Red Cross - Restoring Family Links

"I Am Alive."

The family messages transmitted by the Red Cross 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.


Armed conflict and natural disaster leave millions of people around the globe in urgent need of humanitarian assistance every year. Adding to the physical losses, the confusion and chaos surrounding war and natural disasters often separates families when they need each other most. Tragically, when families and loved ones are separated by war or disaster, their suffering is greater.


But, through the strength of the Red Cross Movement and the work of tracing volunteers at national societies around the world, including the American Red Cross, families reconnect.
American Red Cross International Family Tracing Services accepts tracing cases and traces sought persons when:

• Families have been separated as a result of either armed conflict or disaster.
  As much as possible, families should have tried normal channels of communication before requesting Red Cross tracing services.
  
• The family member making the inquiry provides essential information on the sought person.
  
• The family member making the inquiry is a close family relative, who has been in direct contact with the sought person before the conflict or disaster occurred.

To find out how the American Red Cross might be able to help link someone to their family, look at http://www.redcross.org. Conflict-affected countries include:

Congo - Democratic Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan.