One World United

The Restoring Family Links program at the American Red Cross helps reconnect families separated by conflict, di-saster, migration, and other humanitarian emergencies. Not knowing the fate or whereabouts of one’s family adds to the burden felt during such circumstances. The Red Cross Movement is dedicated to alleviating this human suffering.

This collection of stories shares the hardship of separation experienced by families around the globe as well as the joy of reconnection many find with the assistance of the Amer-ican Red Cross. From maintaining communication between resettled refugees in the United States with family around the globe to standing by communities following natural disaster, the Red Cross is there.

For more information and stories about our program, visit us online at redcross.org/reconnectingfamilies and restor-ingfamilylinksblog.comv

Contents Include:

Connecting Sisters After 20 YearsThe Resiliency of YouthReturning to the Red CrossUnconvering What One’s History Can Mean

American Red CrossNational Headquarters2025 E St NWWashington, DC 20006redcross.org/reconnectingfamiliesrestoringfamilylinksblog.com

September 2015

Restoring Family Links: Story Compilation

Red Cross Reconnects Congolese Family after 14 Years Apart 5

Connecting Sisters after more than Twenty Years 7

Restoring Family Links: Reaching Across Continents and Conflicts 9

Restoring Communication and Hope 12

Makiwa and Motema’s Story 13

Red Cross Reconnects a Father with his Daughter 15

The Resiliency of Youth 16

Red Cross Gave Me Hope: Missing, but not Forgotten 18

A Difficult Choice, A Powerful Reconnetion 19

Calling Home 20

Typhoon Haiyan - One Year Later 23

Returning to the Red Cross 24

Connecting Nepali Community to Information and Family in Wake of

Earthquake 25

Separated Twice: Two Cousins Reunite Again After Three Decades 28

Discovering the Fate of his Father: Mike Piorkowski’s Quest of 60

Years 30

Uncovering What One’s Family History Can Mean 32

A Day in the Life of a Family Links Caseworker 34

Reconnecting after over Six Decades 36

Red Cross Reconnects Family History 37

Red Cross Restores Family Connection 38

Table of Contents

AfricaFor years, the Restoring Family Links program has been able to reconnect families in the United States with loved ones from whom they were separated as a result of conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of these cases have been facilitating communication through Red Cross Messages of Somali refugees with their families in Kenya. While the social and political contexts of these conflicts have varied, the emotional and psychosocial burden of not knowing the well-being of one’s family has not. The following stories show how the American Red Cross has been able to help families reconnect to loved ones who remain on the African continent. The following stories highlight the recon-nection work of the Red Cross in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Somalia.

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Red Cross Reconnects Congolese Family after Fourteen Years Apart

One year ago, Yowali Kitungano had no idea of the fate of her father, brothers, sisters and nephew – where they were, whether they were alive, or how they were doing if they were alive.

She hadn’t seen or heard from any of them since at least 1997. During a pair of civil wars that wracked the Democratic Republic of Congo, she and other family memberas fled from their home town of Uvira.

“There were a lot of guns and bombs and people went in different ways. Some crossed the lake to Tanzania, some goes to Burundi and it was like that, never found each other again,” Yowali recalled. She eked out an existence first at one refugee camp and then another, struggling just to survive.

“There was no communication [with family], nothing, just very hard,” Yowali said. “You tried to adjust yourself to see how you can survive. They give you a tent. It was so hard. In the beginning I have no time to think about the family. You just try to make yourself together and start over your life.”

Eventually, Yowali applied for and received refugee status to resettle in the United States. Along with her husband and two daughters, she made her way to Denver where, finally, her life became stable and safe enough for her to focus on rebuilding – and on reconnecting.

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Red Cross Messages

One service available through the Restoring Fam-

ily Links program at the American Red Cross are

Red Cross Messages. These open-faced letters

help maintain family communication when normal

means of contact cannot be established. Most

often, they are used to facilitate communication

between resettled refugees in the United States

and their families in refugee camps. Loved ones

can use these messages to communicate for as

long as the need - weeks, months, even years.

The family messages transmitted can be very

brief, but the three short words ‘I am alive’ may be

all that is needed to ease the minds of distraught

loved ones half a world away.

Pictures can also be sent with the message, allowing families to not only see their loved ones

hand-writing, but also their faces. These pictures become treasured mementos, providing hope

that one day, they will be able to once again see each other’s faces in-person.

So, one year ago, Yowali came to the Red Cross. She initiated an inquiry through the Restoring Family Links program to seek out the where-abouts and try to re-establish contact with her father, four brothers, two sisters and nephew. She knew it could be difficult to find them, and that it might take time – about 14 years had passed since she last had contact, and the DR Congo had thousands of refugees due to its civil con-flicts.

In July 2015, Yowali made contact with the last two of her eight missing family members. It had taken a year, but her case was fully resolved.

The key to success came about six months after her case was initiated. The Red Cross in the DR Congo had been able to find one of her sisters, who submitted an official Red Cross Message. A Colorado-based Restoring Family Links case-worker hand-delivered that letter, written in the

women’s native tongue, to Yowali at her home in Aurora in December 2014.

“I was so happy. Tears were in my eyes. I was so happy to know they were alive. I was so happy to see the letter and know how they were do-ing,” Yowali recalled with a giant smile. Her sister knew the whereabouts and latest information on a number of the family members, and very quickly Yowali was able to reconnect via letter and phone with her loved ones. The chain of reconnection had been started, and in July 2015 Yowali’s family in Africa were able to ascertain the whereabouts of the final two family members.

“I called to the Red Cross to thank them because this was not easy, it was hard work, but they did it. They make it,” Yowali said. “I am so grateful to Red Cross. I am so happy. Thank you so much.”

Story by Patricia Billinger, Denver, Colorado

Red Cross caseworker, Robbe Sokolove, deliv-ers a message to Yowali from her sister.

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Connecting Sisters after more than Twenty YearsFleeing what had become a horrific conflict in Somalia, Khadra Farah escaped with nothing but the clothes on her back. She left behind her home and all of her possessions to find safety in Yemen in 1988. From there, she went to the United States, her brother to Europe, not knowing what had become of their young-er sister. The family thought that she remained in Somalia for another year, but heard rumors that the boat she was on in 1990 sank. For more than twenty years they feared their sister was dead.

Earlier this year, Farah was so saddened about her sister and the recent passing of their mother that she chose to confide in a friend who then gave her the number to the local American Red Cross office, sug-gesting she ask them for help finding out what really happened to her sister all those years ago.

Liz Smith, the Service to the Armed Forces and International Program Manager for the North Florida Re-gion of the American Red Cross, received her call and documented the following from their first meeting. “I visited Mrs. Farah when her husband was at work and her kids were at school. She shook my hand as I took off my shoes, and she led me into her kitchen. Mrs. Farah had brewed hot green tea and served homemade flat bread with dates on the table. As we sat at her table and had tea, she showed me a picture of the sister she was seeking, and her younger sister and brother. They were all very young and quite hand-some. I conducted an interview and obtained more details about the circumstances of their last communi-cation with the missing sister.”

After the interview, Farah’s information was submitted to the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross. Smith was pleased to hear that it was accepted and forwarded to the Red Cross partner in Yemen.

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The Northeast Florida Chapter was then notified that they had located Farah’s sister and that there was a Red Cross message from her, which Smith chose to deliver in person.

Upon arrival, Farah was filled with great joy because she had already spoken with her sister by phone through the Red Cross partner in Yemen. She “almost died” when she heard her sister’s voice, and was overcome with happiness and relief knowing that after more than twenty years, her sister was alive and well. But tugging at her heartstrings was a longing to reunite in person with her sister once again.

Within the Red Cross message, Farah’s sister explained that she has lived in a refugee camp all these years, never knowing the whereabouts or well-being of any of her family. Farah has asked the Red Cross to send another message verifying that her family can accept and provide for her sister in the United States, with hopes that the family will one day be able to reunite. That Red Cross message is now being processed.

