Together at last: UNICEF's work in reunifying families

Season 1, episode 6

Together at last: UNICEF's work in reunifying families

Witness an emotional family reunification and learn about the difficult work that UNICEF does to reunite families that have been separated by conflict or natural disasters.

Producer: Victoria Ptashnick

Episode Transcript: 

[00:00:00.00] [MUSIC PLAYING]

[00:00:01.68] Hi, I'm Rowena Pinto, chief program officer here at UNICEF Canada, and you're listening to For Every Child Podcast. Some of you might be wondering where David Morley is, who is our regular host. He is currently in Honduras viewing some of the amazing work UNICEF is doing to support the child migrants in that area.

[00:00:26.67] In most emergencies, whether it's a natural disaster or an outbreak of armed conflict, there's a possibility that children will be separated from their families as they flee for safety. Can you imagine being separated from your parents during one of the scariest times of your life, whether it be an earthquake or a conflict? In the aftermath of a sudden emergency, the conditions are not conducive for a child to easily be reunited with their families, making them very vulnerable to exploitation and kidnapping and other terrible things.

[00:01:00.78] That's why the work UNICEF does in family reunification is so very important. Family reunification is an important part of UNICEF's work around the world, but in particular, in regions where conflicts are an issue for children and families. For instance, in April of just this year, UNICEF and its partners successfully reunited our 6,000th child in South Sudan.

[00:01:27.55] In this episode, we're going to take you with us on a journey to understand UNICEF's work in family reunification. We'll hear a moving story from a UNICEF staffer who uses his own experience with family separation to inspire the work he does today helping children reunite with their parents. We will also hear from a family tracing expert in South Sudan.

[00:01:50.11] Finally, we'll end the episode by bringing you to South Sudan where you'll witness an emotional family reuniting with UNICEF's help after years of painful separation. Stay with us as we take you on the special journey that highlights some of the most meaningful work UNICEF does on behalf of children.

[00:02:10.48] As you'll learn in this episode, reuniting families is challenging work, and nobody understands that the UNICEF staff who facilitate reunifications. [? Katua ?] Addison Garissa, a child protection officer in the Bor field office, is one of those individuals, and we have him here today. Hello, [? Katua. ?] Why don't you start by talking about how you came to do this sort of work?

[00:02:36.10] Based on my academic background, I did development studies at my university. I have a degree. It's basically dealing with that social work and social development. So I've had the passion, and I being one time a refugee, I saw and felt the plight of the children that are affected by the conflict.

[00:02:59.35] And I felt like maybe the only thing that I can do is also after graduating from school, I need to do something to support the vulnerable children and women within South Sudan. But the passion has really, really felt-- I felt when I joined UNICEF, and that's why I got the target that now working for UNICEF. Definitely, I'll be able to give back to the community, to the vulnerable children and women.

[00:03:26.59] So hold on a second, you yourself were a refugee uprooted by conflict? Please tell me your story.

[00:03:34.15] I'm a South Sudanese by nationality, but from a different state which is the former Western Equatoria State. So I became a refugee in 1989 up to 1999. That's almost a decade. I was a refugee in Congo, DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo. From DRC Congo, we went to Uganda to find a education. That's why I had the opportunity to further my academics up to a university. Then I came back to South Sudan.

[00:04:11.47] Wow, that's quite a journey. [? Katua, ?] I understand you were separated from your own father as you fled the conflict. Can you tell me about that?

[00:04:20.89] At the initial stage, we got separated when the war sparked or when the war reached our state, which is Western Equatoria in [? Iyandu, ?] Iyandu Town, Western Equatoria. Then, my father was not around. We were only with our mom, and I, coming from an extended family, we parted ways because of the gunshots, the heavy gunshots, the bombardment. All the children were running on their own.

[00:04:49.06] The good thing that happened, I may say, was that we decided to run to one of the Catholic churches that was within the town. That's why we got our mass. For that one day, we didn't know where the parents were. The parents were also looking for us, and then you also kind of crying all the time because it is the first experience that you have had to separate from your family members, especially the parents.

[00:05:17.92] So it wasn't that easy. It was not that easy because you are always shedding tears. You don't know what is happening to you, whether your parents are still alive. The bombardment is taking place. You see so many soldiers moving-- running up and down with a different camouflage uniform. So it wasn't that easy until the following day, that's when we were able to hear that our parents were already on their way transiting to DRC Congo.

[00:05:47.89] Then we were put into one of the Catholic Church vehicles that was transporting the children, especially, to the county that is neighboring DRC. That's where we found our mom, but for the father, for my dad, I was not able to meet my dad from 1989 until 1996. That's when I was able to see him again physically.

[00:06:18.12] Most people couldn't even imagine being separated from their child for even a short time. What was that like for you as a child being separated from your family?

[00:06:29.17] In that, the parental love, the parental care, the support, the emotional support that has been there all along is now cut off completely. You either remain with one parent, or you remain with the extended family member who may not be able to provide all the care that you need. So it wasn't that easy, and on the other side, it's-- I'm happy that with the experience that I went through I've been able to make it as a point that let me come back and help the vulnerable.

