Wanted: family members and volunteers
Since the beginning of 2023, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders already helped 152 people - mostly refugees - in their search for lost relatives.
Belgian Red Cross-Flanders has been contributing to the International Red Cross Movement's Restoring Family Links project for more than 85 years. Through that service, the Red Cross provides free assistance around the world to people - mostly refugees - whose family members have gone missing.
For 5 years we have seen an increase in the number of detection cases, a logical consequence of the increasing number of refugees.
"By comparison, in 2018 we had 174 'cases' out of an entire year. Since then, that number has increased every year, so it has almost doubled in the meantime. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has calculated that some 110 million people worldwide have currently had to leave their homes due to wars, conflicts, persecution or violence. That's about 20 million more than a year earlier and thus the highest number ever." Marijke Peys, Head of Restoring Family Links (Belgian Red Cross-Flanders)
The conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan and Syria, among others, as well as the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, have caused these numbers to rise so sharply in recent years. So at the Restoring Family Links department of Belgian Red Cross-Flanders , they see many Afghans asking for help in searching for their missing family members.
"Because our clients are looking for one or more family members who could basically be anywhere, it is often searching for a needle in a haystack. But the international Red Cross movement - meaning all Restoring Family Links departments combined - finds one missing person about every hour." Marijke Peys, Head of Restoring Family Links (Belgian Red Cross-Flanders)
Helping Hands
In order to cope with the increasing number of requests, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders plans to open a satellite office for their "Restoring Family Links" department within a few weeks, somewhere in the region between Bruges and Ghent. And for that, the organization is still looking for a number of West and East Flemish helping hands.
"We are looking for volunteers who want to commit at least 6 hours a week, to help search for the missing family members. People who, on the one hand, can have sensitive conversations with the refugees looking for help and, on the other hand, also follow up on the files afterwards. The only requirement is that you can speak Dutch and English. You will receive all necessary training, such as interview techniques, how detection works and how you can provide psychosocial support. Your travel expenses will of course be reimbursed, but the main motivation must of course be the satisfaction you get from the work. The feeling you get when you have been able to reconnect lost family members, that is indescribable." Marijke Peys, Head of Restoring Family Links (Belgian Red Cross-Flanders)
