Relatives of those who have died abroad feel Foreign Office not doing enough to help.
As families from across Scotland walked through the streets of Ayrshire in their onesies and pyjamas yesterday, their outfits raised smiles from passers-by.
But beneath the clothes are a group of people brought together by tragedy and a sense of injustice.
Each of them has had a relative die overseas in recent years and none of them feels the Foreign Office offered enough support.
Yesterday’s seven-mile walk through Turnberry and Girvan is a precursor to a larger demonstration in London at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on October 9, when families from across the UK will gather.
Among those taking part yesterday was Agnes Patterson, whose 21-year-old son Thomas was killed by a car in Spain in 2009. Agnes believes her son was attacked and chased beforehand, and has been searching for answers ever since.
But she doesn’t feel she received necessary assistance.
“I don’t know when or where my son died,” said Agnes, from Edinburgh. “I was told he died at the side of the road, then in the ambulance and then in hospital. I still don’t know.
“I had to contact the Foreign Office. They didn’t know my son had died.
“There are a lot more families out there in my position.
“What we’re doing won’t bring our loved ones back, but hopefully it can help others.”
Jean McCulloch, whose son Alan was found dead on a Cambodian beach in January, agreed.
“I’m still waiting for the Foreign Office to phone and tell me my son is dead,” said the Glasgow mum. “He had been backpacking.
“I went over to Cambodia and no one took the time to meet us.”
Yesterday’s march was organised by Julie Love, who struggled to find information about her son Colin’s death in Venezuela in 2009.
She set up charity Death Abroad You’re Not Alone to help grieving families who have lost a loved one overseas.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The FCO offers particular support to the families of those who have been tragically murdered abroad, working with a range of partners including the police and coroner services.
“We also provide direct funding for some of our partners, including Victim Support’s Homicide Service and Missing Abroad, to enable them to provide additional support.
“We are now identifying new ways in which we may be able to do more, as part of the new Consular Strategy.”
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