[00:07:06.27] I'm empathetic in ensuring that what I went through should not be the same thing that other children should be facing, at least if the services that are being provided. Why don't I'd be the first to offer the services to the vulnerable children. At least it may not be a wholesome package, but at least somehow they're able to know that there's somebody or there's an organization that is providing services to them.

[00:07:32.65] It's amazing you're able to help those children that have gone through the same thing as you have, and I'm so sorry that this happened to your family, [? Katua. ?] That must have been so terrifying for you, but wonderful that you got to reunite with your father. Can you tell me about seeing him again for the first time?

[00:07:51.64] When I met him, the first thing that happened was tears started running on my face, and my dad could not believe that it is Addison or it is Katua. So he hugged me and kept quiet for some long time before he could open and ask me, whom did you come with? How did you know that I still live in this place? So I stayed with him for one month. He told me that I have to go back to school because it's only education that can make me get out of the poverty-stricken life that we've been having.

[00:08:30.85] I'm so glad you were able to reunite with your father, and it's so admirable that you went back to finish your studies and that this now allows you to do reunification work yourself for UNICEF. On that subject, can you tell me about a reunification story that has really stayed with you.

[00:08:48.13] Yeah, one emotional one that I've had was on an 80-month-old baby girl who was abducted. You know, in [INAUDIBLE], yeah, in the [INAUDIBLE], we have these cattle raiders. Those who come and raid cattle. So when they miss the cattle, they will abduct children. So this baby girl was abducted when she was eight months old from the mother and was taken to the abductors area in one of the counties within [INAUDIBLE] here.

[00:09:27.79] This child had stayed in captivity or with the abductors for five years. The sixth year was when we were told that there's a child that has been recovered in that county. That is in Pibor county. You may not know, and then it is believed that this child originated from Bor county. What happened was now we started doing the tracing-- the family tracing of the parents inquiring who are those who have lost-- I mean, who was separated from their children.

[00:10:00.40] And then after the screening, we found that the parents and then the questions that were asked, the child had the features, had the mark at the back of the ear. And this one came from the grandfather. So this baby girl was so much attached to the grandfather. So he who is a blind man, he said, my granddaughter had a mark at the back of her ear. And if she is the one, then I'll be the happiest even if I pass away now.

[00:10:31.66] I have no problem. I'll be the happiest. So exactly after checking the baby girl who didn't know the mother tongue completely, we found out that this child had a mark at the back of the ear. Then this child was transferred from Pibor to Bor, and then the reunification was done in the presence of the state authority, the governor, the minister of social development, education, plus other humanitarian agencies that are operating here.

[00:10:59.29] What was that reunification like? The mother saw, she started crying immediately. A man who rarely cries, I have never witnessed a man crying. I saw the father of the girl shedding tears. The grandfather who is a religious man was praying in the mother tongue and as well shedding tears. It's like everything was just a-- I'm sorry it was more or less like mess.

[00:11:26.35] But I the emotional feeling in that environment was just filled with that emotion that everyone was crying, including even the wife of the governor shedded tears. Because imagine you get here-- you got lost. I mean, you separated with your child at that tender age of eight months. And again, getting the child at six YEARS it was not an easy thing.

[00:11:50.23] For those who could not control the tears, you could find that some of the humanitarian actors that were with us in the hall were also shedding tears, including the cameraman. I don't know what was happening, but to me as a child protection, because this is something that I've been doing, I had to control my emotion. But at the back of my mind, I was remembering what we went through.

[00:12:13.18] Wow, what an incredible moment for that family. It's obvious the work you do is emotionally difficult. What keeps you going?

[00:12:22.72] Humanity. When you assist a vulnerable client, vulnerable child, as what I've said, you are touching the heart of that child who will never forget you in his or her life. For me, I remain satisfied in that. I did something for the benefit of this vulnerable child. I know with time, this child will continue to remember me. It's all about humanity.

[00:12:51.99] What a beautiful reason to keep doing your work. Thank you so much, [? Katua, ?] for this interview and for all you do for children.

[00:13:00.07] Thank you.

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[00:13:07.09] In that interview with [? Katua, ?] you heard him mention family tracing, an integral element that goes into the very difficult and time consuming work UNICEF does to reunite a family. To help explain how family tracing assists in the reunification process, we have an expert who specializes in just that, [? Isma ?] Farhat who works out of South Sudan. Hi, [? Isma, ?] so let's start at the beginning. How do families get separated in the first place?

[00:13:38.19] So there are several reasons behind family separation, in general, but here more specifically in South Sudan, one of the most common reason for family separation it's because of conflict. So most of our cases, families have been separated during fightings whereby children and parents had to run away in different directions, and this is how they got separated.

[00:14:03.27] We have also other instances where families get separated because of security. So the parents send their children to some location for safety with relatives or some other members of the community, and then these members of community that shouldn't have to be displaced again running away from fighting, and this is where they lose contact with them with their parents. So mainly, the main drive here for family separation in South Sudan is conflict.

[00:14:32.42] In terms of the cases you've seen, how old are the children who tend to be separated from their families?

