RED CROSS ARTICLE

Below is an article I wrote for the pilot edition of the Aus-Afro News while living in Sydney, Australia in 2007.
It's obviously a little dated but I like it alot mainly for the nostalgia of sitting in an apartment overlooking the beach, bathed in blazing sunshine as I wrote it...world's away from my house overlooking Asda while a cool breeze blows in now...but also because it's a great news story!

This little photo is a polaroid of Coogee Beach (courtesy of Emma Brown, you beauty!), just a few minutes from where I lived and wrote in Sydney.

FBS. xx

In the Kakuma refugee camp, in Northern Kenya, Tatu watches as Rashid rides his pushbike unsteadily by. His satchel weighs him down, full of the kind of news she and her young son pray for every day. 

Three years ago Tatu became separated from her husband following an attack on their village by militant rebels. Thousands others fled, that same night, causing the chaos that led to the couple’s separation. They have had no contact since.

That is until now. This time it is Tatu’s turn for good news from Rashid.

Rashid is a volunteer in the Australian Red Cross initiative, The International Tracing Service, which assists families in regaining and maintaining contact with lost relatives and friends.

He is about to deliver the news that Tatu’s husband is alive and well and living in Australia.

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Set up in 1918, following the First World War, The International Tracing Service works alongside the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to restore family links, clarify the fate of loved ones and facilitate the exchange of news.

The mission statement of the incentive is to honour the commitment to the humanitarian needs of refugees, asylum seekers and others stuck in the immigration system or searching for missing loved ones

Like Tatu, many of the people benefiting from the service have become separated from loved ones following humanitarian or natural disasters or wars.  They may have lost contact due to lack of telephone or mail systems in their new regions or may simply not know where someone ended up following a conflict or disaster.

The system is free and run primarily by volunteers.  Any information provided is handled with the strictest of confidentiality and consideration as it not only seeks to regain contact but also maintain it.

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The success of the service should not be underestimated.  In the financial year between 2006-2007 alone, there were 757 resolved cases across Australia, making it one of the most successful years to date.

However, while the service cannot always guarantee success they are committed to chasing every last piece of information.

If it is felt an enquiry can be taken no further then this families are advised of why this is so and perhaps what steps can then be taken to further the search with similar organisations.

The Tracing Service currently have cases open for families separated during the conflicts in Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Afghanistan, The Democratic Republic of Congo and The Middle East.  In Australia the majority of clients are from Sudan, Burundi, Liberia, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

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The Red Cross believe that the process of knowing the fate of missing loved ones is essential to the recovery process of having been through a conflict or disaster situation.

“Simply not knowing the fate of a loved one can cause such anguish,” says Hamish Lindsay of Red Cross.

“It’s a privilege to be in a position where we can help people reestablish contact with relatives.  Successful cases are very rewarding,” says Lindsay, Coordinator of International Tracing and Detention Services.

Rashid would agree.

He searched for hours in the 86,000 strong refugee camp to pass on a short-but-sweet message to Tatu:  “I am alive and well. Your loving husband, Matthew.”

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