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Reuniting War-Torn Families: American Red Cross Tracing Services
Written by
Mason Booth
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Friday, April 18, 2003 —
On March 26, the ICRC established a special tracing unit for Iraq at its training center in Ecogia, Switzerland to handle all requests from relatives around the world with loved ones in Iraq.
Photo Courtesy of the ICRC.
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As the major battles in Iraq and neighboring countries ease, the American Red Cross is readying itself to respond to global needs in the conflict’s aftermath. One program already active is the international family tracing and Red Cross Message services, designed to link families torn apart by emergencies.
”Whenever there is an armed conflict or natural disaster, residents may have had to flee at a moment’s notice, without time to give word to loved ones. Downed communications lines, refugee movement, and general chaos are just some of the circumstances that can make it difficult for families to locate one another,” said Beth Crean, international tracing associate for the American Red Cross.
Since 1905, the American Red Cross has helped connect residents of the United States with loved ones overseas by locating lost relatives, delivering Red Cross messages between separated loved ones, and reuniting war-torn families.
The organization is uniquely equipped to help through its nationwide network of more than 960 local chapters and its role in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, a global humanitarian effort with representatives in nearly every nation of the world.
How Tracing and Messaging Works
Requests for tracing and Red Cross Messages can originate overseas or in the United States, but all are channeled through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Cross partners around the world.
“For example, if there’s been a major earthquake in Turkey, a concerned relative living in America could contact their local Red Cross chapter to inquire about the well being of their family member in Turkey. The local Red Cross would then open a case for that inquiry,” explained Crean. “That request would travel to our staff at national headquarters in Washington, D.C., who would process it and then send it to the National Society in the affected area, which in this example would be the Turkish Red Crescent Society.”
From that point, the National Society works through a variety of resources to locate the sought relative.
“If a person overseas is looking for a loved one in the U.S., their request would go from their society to us. If the address of the sought person isn’t known, we research several agencies, such as the Postal Service, Department of Vital Statistics and the State Offices of Refugee Affairs, and the Internet, to find the person. If the sought person’s address is known, we deliver the message from their loved one, and they can decide if they would like to respond,” said Crean.
Special Circumstances of War and the ICRC
Although the American Red Cross provides tracing and Red Cross Message services for a variety of emergencies, the majority of requests are triggered by war, armed conflict and political upheaval.
”In any conflict situation, residents may be forced to drop everything and run, many times not finding safety until they reach another country,” said Mark Owens, tracing associate for East and Central Africa. “At the same time, dangerous conditions on the ground may prevent the National Society in the area from conducting its humanitarian work.”
Because of the global impact of armed conflict, and the potential involvement of many different National Societies, the lead humanitarian agency for tracing and Red Cross messages during times of war is the International Committee of the Red Cross, based in Geneva.
Relatives concerned about loved ones in Iraq can register on the ICRC Arabic/English Restoring Family Links Web site at http://www.familylinks.icrc.org
so that civilian family members in Iraq will know how to contact them.
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Owens has witnessed first-hand the difficulties presented during times of conflict in his work with Sudanese refugees.
“After violence erupted in Sudan, many refugees were relocated to the United States. Once they were here, though, they continued to suffer because they were so worried about loved ones back home. Many have turned to the American Red Cross for help,” Owens said.
After collecting messages from the refugees, the American Red Cross passes them to the ICRC, which has been monitoring the situation in Sudan since conflict began more than 20 years ago.
”Dangerous conditions have prevented ICRC staff from accessing many villages in Sudan, but the ICRC has been providing assistance and monitoring the population at refugee camps in surrounding countries, where hundreds of thousands of Sudanese residents have fled,” said Owens.
If the sought relative safely reached the camps, they may receive the Red Cross message and respond.
”It is an amazing thing to help these families reach other -- families who have endured so much and are so far away from one another” said Owens. “As few as three simple words - like ‘I am alive’- can ease their suffering.”
In addition to access to refugee camps, the ICRC also holds a vast collection of documents critical in tracing efforts, such as archives, documents and files used to link families torn apart by the atrocities of World War II. Microfilm copies of files, released by the former Soviet Union to the ICRC, contain information about more than 130,000 people detained for forced labor and 46 death books containing 74,000 names from Auschwitz.
The largest source of information made available since the end of World War II, the access to these documents prompted the establishment of the American Red Cross Holocaust and War Victims Tracing Center in Baltimore, Md.
”For many of these people, just knowing what happened to their relatives, even if there were no survivors, provides a sense of closure. Many say not knowing is the worst part,” said Crean.
The Conflict in Iraq
As the ground situation in Iraq stabilizes, tracing and message services have gained momentum, with more than 400 requests a day pouring into the ICRC.
To centralize the family links requests, the ICRC set up a special tracing unit for Iraq at its training center in Ecogia, Switzerland on March 26. The unit comprises more than 50 people, mainly English/Arabic translators, data entry operators, IT technicians and specialists in detention-related and tracing activities.
More than 50 people, many of whom are English/Arabic translators, staff the ICRC tracing unit specialized for Iraq.
Photo Courtesy of the ICRC.
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Relatives in the United States may register themselves on the ICRC Arabic/English Restoring Family Links Web site at http://www.familylinks.icrc.org so that civilian family members in Iraq will know how to contact them when communications lines in the region are restored.
Within the next few weeks, ICRC delegates in Iraq will begin to collect hand written Safe and Well messages, a limited form of correspondence from Iraqi citizens that can be delivered quickly.
”Standard messages contain a few paragraphs of personal information about the person who initiated the process,” said Crean. “Those messages must be monitored by the responding Red Cross and Red Crescent partners to ensure the content isn’t illegal, dangerous or abusive.”
Safe and Well messages simply contain the requestor’s information and the address of the intended recipient.
”These messages are then stamped with “Safe and Well” and can be expedited because there’s no content to monitor,” Crean explained. “The stamp says it all.”
In the meantime, the ICRC team in Baghdad is collecting verbal Safe and Well messages, which are emailed to the ICRC headquarters in Geneva, and then forwarded to the respective National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which inform the families. The ICRC has been able to send 800 Safe and Well messages out of Iraq to other national societies.
”We’ve already received over 100 of these electronic Safe and Well messages here in the United States,” said Crean. “Even though the recipient doesn’t receive a handwritten note, just knowing their loved one in Iraq is alive can make all the difference in the world.”
You can help those affected by this crisis and countless others around the world each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. Donations to the International Response Fund can be mailed to your local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Secure online credit card donations can be made by visiting www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html.
You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year, crises like the Myanmar Cyclone and China Earthquake, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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