Kin missing abroad? Contact Red Cross

those missing abroad and reunites them with their families.

The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS),with a network of 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC),traces the missing persons with the help of its ‘family news service’ (FNS).

Nicolas,a Switzerland-based facilitator of the ICRC,was in Chandigarh on Thursday to create awareness about the service and sensitise and train the staff in Punjab.

He said they offered services wherever there was a need. Besides illegal migrants,he said,the FNS was also provided to victims of human trafficking,armed conflicts and natural disasters. “The Indian Red Cross is gradually building capacity to promote the service,” he added.

When asked if Punjab Red Cross had enough manpower and infrastructure for the service,Nicolas said there were resource constraints,but a lot could be achieved if district branches worked actively.

The problem of illegal migration is acute in Punjab. “Many bound for Europe land in Ukraine detention camps,where among other problems they hit a language barrier.

Here,Red Cross volunteers step in and send their messages to India,” said Nicolas.

As a first step,the relatives of missing persons should contact the local IRCS office,where their request will be discussed in confidence. They will be assisted in filling up a ‘tracing form’,which will be sent to the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies and ICRC of the country they think their kin may be in.

If the Red Cross is successful in tracing the missing person,information is channelled back to the family. The Red Cross message is an unsealed letter that can be read by the authorities.

“Migration does not mean happiness,” said Nicolas,giving a low-down on the problems faced by illegal migrants. “They not only get a traditional shock,but also suffer from xenophobia. But we can only suggest the authorities to repatriate them,and do not have powers to take action on our own.”

According to him,nearly 1.2 lakh illegal migrants cross the Mediterranean sea every year to enter Europe,and 2,000 of them die.

About Pakistanis detained in India and vice-versa,he said: “This is a different story,as various legal procedures are involved. But if Indian Red Cross volunteers can get access to Pak detainees and take permission from the authorities to send a message (to their families),these people can also be helped.”

When asked if the Red Cross was also providing help to children and the elderly abandoned abroad,he said they had been working with unaccompanied minors staying at childcare centres,as it was difficult to locate children abandoned on the streets for subsequent correspondence.

Due to resource constraints,he said,the service had not been extended to the elderly. “But if volunteers come forward,they could be helped too,” Nicolas added.