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Phyllis Kachere
Deputy Editor (Convergence)
In a case of sheer coincidence and good luck, a 60-year-old Democratic Republic of Congo citizen, Mrs Asta Namirenge, of the Uvira area in South Kivu province, who is now resident at Tongogara Refugee Settlement, southeast of Zimbabwe, has been reunited with her grandson Lukogo Byamungu, now nine years old.
“Our village was attacked by rebels who demanded money from my husband on July 19, 2022. They shot dead my husband, and also killed our daughter and some villagers who had come to inquire about the commotion. We ran away in different directions, and I ended up here (Tongogara Refugee Settlement), where I sought refuge.
“After the shoot-out, I presumed that my grandson had died. Little did I know he had survived, but with severe stomach injuries. A surviving well-wisher took him to hospital, where he was treated. As I proceeded to the camp, I had no information on the whereabouts of Lukogo,” Mrs Namirenge narrated her ordeal through an interpreter during an interview recently at the camp.
While at the camp, Mrs Namirenge opened a tracing case through the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society Restoring Family Links tracing programme. She was staying in the settlement without any hope that one day she could be reunited with her grandson Lukogo.
“Miracles do happen! On September 25, as I was walking to church here at Tongogara for some prayers, I met a group of new arrivals in the camp. Suddenly, I heard one of them calling out my name. Lukogo and the well-wisher had just arrived in the camp and were being taken to their new residence. He recognised me and informed others who then called out my name.
“When I turned to face the direction of the callers, I was shocked to see my grandson. Following due process and with the assistance of community leaders, I was allowed to stay with him. I have also requested that Lukogo be added to my photo slip,” narrated Mrs Namirenge.
Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) volunteer and camp resident, Mr Donatien Mizage, who assisted in the reunion, said they helped the grandmother and grandson through a referral outlining what had transpired between the two from the time of separation.
“It was indeed a joyous moment for Mrs Namirenge to be spotted by her grandson, whose whereabouts she had no idea of. She believed Lukogo could have died during the attack that also killed her husband. But with some stroke of luck, Lukogo was brought here, without an idea that his grandmother was also living here.
In another happy ending, Restoring Family Links, a free and confidential service to help reconnect people with their missing relatives, recently recorded at Tongogara Refugee Camp, four unaccompanied minor siblings from Angola who were reunited with their father.
The father had fled their country of origin nine years ago and sought refuge in the US.
Yolanda Manuel da Costa (15) is an unaccompanied child who stays with her three younger siblings at the Tongogara Refugee Settlement.
Mr Mizage said these unaccompanied children arrived at Tongogara Refugee Settlement June 17 from Namibia and were dumped by their mother at a market in Harare.
“Upon arrival at the settlement, these children went through the registration process with the Government and were later referred to the Zimbabwe Red Cross offices for family tracing, after the need was identified.
“The children wished to locate and re-establish contact with both parents, of which separation from both happened on two different occasions. They indicated that separation from their father nine years ago while they were still in Angola, and they did not have any information as to where he could have gone,” said Mr Mizage.
Yolanda told The Herald that they got separated from their mother in Harare soon after they arrived from Namibia where they had moved to from Angola.
“We stayed in Namibia with our mother and her boyfriend, but they took us to Harare, where they put us on a bus to Tongogara and made us believe that she was also coming with us. Unfortunately, this did not happen. We are unaware of her whereabouts to this day,” said Yolanda.
Mr Mizage said the ZRCS RFL programme collected all the information that could help in locating both parents.
“For the father, the data could not be processed since Angola is not treating any tracing cases at the moment. Tracing for the mother was also impossible since the children did not know their home addresses in Namibia, where the mother was believed to be staying, based on their narrations.
“Despite the difficult circumstances, the ZRCS kept the two cases alive, hoping that one day, some additional information would be available to start processing the data. The ZRCS continued with its monthly follow-up visits to assess the wellbeing of the children having referred them for social protection needs.”
In September, the ZRCS received communication from a beneficiary, Mr Manuel Ernesto da Costa, who was making a follow-up of a tracing case that he had opened with the American Red Cross Society (ARC) to locate his children.
This prompted the ZRCS team to reach out to the ARC to check if they were aware of the case. The ARC confirmed that the case was registered and had already been transmitted to the ZRCS through inter-operability.
“The message was transmitted to the Restoring Family Links (RFL) team in Tongogara Refugee Settlement and we confirmed that we recognised the names of the children that were being sought.
The following day, the children were advised to come to the ZRCS offices, where staff and volunteers then cross-checked the information that was shared by the ARC about these sought-after children.
“We discovered that they were actually the people who were being looked for. A direct phone call was later facilitated to re-establish contact between the two parties. To allow for detailed conversation, the ZRCS staff and volunteers also facilitated a WhatsApp video call which also allowed the children to see their father and vice versa,” said Mr Mizage.
The children were happy to re-establish contact with their father after nine years of separation and loss of contact.
After contact was re-established between the two parties, the father was able to send financial support to his family through the ZRCS.
The father also purchased a cell phone and SIM card to ensure ongoing communication with his children.
Tongogara Refugee Camp administrator Mr Johane Mhlanga said: “The tracing case at hand is unique and the first of its kind where the biological father is in the US while children are in the settlement. The positive nature of the case shows the importance of the partnership of Government and Red Cross Society (ZRCS) in promoting family reunification.
“This is a key pillar of the refugee protection mandate. Now, what is outstanding is to bring on board IOM in the matrix so that they can assist in facilitating the travel arrangements of the children to finally reunify with their father.”
He said the case was a complex one in that it involves several players: Government, ZRCS, ICRC, IOM and UNHCR.
“We are waiting for official communication from ZRCS on the case as well as confirmation from the father of the children. Once that is done, engagements with IOM and UNHCR will ensue. Travel documents will be issued in consultation with the US embassy in Harare to facilitate a seamless, smooth and safe movement of the children. It is in the best interest of the children to reunite with their parent. However, due diligence will be done to ensure all is in order,” said Mr Mhlanga.
ZRCS secretary general, Mr Elias Hwenga, said with technical and financial support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), his organisation is implementing the RFL programme in Tongogara Refugee Camp TRC among other areas in the country.
“The RFL programme aims to prevent family separation, restore and maintain family contact, reunite families, and clarify the fate of missing persons. The programme is targeting over 15 000 refugees and asylum seekers housed at the Tongogara Refugee Settlement, primarily from the Great Lakes Region, who fled conflicts in their home countries.
“Many of these individuals lost contact with their families due to sudden displacement and lack the means (mainly financial) to re-establish connections,” said Mr Hwenga.
He said from January to date, the following milestones had been achieved:
Positive tracing outcomes: Seven cases
New tracing cases registered: 61+
Unaccompanied children cases registered: 17
Wi-fi tokens distributed: 65 639
Phone calls facilitated: 17 054
Phone charging sessions provided: 21 685
Red Cross Messages (RCMs) exchanged: 13
Red-Safe downloads: 574
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