“It was amazing to be a part of something like this and it happened so fast,” says Smith. “This is what Red Cross is all about, helping people. I am thankful to the thoughtful neighbor who suggested our organization and provided direction to her friend in need.”

Story by Marissa Davis, Jacksonville, Florida

Khadra Farah pauses for a photograph with her caseworker, Liz Smith, after reading a Red Cross mes-sage sent from her sister in Yemen.

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Restoring Family Links: Reaching Across Continents and ConflictsJohn Kwigwasa braved incredible hardship after being displaced from his home in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to civil war and then as a refugee living in South Africa during the violent xenophobic attacks of 2008. Since John and his immediate family have relocated to the US, John has been working with the American Red Cross to trace his relatives in other parts of the world. He vividly remembers the day in 2001 when he last saw his village in DRC and his six siblings.

“We had seen it brewing, but we still had hope. After all, this was our country. I was born in Congo and it was all I knew; besides, I was just recently married and my wife was three months pregnant with our first son. Word had reached me at work not to return home, Kivu had fallen under attack from gunmen.”

That morning in 2001, John saw the last of his six siblings before he set out to work in a distant village. “I’d always wanted to become a mechanic. I’m really good with cars. I actually was working on a diploma to qualify for a professional certification.”

Throughout his village rumors had begun to spread about a potential violent retaliation following the assas-sination of President Laurent Kabila. “We knew Kabila had received help from Rwanda and Uganda,” John recalls, “but nobody thought much about what Kabila had promised those governments.”

The conflict that erupted in 2001 was targeted and vengeful. Among government forces, it was widely be-lieved that the Ugandan and Rwandan governments had a hand in the president’s assassination.

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“Soon enough, the was word that all refugees in the country, particularly Rwandans had to be hunted down, returned—or worse, if you were a woman, raped before being killed.”

John’s father, a local fisherman who had regularly canoed Lake Tanganyika, as far as Zambia, soon found his house surrounded by gunmen.t

“My mother was Tutsi, from Rwanda. They weren’t just hunting down foreigners, but everybody suspected of harboring them as well. Worse, a slight deviation from an arbitrary look, a Congo-lese look, marked you as a target for the brewing attacks.”

Anticipating the coming dan-ger, the family managed to smuggle their mother out of the country the night before gunmen surrounded the house. However, John wouldn’t find out about her fate until later when, as a stateless person in Zambia, the tragic news would reach him.

“We got her onto a boat to cross Lake Tanganyika to Bu-rundi, but the Navy patrolling the border had been given orders not to let anyone to enter. We suspect their boat was defiant, for everybody on the boat was killed, shot by the Navy.”

When John escaped DRC to Zambia, he had left his pregnant wife behind. The gunmen that had attacked his father’s home killed his father and two other siblings. It would take years until he was reunited with his wife and two-year-old son in a refugee camp in South Africa.

For several years, John enjoyed some stability in South Africa. He held two jobs. “I was a mechan-ic by day; at night I worked as a security guard. But South Africa was bad, eh!” John remembers

the violent xenophobic attacks of 2008 on mi-grant workers in the country.

“One day, a friend came to pick me up at work. On our way home, we met a group of young Xho-sa men who were very hostile. Their leader asked us why we were taking their jobs and stealing their women. When we told them that we both had been married before coming to South Africa, and that we got the jobs nobody wanted in the country, the group leader felt annoyed. He looked down on us and said he was going to kill us. I thought it was a joke. Within seconds, he pulled out a pistol and shot me. The bullet went through my left thigh and out.”

Even though John survived that incident, he spent two months convalescing at a local hospi-tal. Upon being discharged he asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative at his refugee camp to see about be-ing repatriated back to DRC.

“I wasn’t thinking straight, I was traumatized. I couldn’t look my wife in the eye. To add to my experiences, I just couldn’t live with the feelings I had buried inside. I was so traumatized I wanted to kill myself, to end it all,” John said, recalling the stress of his attack and of learn-ing about his wife’s treatment at the hands of attackers in DRC.

While in South Africa, John says, his wife finally told him how she managed to escape. “She said, after I left her family took her in. However, their village was attacked too. She and other young women were taken away by the gunmen as sex slaves.”

With 2010 fast approaching and South African officials getting serious about hosting the FIFA World Cup Soccer Championship, John’s camp

John Kwigwasa holds picture of his sister sent to him along with a Red Cross Message.

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in Cape Town was shut down.

“They told us that they couldn’t have refugee shacks within eyesight of tourists. Thus between 2008 through 2011, we lived in fear again. To integrate us back into the community, they as-signed us homes where we lived with until our papers were processed and were assigned to a third country, the United States of America.”

The American Red Cross provides Restoring Family Links services to families that have been separated by natural disaster, conflicts and oth-er tragic events. Caseworkers at local chapters around the country help families locate missing relatives by working with the International Com-mittee of the Red Cross and Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in nations around the world.

Once a family member is found, the Red Cross helps them reconnect through short messages. This year the American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region has helped restore fam-ily links between repatriated Congolese refugees and their families in New Haven and Bridgeport. John Kwigwasa’s family is one of them.

“In the beginning, life here in America was tough,” John said. “We went five months without jobs. We asked for jobs but they told us that we need-ed to settle down first. Later, I got a manufac-turing job. I now work for a small company that specializes in winter gardening.”

John met Jan Radke, Senior Director of Interna-tional and Military Services with the American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Re-gion. It was through her that he discovered he could trace the whereabouts of his siblings.

“I was excited, but also had to be realistic.”

After some months, a Red Cross affiliate in Zim-babwe was able to locate John’s sister at the Ton-gogara refugee camp.

“I thought I was alone. I felt happy knowing my sister was alive.”

The reunited siblings have continued to exchange messages through the Red Cross. John is hoping to help his sister to resettle in a safe place, as he was able to do.

“My sister wrote to me saying once she received a two-weeks ration of food supplies and was told to hold onto them for two months. Can you imag-ine that? With two kids, huh?”

Despite his concerns, John remains hopeful; an outlook that he attributes to the favorable chanc-es his sister has over being sent here to America because he now has an established permanent resident status.

“Now, I’m really happy and want to help my sister find a third country. It’s not easy living in a refugee camp. I lived in one. In the camp, the processes can be long and if you don’t know anybody to help you, it can almost be impossible to get a third country.”

The process is ongoing, but there is hope that one day the two siblings will be reunited and his sister will know the security John, his wife and children now have.

“We have sleep now. We go home and nobody comes to attack us. I feel safe. Safety is really important to me.”

Story by Jan Radke, Hartford, Connecticut

Restoring Communication and HopeThe chaos and confusion of conflict and disaster often separates families. In conflict-ridden nations like the Central African Republic, displacement has been a common occurrence, especially in recent years. The International Committee of the Red Cross along with the Red Cross Movement works to alleviate human suffering by reconnecting families when such separation happens.

The American Red Cross Central was able to help reconnect a local refugee with his family in the Central African Republic. Arcadius shared how he had spoken to numerous religious and humanitarian organiza-tions, but was unsuccessful in getting assistance. He heard about the reconnecting families service of the Red Cross and came to our offices to open a case.

When going through his back story, we learned about numerous atrocities that had affected his family fol-lowing the coup of former President Francois Bozize. Arcadius knew his cousin had fled but did not know if his cousin’s family was still together or even alive. He continued with stories of the ongoing hardships faced by his cousin and family as they tried to find a place within an environment controlled by numerous warring factions.

Arcadius also spoke of other family members affected by the conflict. Sadly his uncle was killed in the fight-ing. There was a small glimmer of hope though as he had heard rumors that his cousin may be alive, but it was unknown where. Through our discussion we were able to gather contact information for a couple family members that might have known the whereabouts of his cousins, one who was still believed to be in the military and another, a refugee in Cameroon.

Within approximately four months, a Red Cross Message was sent from the Central African Republic back to the American Red Cross.This letter not only stated that the sought person was safe but that he was with his family. It also had a phone number to a refugee camp.

Restoring Family Links case workers quickly delivered this information to Arcadius. Later, we learned that he had successfully called his cousin and spoke with him for a couple of hours. The sought person was safe and with his family. He stated that he was unable to leave the refugee camp because of his previous government affiliation but stated that he was treated well. Arcadius was so excited to be able to talk to his cousin that he feared was killed and thanked the American Red Cross and International Red Cross Red Crescent for all of their hard work.

Story by Robert Pollock, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Makiwa and Motema’s StoryMakiwa Rashidi fled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2002 due to the armed conflict around her. Fleeing can be a complicated matter and she was separated from her family until the Red Cross helped reunite Makiwa with her loved one, Motema Dedieu.

Motema Dedieu had planned to follow Makiwa to South Africa but he never showed up. He couldn’t leave Uvi-ra, where they lived together in DRC. For a short period of time, they were able to connect by phone. But one day, Motema stopped answering. A group was sent to find him but there was no trace of him or his family.

In 2012, Makiwa was resettled to the United States. She contacted the American Red Cross to start a case in October 2014 to find, and hopefully, reunite with Motema.

Restoring Family Links (RFL) offers hope to families who are victims of conflict and separation. When separa-tion happens, the Red Cross is there to help, whether it is to deliver a message to a loved one overseas, locate missing family members, or find documentation on theirt fate. With the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the global Red Cross Movement, volunteers help connect thousands of loved ones each year.

“Restoring Family Links is a remarkable program,” said Daniel Kim, the International Services associate and the RFL caseworker at the American Red Cross of West Michigan. “It truly demonstrates the global reach of the Red Cross. It really allows us to help families everywhere.”

Thanks to the Restoring Family Links program and the help of hard working Red Crossers, Makiwa reconnect-ed with Motema early in March 2015. After he was separated from Makiwa, he fled to Uganda and is currently a refugee there. The Red Cross is working with Makiwa to take the next steps in uniting the two loved ones.

Story by Daniel Kim, Grand Rapids, Michigan

AmericasA combination of conflict and migration has led to separation and disruption of communication in the Americas. Since Cuba declared itself a socialist republic in 1961, the American Red Cross has helped facilitate communication be-tween Cuban refugees and their families back home. This service is especially needed when loved ones becomes sick and communication is severed. Over recent years, the Restoring Family Links program has made a concerted effort to assist migrants with reconnecting families needs. This includes migrants fleeing violence who need to communicate their wellbeing to family back in their country of origin, as well as work with partner organizations to inform fam-ilies of the disappeared of the fate of missing migrants. The following stories highlight both the need for this work and the peace of mind brought by know-ing the wellbeing and whereabouts of loved ones.

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Red Cross Reconnects a Father with his DaughterThirty five years ago, a young man whose political views did not match that of his government in Cuba chose to try to make a new life for himself. He applied for and received permission to leave, but his family stayed behind. After several years in Costa Rica, Nelson Perez, came to the United States in 1986 settling in Tampa, Florida. At that time, he tried to bring his daughter Mercedes over. He filed the paperwork and paid the lawyers, but nothing happened.

While living in Florida, Nelson met and married his wife, Wanda. Together, they had three daughters and now have grandchildren and great grandchildren. Nelson and his daughters in Cuba communicated with each other until 2008 when he and Wanda moved to Tennessee. For unknown reasons, contact was com-pletely lost during the move and could not be re-established. He has had a good life here, but could never forget about the daughters he left behind in Cuba, Jaquelin, now 38 and Mercedes, now 45.

Meanwhile, Mercedes wanted to reconnect with her father, so she reached out to the Cuban Red Cross. The American Red Cross was contacted and began the search for Nelson Perez. One of the bits of infor-mation uncovered was a phone number in Tennessee. A message left at that number resulted in the reuni-fication of a father and his daughters. After many years of uncertainty, Nelson was excited when the Ameri-can Red Cross contacted him stating his daughter, Mercedes, wanted to reestablish contact.

Completely unaware that the Red Cross has a program to help reconnect families separated by conflict, disaster, migration and other humanitarian emergencies, Nelson was amazed when we contacted him. When asked what he would tell people who had lost contact with their relatives due to conflict, he said, “Call the Red Cross!”

Nelson is now in constant contact with his daughters, catching up on what has been going on in their lives and getting to know his 17 year old grandson. His family wants to come to America, but until they can do so, Nelson plans to visit them in Cuba. The trip is very expensive and the process is complicated, but he is already working on gathering the funds and papers together!

When asked how he felt when he received the news that Mercedes wanted to reestablish contact, Nelson stated he had missed everything and had felt a lot of stress since leaving Cuba. A lot of sentimental mem-ories returned, but overall he felt, “very joyful—like we had given him $100,000.”

As Nelson was leaving, he turned and commented that his heart was full. I have to admit, after meeting him and seeing with my own eyes how happy he was—so was mine.

Story by Angela Morris, Kingsport, Tennessee

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The Resiliency of YouthThere are two things you should know about me: First, I crave the heat. Summers in Washington, DC don’t faze me at all. The hotter it is, the happier I am. Second, I love seeing new places. Ever since living in Vene-zuela back in the 1990s, I’ve had the itch to see as much of the world as possible. So when the opportuni-ty arose for me to go to Nogales, AZ, I was excited to take it. I had never been to the southwestern United States and what better place to feel the heat than Arizona in July?

But mixed with this excitement was a tad bit of fear and a lot of uncertainty. My reason for going to Nogales was to support a program of the American Red Cross that provided phone calls for unaccompanied children along the border.

I had seen the news reports and heard about how things were in that particular facility from other colleagues who had gone down before me. I wasn’t sure how I would react to seeing first-hand the situation in which these kids found themselves. But I couldn’t pass up the chance to lend a hand.

And so I went.

The first day was rather overwhelming. Well over 500 kids were being held in chain-link holding cells, all wearing the same plain white tees and blue gym shorts, and waiting for something to do. Anything. I was told what to expect, but it was still sad to see.

They were brought in groups of about 32 and given a short amount of time to call relatives back in their coun-try of origin and inside the United States. Many times, the smiles and exuberant energy the kids had upon sitting in front of the phone quickly turned to sobs and tears as they heard the voices of loved ones. Still, a few of the kids confided in me that it was, by far, their favorite part of the day. By the second and third day, I

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got a few waves from boys and girls that recognized me from the day(s) before. Even though our contact was limited, a small connection was already made.

At the end of each day, I took some time to think about what these kids must have been through. Not only since arriving in the US, but their entire journey to get here as well. I couldn’t imagine it. I was struck by the resilience these young people (some as young as five years old) exhibited. They have gone through a lot and still smile, have a sense of humor, and keep their heads up. At the age of 33, I’m not even sure I have the strength to go through what they’ve endured.

In the grand scheme of things, the assistance I helped provide may seem small. However, the appreciation these kids showed was amazing. So grateful. So polite. On second thought, maybe a phone call isn’t so small. To these kids and their families, it was huge.

I got to see a new place and I got more than enough heat (it’s confirmed that southern Arizona is hot). More importantly, though, was that I was able to hand a phone to a kid and let them have the best part of their day.

Story by Jonathan Custer, Washington, DC

Reconnecting Families and Maintaining Communication

There are many realities a person faces when they migrate - migratory routes are often dangerous and iso-lated, leaving travellers succeptible to violence, exploitation, and trafficking. Regardless, millions around the globe take these risks to escape conflict, persecution, and poverty with the hope of a better life elsewhere.

