDREN WHO WILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT HAVING SOME NEW CLOTHING THAN ALL SECOND HAND...
HOW MANY ELDERLY MEN IN THERE WORKSHOP HAVE THOUGHT TO MAKE SOME TOYS FOR THE CHILDREN WHO LOST ALL THERE TOYS...

SO YOU SEE ONCE AGAIN WE ARE LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES OF SORTING THINGS FOR OURSELVES...TRYING TO LOOK AFTER THE ONES THAT NEED LOOKING AFTER AND SEE THAT THERE IS ENOUGH FOOD TO GO AROUND...ENOUGH WARMTH FOR THEM ALL AS WELL AS PLENTY OF WOOD THEY DIDNT EXPECT TO PAY OUT FOR......PLENTY OF WARM CLOTHING TO GO AROUND A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DONT HAVE IT FOR THE WINTER..
GOD BLESS THESE FAMILIES........