[00:14:39.65] We've had all kind of age ranges in our program. We even had toddlers who had been separated from their parents, and this is where these cases were extremely complex for us to trace the parents. But we had-- yeah, it ranges from one to two months to 17 or 18 years old. So, yeah, everyone as-- all children, unfortunately, are affected by this issue and families.

[00:15:11.84] I know family tracing is difficult. Can you explain the steps that are involved in tracing families to bring them back together?

[00:15:19.43] Yeah, so it's a very complex process and very lengthy process. I think it's really important to emphasize on the duration of the separation and how long it takes to find family members that we're looking for. So, basically, we as humanitarian actor and child protection actor, we intervene whenever the case is referred to us or we come across such cases.

[00:15:44.70] So this is what we call the identification step whereby unaccompanied or separated children are referred to us, or we come across this specific target population when we go into the communities. So after registration, the next step is we document the case, and during the documentation, we look at the tracing needs. So what kind of tracing should we look for?

[00:16:10.61] Should we look for a reunification with the primary caregiver. And if we do that, is it in the best interest of the child. Because, sometimes, we're looking for parents that are in or are believed to be in an area where there is still active conflict. In such cases, we would rather not reunify a child in an area where there is active conflict because we're putting the child at further risk.

[00:16:35.78] There's another option of restoring family links. Some children expressed the wish to know where their parents, but they don't want to be reunified immediately because they feel unsafe moving into the location where the parents are. In that case, we restore the family link. We look for the parents, and then we put them in contact. And then whenever they feel that this is the right moment to be reunified, we facilitate the reunification.

[00:17:03.32] Basically, we look at the tracing needs. What are the tracing needs. Should we reunify the child. Should we restore family link, or should we look for long-term care arrangements, like when they're very limited hope to find the parents. So this is where the tracing starts. So once we identified what are the needs, we start looking for the parents. So we have a big network here of different partners.

[00:17:30.83] Most of them are local NGOs who then once we provide them with the detailed information of the people we're looking for, they go and look for the parents within their communities. And so this is what we call the tracing, and then once we have the positive match, once the outcome of the tracing are positive, and we can proceed with the reunification, then we do the verification.

[00:17:57.36] So we verify from both ends that this is the person we were looking for. So basically, we start interviewing the adults, and we ask very specific questions to the adult, and then we-- based on these answers, we cross-check these answer with the children. So some of the questions can be what was the favorite dish of your child, and then we verify with the child.

[00:18:23.84] And then one of the steps of the verification is taking pictures of a group of children, and we ask the adults, can you show us which one is your child? So once we have the verification processes that is done, and the verification is positive, we proceed with the reunification. If the reunification can happen immediately, as I was saying, that it is safe for the child and it's in his best interest, then we facilitate this reunification and we bring families back together.

[00:18:52.54] That's amazing work you're doing, [? Isma, ?] but it's not easy, as you've described. What keeps you doing this difficult work for children?

[00:19:02.17] I don't know. I feel like every child has the right to be with his or her parents. So I mean, I think that's the worst thing that can happen to a child, and I think it's a duty to ensure that families are kept together. And I'm just thinking, if I had a child, and I would lose my child in a mall or supermarket, I would go crazy.

[00:19:25.79] So I'm thinking about the South Sudanese parents or children that have lost their children for years or months, and they don't even know if their child is safe and alive, that must be the most horrible thing. So we really need to-- we really ensure that this permit tracing program is happening fast and in the best interests of the child as well. And, yeah, I think it's a natural thing to ensure that children grow with their parents safe and protected.

[00:19:58.96] It absolutely is, [? Isma, ?] and your work is ensuring that. Thank you for all that you do.

[00:20:06.98] Thanks.

[00:20:16.20] Now that you've heard a little bit about family reunification, we wanted to bring one right to you. The sound you're hearing right now is a family of siblings who have been waiting for this moment for years. It has been years since [? Achaway ?] has seen her sister and brother, Mami and Deng.

[00:20:36.42] [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]

[00:20:39.66] She came to [? Juba ?] to study, and when fighting broke out, she could not find her siblings. In the meantime, their mother died during the conflict making the separation doubly painful for the siblings. We spoke to [? Achaway, ?] and this is what she had to say about the pain of being separated.

[00:20:58.36] It was very hard because I have no news about them, and I thought they are not alive. And I was like, I better die then I live alone in this world. Today, my brothers are right here in South Sudan in [? Juba. ?] I've been waiting for them for a long time since I left them in [? Malakal, ?] and I'm so happy today to see them again. And I will be with them forever and for good. I will look after them. I will do everything to make them happy.

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[00:21:47.16] That's the end of this podcast episode so we so hope you enjoyed listening. We're taking a break over the summer, but we'll be back with a second season this fall. UNICEF can't achieve the results it does without you. If you'd like to support some of the important work UNICEF is doing, please visit our website and consider buying a survival gift or becoming a monthly donor or visit our website, UNICEF.ca, to learn more about what UNICEF Canada is doing to save children's lives around the world. Thanks again for listening.

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