In addition to these dangers, migrants are also at an increased risk for losing - either temporarily, or for an extended period of time - communication with family and loved ones. Maintaining communication during migration is not only necessary for the family to have peace of mind about the well-being and whereabouts of their loved one, but also helps migrants make the difficult decisions they face along their journey.

The Red Cross is dedicated to meeting the humanitarian needs of these individuals. Along the US-Mexico border, the Mexico Red Cross works to meet the basic medical needs of returned migrants, checking blood pressure and glucose levels, providing first aid, and treating dehydration. Throughout Mexico, the Red Cross uses mobile clinics to offer medical treatment and phone calls for those in transit.

Through partnerships with other humanitarian organizations aiding migrants, the American Red Cross is also at work along the US-Mexico border and along migratory routes in the US to help migrants maintain family communication and provide basic first aid. From July 2014 - June 2015, almost 4,000 phone calls were provided through these projects.

Roberto benefited from this service after he was separated from the group he was traveling with. He wan-dered the desert for four days until he stumbled upon a camp where he could rest, receive basic medical treatment and contact his family.

His experience in the desert had such a terrifying effect that he was unsure of whether to continue his jour-ney or to turn himself in and return to his family in Mexico. Through the phone service, he was able to call his family to ask for advice on the situation. Manuel expressed his gratitude for this service. “Being able to talk with family made this difficult decision much easier. I feel comforted knowing the Red Cross can help.”

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“The last time he called us, my son Arcesio said that he was coming to see us,” said Ancízar Osorio in a fal-tering voice. That was eight years ago.

In Osorio’s country of Colombia, disappearances are a tragic normality; some 68,000 people are currently missing. Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of people have disappeared as a consequence of armed con-flict, natural disaster or migration. For those left behind facing a future uncertainty, the Red Cross is often their last hope for answers.

“When people disappear, there are two kinds of victims,” said Marianne Pecassou, who heads the activities carried out by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) for missing persons and their families. “The individuals who have gone missing and their families, torn between despair and hope, living with uncer-tainty and pain, waiting for news, sometimes for decades.”

The Osorio family searched desperately for their son for years. Finally, after researching old photographs and working with the Red Cross, they learned of his fate. Still, although his family is certain of his death and burial town, they have been unable to find the exact location where his mortal remains lie.

The suffering of the Osorio family is all too familiar to Rubiela, also living in Colombia. When her son Jáder was 16, he decided to join an armed group in order to earn money for his education. He told his mother that he would be back in a month. That was the last time that she saw him alive.

After three years of prolonged agony, she enlisted the help of the Red Cross and finally was able to learn her son’s fate and bury his body.

“I was nearly desperate,” Rubiela said of searching for her son. “So much suspense was driving me crazy. Now I know where my boy is. If it had not been for the Red Cross, I would still have been looking for him.”

Story by the International Committee of the Red Cross

Red Cross Gave Me Hope: Missing, but not Forgotten

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A Difficult Choice, A Powerful ReconnectionThere may be few harder decisions than giving up one’s own child, but when faced with the option of opening for them a world of opportunity - bet-ter medical care, education, employment - how do you say no?

In 1976, Jose and Maria Perugachi faced that choice. In a freak accident, the hands of their daughter, Norma Mercedes “Mechi,” were bit-ten off by a pig. Barely escaping death, she was rushed to a hospital in Quito where Peace Corps volunteer, Betty Stuart, nursed her back to health.

From the moment Mechi was placed under her care, Betty felt a strong connection with the toddler. She even brought Mechi to the United States under a temporary medical visa for an operation to make her left-arm functional without a hook. After returning to Ecuador, Betty offered to adopt the Perugachi’s daugh-ter. They agreed.

Almost 30 years later, Mechi is living in the United States. She mar-ried her husband, Brian, and they have two chil-dren, Brianna and Joseph. She was diagnosed with SCA2, a rare genetic disorder affecting her balance and mobility. But she doesn’t let that stop her, and keeps a positive attitude, knowing many face their own challenges every day.

As for her family in Ecuador, they did not forget their little girl, and with the passage of time, they longed to reconnect with her, but weren’t sure how. Then something serendipitous happened – there was an article in the newspaper about Me-chi and her mother. It didn’t provide a lot of infor-mation, but there was enough to go on that when

they approached the Ecuadorian Red Cross, a case searching for their daughter was opened.

That one newspaper article continued to play an important role as it allowed the American Red Cross to find Betty, and then Mechi, in Indiana. The two were thrilled that the family in Ecuador had sought them out to reconnect. While neither speaks Spanish anymore, the Red Cross was able to locate a translator and facilitate the first call between Mechi and her family in Ecuador.

On the day of the call, there was electricity in the room, with everyone holding their breath, hoping

that the family would be there. After only a cou-ple of minutes we were connected to Mechi’s sister, Lucia, and to our surprise, another sister, Maria. They shared that her parents were both alive, living three hours north of Quito, and that she now has nine broth-ers and sisters. Mechi also found out that her father may a disease similar to hers which is thought to be inherited through the parents. Everyone exchanged addresses, phone num-

bers and Facebook contacts. There was crying, laughing, and hoping for a future day when they can all be together again.

Family separation, whether caused by conflict, disaster, migration, or even a difficult choice, is a burden that no one should have to endure. The Red Cross works to support and strengthen the resilience of communities by ensuring that no family is left wondering and worrying about the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

Story by Fran Dutton, Elkhart, Indiana

Mechi and her family along with Red Cross case-worker, Fran Dutton

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Calling HomeWhen Katiusca Cespedes and her husband Norge Ross disappeared into the Singing Bird Nature Cen-ter at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island, Illinois, their 10 year old son, Felix, could be overhead preparing his younger brother:

“Maykol, when mom comes out, she’s going to be crying. She always cries when she calls back home.”

Katiusca and Norge were among several hundred refugees, migrants, and other participants taking part in the first Walk for Freedom and Cultural Festival sponsored by World Relief Moline, a not-for-profit refugee resettlement and service agency headquartered in Moline, Illinois.

The event was organized to celebrate the new lives of refugees in the area, as well as remember those still in danger in their homelands, on World Refugee Day. After a one-mile walk through Black Hawk State Forest, first occupied by Native Americans as long as 12,000 years ago, families enjoyed a traditional American picnic consisting of hot dogs, watermelon, chips and cookies. Outdoor activities included a native Burmese dance group, a Piñata, a potato sack race, and a water festival.

Inside the Singing Bird Nature Center, participants discussed displays describing the customs and cultures in Burma, Cuba, South Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea, and other countries. These nations were home to many of those attending until, driven out by armed conflict, persecution, or other disasters, they began a new life thou-sands of miles away in the Quad Cities, a group of neighboring cities and other communities flanking the Mississippi River in western Illinois and eastern Iowa.Once inside the Nature Center, many festival-goers were drawn to the squeals of excitement coming from a room where refugees were reconnecting with family members back home. The American Red Cross serving Central and Southern Illinois Region was providing free phone calls to loved ones in countries outside the United States.

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While some of those squeals—and tears, as Felix had predicted—did in fact come from Katiusca, she was not the only family member showing strong emotions after reconnecting with relatives. Norge later explained to an interpreter how he had been able to speak with his mother in Cuba for the first time in months, fill her in on happenings in the family and get caught up on the lives of those back home. When asked how it felt to be able to talk with her, he choked back tears and responded with one word.

“Beautiful.”

Story by Bob Wiltz, Peoria, Illinois

Katiusca Cespedes speaks to a cousin in Cuba while waiting for her mother to come to the phone.

Children play in bubbles during the water festival at World Refugee Day.

