Madeleine McCann: After Labour And The Tories, Esther Rantzen Patronises Our Maddie And James Bulger
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann – HAVING buttonholed David Cameron’s Tories and Home Secretary Alan Johnson, the McCanns have overlooked the independent MPs. But help is here in the form of Esther Rantzen, wannabe MP for Luton South.
In today’s Mail, Esther Rantzen steps in to make herself part of the political drive to find Our Maddie. It’s an open letter to Kate McCann:
The headline trills:
Our hearts go out to you Kate, but the truth is it’s time to find some peace…
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Dear Kate,
Dear Mrs McCann.
Can it really be only three years since your little daughter Madeleine disappeared? It feels like a century ago when her three-year-old face first began to haunt us.
True enough.
Her angelic expression and solemn eyes engraved themselves on to our hearts; they reached out to us from posters that went up everywhere, from airports to village shops.
Angelic? Is that a euphemism for blonde? Because Madeleine McCann is blonde. And the media does so love a photogenic blonde. But let’s move swiftly on to the other facts. And remember, Kate, Esther Rantzen is here to help.
Even now, the questions remain. Could she still be alive? Worst of all, is she the prisoner of some twisted individual? I know that must be your deepest fear – indeed it doesn’t bear thinking about – although of course it must always be at the back of your mind.
Now at the front of your mind. Thanks, Esther.
Over the years we have shared your nightmares. In those early months, as news story followed news story, we pored over the events of that fatal evening she went missing. You must have relived those hours a million times, and so have we.
Facts? You mean fact. A children went missing.
So I hope it doesn’t sound too harsh to suggest that three years later, the world has moved on. Not because we have forgotten Maddie, nor because we have lost sympathy with you and your family, but because the pain we felt at the time has begun to numb and heal with time.
Yes, Kate, we have moved on. Esther has moved on. And if she can – and she cares – so must you. You can read about how far Rantzen has shifted forward in 500 words of mawkish pros.
…it is obvious that your agony is caused not just by loss, but by not knowing if your darling girl is dead or alive, safe or suffering.
Sobs.
You are still tormented by the fact that nobody can answer your questions, because Maddie has not been found, and may never be found.
Weeps and shakes uncontrollably.
Let us for a moment face the tragic truth. Maddie may not be alive. How will you feel if one day her body is found? My guess – and it can only be a guess because no one can truly know how you feel – is that after the first terrible impact of shock and grief, you may even feel a small glimmer of relief that at least she is at peace.
Ululates and wails.
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…My thoughts of the fear, confusion and loss of love and security that my precious daughter has had to endure are unbearable.
Eyes blank over. Stares. No more tears. Dry heaves.
…Make no mistake, that need to mourn a lost child is one of the most powerful emotions a mother can feel.
More powerful than hate and revulsion?
I once made a television programme about still-born babies…
Make it stop!
Seventeen years ago, when he was a toddler, James Bulger was brutally murdered by two children, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. That murder is engraved on our national memory and broke his mother Denise’s heart.
Venables did Maddie?
For 15 of those years she has been unable to leave her home alone. I have visited her there, in the house that had become a shrine to James. All she had were constant reminders of his terrible death, not of his life. ‘He was such a positive little boy,’ she told me, ‘I’d love him to have something positive to celebrate him with.’
So I suggested to her that we could create a special memorial to James, a project on Merseyside, her home town, to help children who have been badly bullied. Run by the Red Balloon charity, it could be called James Bulger House…
Madeleine McCann Villas?
James Bulger House is about to open now…Why is this relevant to your own terrible heartache, Kate? Well, what I am suggesting is that you and Gerry need a similarly positive memorial to celebrate Maddie’s life, too. Not because I am assuming she is dead, but because when we last met I saw how frail you are, and how unhappy. And no wonder.
What about a giant yellow balloon on the Thames?
…But alongside your campaign to tighten laws against child pornography, why not also create a Madeleine McCann charity – one that would not simply fund the search for your lost daughter, and others like her, but which would also help children in other distressing situations?
Like..?
…And although we would not wish you to lose your commitment, we would also like to feel that you find comfort in the knowledge that Maddie’s name will live on, and will contribute happiness to many other children’s lives – wherever she is.
Ending:
Wishing you happiness as ever,
Esther
Your pal.
Posted: 29th, April 2010 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (12) | TrackBack | Permalink
