Red Cross observes Day of the Disappeared

By 2015, roughly 375 million people will be affected by climate-related disasters every year, 100 million more than were directly impacted last year.  And this does not count those affected by non-climate-related disasters such as earthquakes, conflicts and man-made disasters which are expected to affect many millions more.

These disasters often lead to separation of loved ones, leaving vulnerable people with no way to get in contact with those they have lost.

It’s important to remember though that behind that staggering number lies a story of a man, a woman or a child – someone who will have had a life, who had hopes and dreams and people they loved and who loved them.

Here in Canada, we may feel distant from these oversees conflicts and disasters. However, as one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the world, Canada welcomes almost a quarter of a million immigrants to Canada each year. Many of those arrive fleeing from disasters and separated from their loved ones.

Many, many of these people come from areas of strife so, very often, the pain of separation, of not knowing what happened to their loved ones left behind,  stays with them.

That’s why the International Committee of the Red Cross recognizes August 30 as the International Day of the Disappeared. This day is about creating awareness about the tragedy of disappeared people and the plight of their families.

Through our Restoring Family Links Program, the Canadian Red Cross reduces vulnerability, alleviates suffering and builds resilience within communities, families and individuals affected by family separation due to conflict, disaster and migration. We can help Canadians re-establish contact with family members missing abroad due to conflict, natural disasters, migration and other humanitarian crises.

Our international tracing and messaging program gives comfort to over 1,250 families per year living in Canada who have lost contact with loved ones abroad as a result of conflict or humanitarian crisis.
 
Learn more about what the ICRC and the Canadian Red Cross are doing help reunite families.
 

The ICRC launched the publication “Living with absence: Helping the families of the missing” to mark the Day of the Disappeared.