AsiaFrom its disaster-prone geographic position to historical contexts of war and migration, many populations across the Asian continent have found themselves separated from family. The American Red Cross works with many other Nation-al Societies, including South Korea, Philippines, and Cambodia, to reconnect separated families. Up until 2004, the American Red Cross’ Restoring Family Links program maintained an “Amerasian” tracing program to help reconnect soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War with family in Vietnam. While this spe-cific program has ended, family tracing continues to help reconnect loved ones separated by the war. Until recently, reconnecting families work for Burmese populations was limited to facilitating communication between refugees in the US and their families in refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border. However, two years ago, the Myanmar Red Cross Society opened up tracing services in select portions of the nation. The following stories highlight recon-necting families stories from Vietnam as well as the outreach work of chapter volunteers to ensure that when disaster strikes, their communities know the Red Cross can help reconnect them with their loved ones.

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Typhoon Haiyan - One Year LaterOne year after Typhoon Haiyan, I can still remember images of the disaster unfolding on my TV screen. Once news of its devastation spread, people trying to contact their loved ones in the Philippines started calling the American Red Cross. I was one of the Red Cross volunteers taking tracing requests and an-swering questions at a call center in Washington, DC.

We filled out many tracing inquiry forms that weekend. When the call center in DC closed, Philadelphia took over for us, continuing the work of the Red Cross to alleviate the human suffering caused by lost communication with loved ones. All I could think during that time was “Let me help gather as much infor-mation as possible so that the Philippine Red Cross can find their family.”

In the following weeks, many cases were closed because families were able to re-establish contact with-out the help of the Red Cross. Many reconnected with their loved ones through social media and mobile technology. Even when they re-established contact on their own, the client thanked the Red Cross for its help. It was important for them to know that if they weren’t able to establish contact, there was an organi-zation that could help them do so.

Since the Typhoon, the American Red Cross and Philippines Red Cross, along with other Movement partners have worked to provide life-saving assistance to those effected by the disaster. The Red Cross continues to empower Filipinos with job training, knowledge of disaster preparedness, and a means to continue with their respective livelihoods.

Both national societies also worked together to reconnect families. The Philippines Red Cross searched extensively to find those who were missing, to provide the means for them to contact their families, and to keep the American Red Cross updated on each case.

The American Red Cross ensured clients had the most up-to-date information and assisted in facilitating reconnections when needed. What stuck with me is when clients, whose families had lost their homes, still thanked the Red Cross because they were able to find their family members. All that mattered is that they could talk to their loved ones. That is the joy of reconnecting families.

Story by Viviana Cristian, Washington, DC

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Returning to the Red Cross

Van’s family was no stranger to conflict, migration, and family sepa-ration. Following the fall of Saigon, he, his sisters, and mother fled Viet-nam. They were supposed to leave with the rest of the family, but in the chaos consuming the days after the fall, there was no time to question, only run. Van and his family even-tually made it onto a rickety boat where the fear of capsizing was constant until they were rescued at sea and brought to the United States as refugees.

While they worked hard to adjust to their new life in the US, the rest of their family was never far from mind. Van constantly worried about his older brother and father, both who had close ties with the South Vietnamese government. The family turned to the Red Cross in the hopes that they would be able to locate their missing loved ones. Days turned to weeks, which turned to months. Then one day they received a call - the Red Cross found Van’s brother.

From there, many pieces to the family puzzle began to fall in place, and they were able to learn the fate or whereabouts of many of their loved ones. Van’s father had tragically died when the boat he was on sank. Yet despite this hardship, Van’s family felt fortunate - many extended family members were safe, either in the US or Canada, while they knew many others who had lost far more during the escape.Van would go on to attend school, get married, become a successful businessman, and have two children. He stayed in frequent contact with his aunt in Vancouver, Canada - exchanging cards over birthdays and holidays, visiting every other year or so.

It started with the absence of a card on his son’s birthday. Van thought it strange that his aunt would be late, but then there was no card all together. With the passing of another birthday and still no card, Van’s worry for his aunt’s health escalated. But given his previous experience, he knew he could turn to the Red Cross for help.

Van initiated a tracing inquiry with the American Red Cross which was then sent to the Canadian Red Cross. Within days, the Red Cross was able to locate his aunt - she had moved to a nursing home, but was well and happy to be able to re-establish contact with her family. For Van, knowing that the Red Cross is able to help maintain communication with his family, whether he’s separated from them by something as complicated as a war and migration or something as simple as a move, provides an invaluable peace of mind.

Story by Jon Dillon, Washington, DC

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Connecting Nepali Community to Information and Family in Wake of EarthquakeFollowing the earthquake in Nepal, at least 50 Colorado residents who have ties to Nepal and surrounding countries gathered at the Asian Pacific Development Center in Aurora to seek information about interna-tional relief efforts.

Colorado Red Cross staff presented about Red Cross efforts in response to the earthquake, how people here can help, and how they can use Red Cross Restoring Family Links services to contact loved ones in the affected areas.

The global Red Cross network, led by the Nepal Red Cross and supported by the American Red Cross, has mounted an international response to provide emergency humanitarian assistance. The Nepal Red Cross is providing first aid, search and rescue, blood to medical facilities in the capital and support to first responders.

The American Red Cross has committed an initial $1,000,000 to the relief operation and is working close-ly with the Nepal Red Cross and the global Red Cross network to coordinate additional support, including mobilizing supplies and providing remote mapping and information management. The American Red Cross is arranging supplies from its warehouses in Kuala Lumpar and Dubai, including non-food items such as tarps, buckets, kitchen sets and blankets to be sent to Nepal -- although logistical transport remains a challenge.

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Members of the audience raised their concerns about getting supplies to the families who need help, wondering how they could send tents from Colorado and whether relief supplies are “stuck” at the airport. Our local Red Cross staff answered candidly: mailing supplies, in small quantities, from this far away, is not the most efficient way to help those in Nepal – it is more cost effective and efficient for aid agencies to get tarps, tents and other high-demand supplies by purchasing them in bulk from the nearest source to the disaster, or by receiving them as bulk do-nations.

According to USAID, cash donations are the best way to help following a disaster because they entail no transportation costs, no delays, no cus-toms and other fees, no carbon footprint and they do not divert relief workers’ time. In addition, cash donations allow relief supplies to be purchased in markets close to the disaster site, which stim-ulates local economies by stabilizing employment and generating cash flow. Few material dona-tions have this highly beneficial impact.

In terms of delivering supplies, it can be chal-lenging to reach survivors when infrastructure is destroyed, damaged – or never existed. Accessi-bility and transportation are challenging in Nepal in the best of times. Before the earthquake, many rural communities where the Nepal Red Cross worked were only accessible by foot. The main international airport in Kathmandu is a very basic facility. With the destruction, this situation is even more dire and getting supplies and transporting them within country is going to be a major chal-lenge.

One way the American Red Cross is helping to alleviate this challenge is through mapping and information management. The public can help, too. Anyone with a computer and an internet con-nection can help map the affected areas through OpenStreetMap. Already, more than 2,000 peo-ple have contributed to the maps. Visit http://tasks.hotosm.org to get started.

After disasters strike, updated maps are extreme-ly important to emergency responders. These maps help us measure the damage, identify priority areas, navigate our way around damaged roadways, and more efficiently deliver aid to peo-ple in need. When we deployed people to Nepal, we sent them with maps to use and share with other Red Cross team members on the ground.

Although many of the people who attended the meeting were most concerned about how they can help Nepal, Red Cross workers were also focused on how we can help alleviate their anxi-ety and fear by helping them reconnect with loved ones in Nepal and the affected areas.

The Red Cross workers explained how residents here in Colorado can initiate a family tracing case for loved ones whose whereabouts are unknown, and how we will be offering phone call services for those who know their loved ones are OK but don’t have a means to call them from Denver.

