Uniting Refugee Families Again

Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Gillian Woodward.

Voice 2

And I’m Roger Basick. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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“It was morning. I was out collecting water. Then I heard the guns. I heard my family shout and cry for help. But the soldiers were everywhere. I saw everything. I ran for my life. I do not know where, but I got away. I found a place to hide. I was safe. But what about my family? Something told me they were still alive. So, I went back for them. But they were gone. I had no home, no family. There was no one to help me.”

Voice 1

This is the story of a woman named Estelle. After this experience, she was a refugee. She did not know where her family was. She did not know how to find them. However, in 2012 she heard about REFUNITE, an NGO, or non-governmental organization. REFUNITE which stands for ‘refugees united,” a group that believes everyone has the right to know where their family is.  She used their free online program. Soon Estelle received an SMS text message from her sister. Her sister was living only five kilometers away. Together they are now using the REFUNITE program to look for other family members.

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How does this program work to bring families back together? Today’s Spotlight is on the organization REFUNITE.

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, says that there are more forced to leave their homes than 120 million people who are forcibly displaced worldwide. These people have been. UNHCR classifies 42 million of them as refugees living outside their homeland. They have experienced many difficult things like war and hunger. Nearly half of the displaced are children below the age of 18 years old. Colombia, Germany, Türkiye, Iran, and Uganda host over one-third of the world’s refugees and other displaced people. But refugees are found in over 101 different countries. The problem of refugees is a very large one. It affects people all over the world.

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Christopher and David Mickelson are brothers from Denmark. In 2005 they met a young man named Mansour. He was a refugee from Afghanistan. He had not seen his family for five years. He did not know where they were. He did not even know if they were alive or dead. The Mickelson brothers started to help Mansoor. They visited different refugee organizations. Some organizations such as the Red Cross try to reunite refugee families. But this process can be long and difficult. No one was able to help Mansoor. Finally, without the help of other organizations, they found Mansoor’s brother in Pakistan.

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Later David Mickelson said that this experience gave him very strong feelings. He thought about how he would feel if he lost his brother. David and Christopher Mickelson then decided that they wanted to help more people. They wanted to use technology to help refugee families. So, they created a space on the internet where refugees could find each other. They named their organization REFUNITE.

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It is a very simple system. A person enters information about herself. This is called creating a profile. Then other people can easily find her. And she can also search for other people who have also made profiles. REFUNITE works through the internet. People can use a computer to get to the program.

Voice 1

But the Mickelsons wanted everyone to be able to use this technology. So they also made it possible to use the site on a mobile phone. People can even enter their information or search through text messages. In this way most people in the world can use the program on the REFUNITE website. David Mickelson explains how the program works:

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“REFUNITE is an online global tool. People can go in and make a profile. They can search for lost loved ones. They can do it online or they can do it through their mobile phone. You only give out the information that you are comfortable with. You can put in the first letters of your name, your religious leader’s name, or what tribe you are from. In most cases as a refugee, you are just sitting around waiting for nothing. And here refugees can actually take charge of their own situation.”

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Some refugees come from very dangerous situations. They must be careful to protect themselves. They cannot give too much personal information online. That is why REFUNITE suggests people give information that only family members will know. These are things such as where a person was born or what is a person’s favorite food or sport. Many people have had success after making a profile with REFUNITE. One woman shares her story on a video:

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“A priest from my country told me about REFUNITE. I made my profile. I wrote my name. I wrote what I did in my country. And after three days my sister Denise was there. Somebody tells you your sister is here. I can help you to communicate and it’s free. It means I am not alone anymore. Denise is not alone anymore. Now I can sleep. I can sleep knowing Denise is there like this woman.”

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Many refugees are lonely. They may live in a foreign country. They may not know how to make their situation better. Christopher Mickelson explains how REFUNITE helps people work together:

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“The mission of REFUNITE is to help refugees to be active players in the process of finding family. It is about one thing: you cannot find your family. Let us try and work on that. This is what we can do. And this is how we can help you help yourself.”

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Organizations that work with refugees can also use the search tool. The Mickelsons have formed partnerships with businesses and organizations such as Google, Ericsson, IKEA, and the Red Cross. They hope this will help them unite even more refugees with their families. To visit the REFUNITE site, you may use this link: www.refunite.org.

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The work of REFUNITE gives hope to people who cannot find their families. Biyarhanga Kisembo from the Congo does not know where his father is. He is one of thousands of people waiting for news. But REFUNITE has given people an active way to wait. Kisembo told REFUNITE:

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“By myself alone, I am hopeless to find my dad, but with REFUNITE I have some hope.”

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Do you know people in your community who have been refugees?  How did they stay connected to their family members in other countries? How may you help them feel welcome and “at home” in your community? You can leave a comment on our website at www.spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and X. You can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

Voice 1

The original writer of this program was Rena Dam. It was revised and updated by Spotlight staff. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight.  No AI, or artificial intelligence was used in this program.  Spotlight programs are written, voiced, and produced by real people for real people, no matter where in the world they live.  You can listen to this program again and read it on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.org. The program is called “Uniting Refugee Families Again.”

Voice 2

We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.

Goodbye.

Question:

Do you know people in your community who have been refugees?  How did they stay connected to their family members in other countries? How may you help them feel welcome and “at home” in your community?