Story by Patricia Billinger, Denver, Colorado

Searching for Family in DisasterWhen disaster strikes, the Red Cross is there to help re-establish communication between loved ones. Disaster inquiries are expedited searches to help locate loved ones following earthquakes, tsu-namis, typhoons, and other natural disasters. Often the International Committee of the Red Cross opens its Family Links website following disasters to facili-tate these reconnections. The website is a database which allows people to list themselves as alive or for families to list their loved ones as missing.

EuropeIn November 2012, the American Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Trac-ing Center in Baltimore, Maryland transferred its World War II Tracing cases to the Restoring Family Links program at National Headquarters. Since then, the Red Cross helps survivors and their descendants to locate missing loved ones and find documentation on their own and their relative’s war-time experiences. The political contexts of the Cold War and the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s and early 2000s also created many situations in which families lost commu-nication. The following stories highlight the successful work of the American Red Cross and its global partners to reconnect families from Germany, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine.

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Separated Twice: Two Cousins Reunite Again After Three DecadesTo lose contact with her closest family member Irene once was heartbreaking, but to lose contact twice - Mary thought ‘well maybe, she just didn’t want to be found.’

Mary Venus was born in 1943 in eastern Prussia during World War II. Conditions in her home country were difficult. Mary’s family faced constant discrimination following the end of WWII as the war-torn East Prussia was divided between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Poland, and their family didn’t belong to either nationality or culture.

At the age of six, Mary and her family left on a ship to the United States after receiving sponsorship by a family in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the support was not enough. As a result of limited resources, the family could barely afford to eat and bed bugs were a constant problem - leading to the parents sleeping on chairs with the sisters in their arms. At the same time, Mary was often sick, suffering from tuberculosis. Eventually, the family moved to the Chicago area after receiving sponsorship from two women in Evanston.

Irena Gorski, Mary’s cousin, was born in the late 50’s in Poland. As a result of the infamous “Iron Curtain,” it took her family five years to return to Polish territory. During this time, Irena’s family eventually lost contact with Mary’s family in the United States. Over the next couple decades, Irena worked as a language teacher and nurse.

As only one (she thought) to have concern for her family in Europe, Mary initiated a tracing case with the

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American Red Cross in 1978 to find her cousin. Through the Red Cross, Irena was located and Mary flew over to meet her for the first time in decades. However, due to the political situation at the time, Mary was only able to visit with Irena in Russia, and could not visit her home town. But for the two, this was enough; it was enough to know that their desire for family connection was mutual and they had a tie both to their past, and to a future together.

Then in 2006, it happened again. The cousins both experienced a series of events that caused them to move homes and change their phones, and sadly, the only two living relatives from their family in East Prussia lost touch once more. Al-most ten years later, after trying every method to locate her cousin on her own, Irena knew her next step - to reach out to the agency that helped her so long ago - and see if they could do it again.

So in November 2014, Mary initiated her second tracing case with the Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois. Fortunately the news was posi-tive once more, and we had the pleasure of shar-ing with Mary that her cousin had been found,

and she absolutely wanted to be in contact.

Mary often thinks back to the reconnection and believes that, “If it wasn’t for the Red Cross, I never would have found out where they were.” That very same day she received the call from the Red Cross, Mary told us that she had called Irene as soon as she hung up with caseworker Christa Kuntzelman and they proceeded to talk for hours, laughing, crying, and remembering.

The two already have a trip planned in July, where Mary and her husband will fly to Poland and stay with Irene’s family, and visit their former home-town. And to Mary’s surprise her grandchildren have all shown interest and pride in learning more about the family. When the time comes, Mary plans to take her grandchildren to Eastern Europe with her, where the history of Mary and Irene’s family, and their unwavering bond will be shared and remembered for generations to come.

Story by Michelle McSweeney, Chicago, Illinois

Holocaust and World War II Victims TracingThe events of the Holocaust and World War II left a scarred and broken world. While Europe began to slowly repair itself, many of those cruelly teargeted by the Nazi regime still suffered from their separtion from loved one. Following World War II, the International Committee of the Red Cross along with the Red Cross Movement worked to reconnect families and clarify the fate of loved ones. This work continues to this day.

The American Red Cross is still able to help those affected by the Holocaust and World War II by searching for loved ones and pro-viding documentation on the fate of family. As there is no single list compiled of Holocaust victims or surviviros, the American Red Cross in partnership with other organizations, work to provide information - piecing together the information from the time period to provide a picture of what happened and locate surviving family members when possible.

No one should have to bear the burden of not knowing the fate of their family. The Red Cross can help alleviate this suffering.

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Discovering the Fate of his Father: Mike Piorkowski’s Quest of 60 YearsMike’s story began in August 1944 when he was just 14 and he and his father, Stanislaw, were seized by the German army. “I was in an under-ground bomb shelter protecting us from Russian shelling in my home town of Kregi, Poland when I saw my father being taken by the Germans. I raced out to try to rescue him, but was captured instead.” Thus began an eight-month nightmare of forced marches, packed railroad cattle cars, slave labor, little rest or sleep and near starvation con-ditions.

Finally, in April of 1945, as their German captors were retreating from the advancing American troops, Mike and his father escaped -- but not before being nearly gunned-down by the Allies, shot at by the Germans and attacked with scald-ing water by a German civilian!

Though father and son were now free, this was not to be an entirely happy ending. Just after Ger-many surrendered, Mike’s father became sick and Mike took him to a hospital in Halberstadt, Ger-many, which was, at that point, in a British Zone. Several weeks later, when the area was designat-ed as a Russian Zone, Mike was evacuated from Schoningen, the village where he and his father had escaped, to the Delingson Displaced Per-sons Camp in the British Designated Occupation Zone, some 100km from Halberstadt. He never saw his father again.

“My father and I overcame terrible conditions to-gether for eight months. We were made to travel from Kregi, Poland to Halberstadt, Germany, with many detours along the way. During that time we were forced to walk for 600 km, just to be sepa-rated forever at the end of the war.”In 1951, Mike’s mother contacted the Red Cross in Holland requesting that they try to locate his fa-ther. Mike tried to complete the questionnaire, but all that he could tell them was that he had seen his father in a hospital in Halberstadt three days before he was evacuated. Unfortunately, this was

not enough, as the hospital was in the Russian zone and information was not being released. In 1956, Stanislaw Piorkowski was officially de-clared missing.

“Though only 15 at the time, I feel guilty that I could not help him… It has weighed heavily on my conscience.” For 69 years Mike has wondered what happened to his father. Did he recover? Was he imprisoned? Did he live or die?

In September of 2013, while writing a summary for his son and grandson of what had happened those many years ago, he decided to try one more time. “I felt I was getting old. I had to do something.” So, Mike called the Red Cross of Northern New Jersey. He reached Terri Illes, the region’s International Services manager, asking

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her if, after all this time, the Red Cross might be able to help him in his quest to learn of his fa-ther’s fate. Terri forwarded Mike’s request to her volunteer assistant for Restoring Family Links, Hank Bernstein, and thus began the Red Cross’ search.

“I called Mike,” said Hank, “and he related his har-rowing experience during the war, the long march and the separation from his father. I then drafted the Tracing Request, with the support of Leslie Cartier, a virtual volunteer with Nation-al Headquarters, and submitted the inqui-ry. The request was then forwarded to the International Tracing Service and to our Red Cross partners in Poland and Germa-ny. I told Mr. Piorkow-ski that his case was in progress and while we were hopeful, it was possible that the search would not bear fruit. Mike was, nevertheless grateful for our willingness to try.”

Several months passed and then in March of 2014, great news - a notification from the German Red Cross. They had determined when and where Mr. Piorkowski had died - in July of 1945, in the hospital in Halberstadt where Mike had taken him, just three months after he last saw him. They had even obtained a copy of the death certificate. Hank delivered this to Mike who was tremendously grateful for the news and the efforts of the Red Cross.

But the story doesn’t end here. While talking with Hank, Mike mentioned, in an off-hand way, that he would have liked to know where his father might be buried. So, Hank had a thought, might the German Red Cross conduct a search of cemeter-ies in Halberstadt to see if Mr. Piorkowski’s father was buried in one of them? National agreed and forwarded this new request to the German Red Cross.

And in July, the re-sponse came. Not only had our German counterparts found the grave site, but they took a picture of it! And in September, the final piece of the puzzle, the cause of death, sepsis, was identified. Information from the International Tracing Service and Polish Red Cross confirmed much of the above.

Mike shared the sense of closure that came with the results. “After 60 years my mission is accomplished. Now my heart is at peace knowing where my father is buried. .. Finally, I know the cause of his death.

Once more, thank you very much. Great job!

Sincerely, Mieczyslaw Piorkowski.”

“Not every case turns out this well,” remarked Hank. “It is very gratifying when we can deliver such important and comforting news to a Client.”

Story by Hank Bernstein, Princeton, New Jersey

Mike Piorkowski’s father’s gravesite

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Uncovering What One’s Family History Can MeanOn June 6, 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, and attacked Adolf Hitler’s forces. Thousands of American, British, and Canadian troops lost their lives in the intense fighting, but even-tually the Allied forces won the battle. This marked a turning point in World War II, putting a crack in Hitler’s control of France. One year later, the Germans would surrender, ending the war in Europe and putting an end to the Holocaust.

When remembering the Holocaust and the millions who lost their lives, let’s take a moment to also remember how the Red Cross has helped the world heal from this tragedy. The American Red Cross has been providing tracing services for victims of WWII and the Nazi regime since 1939. Following the release of WWII documents to the Red Cross in 1989, the American Red Cross opened its Ho-locaust and War Victims Tracing Center in Baltimore, Maryland in 1990 to facilitate Holocaust Tracing requests. Since then, the Red Cross has helped more than 45,000 families locate or find information about people separated by the Holocaust.

While the Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center closed in 2012, all WWII related casework continues through the Restoring Family Links Program at American Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, DC. The program helps search for missing family members and obtain documentation on the wartime and post-wartime experiences of family members. This service is not for genealogical traces, but may be done on behalf of family members with direct ties to victims of the Holocaust.

For Georgia Hunter, finding out about her unusual family history began when she was given a home-work assignment by a high school English teacher. The assignment was to do an “I-Search” to look back at her ancestry. Her mother suggested she begin her search by speaking with her grandmother. Little did Georgia know what that conversation would reveal.

Georgia’s grandfather had recently died and the story her grandmother began to share was not some-

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thing she had ever imagined. She learned that her grandfather was both Polish and Jewish. She was struck by how difficult his life had been. Georgia’s grandmother encouraged her to speak to her grandfather’s siblings to find more pieces of the story.

Her interest was sparked well beyond that high school project and in 2000, when Georgia was a new college graduate, she found herself at a fam-ily reunion with her extended family. She recalls sitting at the table listening to snippets of stories about her grandfather and the other siblings and how they survived the war with determination, courage, cleverness and amazing good fortune. It is a story that spans five continents and has many twists and turns.

Georgia continued to collect family stories, trav-eling many miles to put them all together. She found the memories had holes here and there; understandably after all the time that had passed, many details are fuzzy and pieces forgotten. On behalf of her grandfather’s siblings, she decided to also reach out to the Red Cross to see what information they may be able to provide.

Georgia contacted the Red Cross by mail in 2011, in hopes of tracking down family records. Though several years passed, in 2014, an en-

velope filled with documents arrived at the local Red Cross office in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Georgia received a call from a Restoring Family Links caseworker in Connecticut and soon re-ceived the records sent by the Polish Red Cross.

The documents included birth certificates from a Registry Office in Radom (the family’s hometown in Poland); applications for identification cards during Radom’s Nazi occupation, marked with the seal of the Supreme Council of Elders of the Jewish Population; and a record of a sibling regis-tered as a survivor in 1946 with the Jewish His-torical Institute in Warsaw. These records, from all over Poland, provide a few more pieces of history, forgotten no longer, now documented, tangible.

There are fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors left to tell their stories so now is the time to pre-serve the memories and encourage anyone who does not know the fate of their loved ones be-cause of the Holocaust to initiate a case through the American Red Cross. The American Red Cross Restoring Family Links program provides tracing services for Holocaust survivors and their families, working to provide hope, information and answers.

Story by Jan Radke, Hartford, Connecticut

Georgia Hunter with Restoring Family Links Caseworker, Jan Radke and some of the documentation from Poland.

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A Day in the Life of a Family Links CaseworkerWhile families around the world are able to communicate with each other on a daily basis if they like, the American Red Cross is busy at work reconnecting families separated by conflict, disaster, migra-tion, and other humanitarian emergencies. Although each case is unique – there is no such thing as a “typical” case – we wanted to share this story as an illustration of how the Red Cross works to recon-nect loved ones scattered around the globe.

The Restoring Family Links program is extensive, and it is a complex process to obtain the right com-bination of information needed to reconnect families who have often been separated across years and thousands of miles. In this particular case, an elderly Russian woman hand-wrote a letter to the Red Cross Mile High Chapter, inquiring about her brother who went missing during World War II. Robbe Sokolove, a Red Cross Restoring Family Links volunteer caseworker, got the letter translated from Russian to English and then met with the woman to collect additional information that would be help-ful for the Red Cross to start searching for the long-lost relatives.

During this interview, Robbe found that the woman’s brother was married and had a child. So, she opened three cases: one for the woman’s brother, another for his wife, and the last for his child. The inquirer explained that her brother was a shoe salesman, and left for work one day and was never seen again. Robbe asked her to point on a map where she thinks he may have gone missing, as she vaguely remembered his driving route. Her brother was Jewish, so she believes that he may have been taken or perhaps perished in a bombing raid that occurred around that time.

Robbe submitted an official family tracing case through the American Red Cross. Once a tracing case

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is initiated, the inquiry is forwarded to national Red Cross societies in the countries where the missing person was last seen and/or where he or she may have relocated. This case was also forwarded to the International Tracing Services, an international tracing office that specializes in cases that have a tie to the Holocaust.

In January, the American Red Cross received information from the Russian Red Cross regarding the Russian woman’s sister-in-law and niece. It was only one small, initial clue towards the broader puzzle: a record that the sister-in-law had been evacuated during WWII. Members of the Restoring Family Links team then set out to deliver the message by hand to the woman.

The message was written in Russian, therefore the team knew a general idea of what the form con-tained but was not privy to the full content. “With WWII cases, we deliver each individual piece of information as it comes along, because many of the inquirers are elderly and it can be a lengthy inves-tigative process to track down the whereabouts of someone who disappeared so long ago,” explained Tim Bothe, who oversees the Restoring Family Links program in Colorado.

When the Restoring Family Links team arrived at the adult day care center in Denver where the Rus-sian woman spends many of her days, the woman seemed anxious and excited, and reached out to read the international tracing message immediately, trying to make sense of the information. Jon Dil-lon, Caseworker and Outreach Associate for Restoring Family Links at American Red Cross National Headquarters, patiently explained in English that it was only preliminary information, and that as the Red Cross continued to find clues to the mystery of her brother and his family, they would continue to deliver each article of news, piece by piece.

There are several obstacles that can occur within a case. First, language is often an issue. Many people seeking to reconnect with their families abroad are refugees learning English as a second language. This barrier is always a consideration for Restoring Family Links staff, and they utilize all the tools available to them to be able to communicate effectively with our clients. In this case, Jon com-municated with the woman through the assistance of Russian-speaking staff at the day care center.

Managing expectations can also be an issue, as locating missing family members can be a long pro-cess. Months can pass as Red Cross workers in far distant countries and here in the US exhaust all possible measures to find information on the whereabouts of missing family. Tim Bothe explained that Red Cross caseworkers seek to update clients on a regular basis after the case is initiated, even if no new information has been found, to reassure the client that the case is still open.

When information is found, caseworkers usually deliver the updates in person. Sometimes, unfortu-nately, there just isn’t enough information or the trail has gone cold, and a case hits a dead end. But in many cases, Restoring Family Links efforts result in reconnecting long-lost family members – or, at the very least, uncovering new information that helps the seeking family member gain peace of mind about where their loved one went after the separation.

After Jon was finished speaking with the Russian woman, she seemed grateful and thanked him for delivering the news to her. The case is not solved yet, but the information given to her provides com-fort that the Red Cross is moving forward, making progress and will continue to trace family links until all measures have been exhausted.

Story by Jessica Murison, Denver, Colorado

Reconnecting after over Six DecadesAt the onset of World War II, Michael Chudik left Poland for the United States. As the war continued, bat-tles between Nazi and Soviet forces destroyed the village of Smereczne that Michael’s family, including his brother Nicolas, called home. Many villagers were relocated to Ukraine as part of an exchange of popula-tions between the Soviet Union and Poland.

For more than 60 years, attempts made by Michael’s family in the United States to locate their relatives in Ukraine were unsuccessful until Michael’s daughter Dorothy and her cousin John sought the help of the American Red Cross.

“The American Red Cross helps reconnect families who have been separated because of natural disasters or war or other kinds of conflicts,” said Hank Bernstein, the volunteer caseworker who worked on Dorothy and John’s case. “In those situations, one of the great emotional issues that people face is the loss of con-tact with their relatives. The Red Cross provides a service to link them together.”

Once the case was initiated, the Red Cross worked to locate Dorothy and John’s family. After several months, the Red Cross found Dorothy’s cousin Ivanna and her granddaughter Viktoriya in Ukraine.

“Hank called me and said ‘We got a connection,’” Dorothy recalled. “And goodness, it was the greatest thing that anyone could have ever told me.”

In February, Bernstein set up a Skype call to connect Dorothy in New Jersey and John in Wisconsin with their family in Ukraine. With the help of a volunteer translator, Dorothy and John were able to see and com-municate with the family they had been unable to reach for decades. During the call, the family was able to share photographs and help fill in the missing pieces of their family tree. Dorothy was relieved to find out that her father’s family was alive and well.

“To know they are fine and living and have children and grandchildren is just great. It really is wonderful,” she said. “I am so grateful to the Red Cross - extremely grateful.”

Bernstein was happy he could help bring the family back together through the Red Cross Restoring Family Links service. “It’s a very rewarding experience,” he said. “It’s been very meaningful to me to help do some-thing to help others.”

Story by Erica Viviani, Princeton, New Jersey

Restoring Family Links Clients, Dorothy and John, speaks with her family in Ukraine for the first time.

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Red Cross Reconnects Family HistoryWarsaw, Poland 1939: Polish Army Corporal Boleslaw Joseph Obst was detained by Nazis and sentenced to Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp. World War II raged on and when the Red Army advanced he was marched to Flossenberg Concentration Camp in Germany. It was there that Obst wrote his last letter to his family. Shortly after that the family was notified that he had died in the concentration camp.

Jump to 2013: Genofewa Tonder, Obst’s daugh-ter, received a death certificate from the state of Virginia stating that Boleslaw Joseph Obst died in 1997 at the age of 85 in Richmond, Virginia. The family never knew he had survived the war and that he had lived in the United States as an Amer-ican citizen for more than 50 years.

In April 2013, James Griffith, American Red Cross Restoring Family Links Caseworker, re-ceived an email from Dawid Kufel, a foreign exchange student from Poland living in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The email told how the family was very surprised to find that their patriarch had actually survived the concentration camps and instead died in the United States. They had tried unsuccessfully to get additional information and hoped that the Red Cross would be able to help them fill in the missing years. Dawid in particular wanted to learn more about his grandfather.

“The fact that [Obst] had died here in the United States meant that there had to be some kind of information about him, some kind of outline of his past to fill the gaps,” said Griffith. “It was a puzzle that I felt needed to be put together.”

Griffith found that Obst had been liberated by the U.S. Army 90th Infantry Division April 23, 1945. He then traveled to the United States as a refu-gee under the International Refugee Organization.

With the help of Richmond Times Dispatch Newspaper archivist Ellen Robertson, they locat-ed the grave site and documented that he had worked for more than 30 years as a baker, never

remarried and died June 2, 1997, in Richmond, Virginia.

The family was given the information and in June 2013 Dawid Kufel traveled to Richmond, Va. to visit the grave site of the grandfather he never knew. In an email, Kufel expressed his thanks to the Red Cross. “It gives us a good feeling that we were able to find something about my grandfa-ther’s past,” he said. “It is sad that we didn’t have a chance to know him but at least we know what happened.”

When it was all said and done Griffith was able to sit back with some satisfaction knowing that he had brought closure to the family. “It’s really sad that neither side of the family knew the other was alive all those years,” he said. “But it’s really good that we were able to help bring them a little closer together.”

Story by Bill Fortune, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Dawid Kufel, Grandson kneels at theheadstone of his grandfather in Richmond.

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Red Cross Restores Family ConnectionAs a part of the International Red Cross Red Crescent community, each American Red Cross chapter plays a key role in the Restoring Family Links program. During the chaos and confusion of war, disas-ter and migration, families often become separated and the Red Cross uses its international connec-tions to help these families find each other and reconnect. The American Red Cross of Massachu-setts had the opportunity to help a local Chelmsford resident, Yakov Maknovskiy.

Maknovskiy has lived in the United States ever since he fled Ukraine when the Nazis invaded his country in the early 1940’s when he was only three years old. While Maknovskiy’s immediate family made a harrowing escape that included German airplanes dive-bombing the train he and his family rode to escape, other members of his extended family were not so lucky. In the chaos of World War II and the years following, Maknovskiy lost touch with his family members that remained in the Ukraine. After hearing of a cousin’s death, Yakov learned that his deceased cousin had a daughter, named Nina, who had married and left the Ukraine for Azerbaijan.

Earlier this year, Maknovskiy came to the Red Cross with only the names and the general occupations of Nina and her two sons asking for us to help reconnect them. The case was sent to the Azerbai-jan Red Crescent Society, who managed to track down Nina. Maknovskiy and his son, Leonid, were informed of the good news just a month after he originally contacted the Red Cross. After finding one another, Maknovskiy and his niece Nina have continued communicating via mail, email, phone, and even Skype.

Reconnecting Maknovskiy with his family perfectly exemplifies the American Red Cross’ mission to alleviate human suffering by utilizing the valuable work of our volunteers, the generous donations of our supporters, and our international partners.

Story by Lynn Levnie, Boston, Massachusetts

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Thank you!Dear Reader,

Thank you for your support of the Restoring Family Links program at the American Red Cross. It is through the dedication of volunteers and passionate supporters like you that make this work possible. Whether you have personally experienced family separation or not, everyone can empathize with the pain of not knowing the fate or whereabouts of a loved one.

As is increasingly the motto of the program - “Everybody has a mother.” And whether it be a mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, cousin, or whoever you consider family, everyone should be able to commu-nicate with them in times of crisis and conflict. The American Red Cross along with the global Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is there to stand by you, your family, and help reconnect.

If you or someone you know has lost contact with family due to conflict, disaster, migration, or other hu-manitarian emergencies, please, reach out to your local chapter of the American Red Cross. You can also start your search online today by visiting redcross.org/reconnectingfamilies. If you are connected with your loved ones, but want to continue your support of the Restoring Family Links program, please consider donating your time or money to this work. You can learn more about how you can be involved at redcross.org/reconnectingfamilies.

Again, thank you for all you do to help the Red Cross reconnect families.

Sincerely,

Kathleen SalanikDirector, Restoring Family Links