Reference :
V-P-CF-E-01063
Date :
10/04/2015
Caption :
Bangui. Eleven children from the Central African Republic, who had sought refuge in Chad over a year ago, are reunited with their families
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
"This was the first family reunion operation between Chad and the Central African Republic since the violent events of December 2013," said Caroline Martinod, deputy head of the ICRC delegation in Bangui. "It's immensely rewarding to reunite families who have spent months apart, living in anguish."
The children – aged between 7 and 16 – became separated from their families when violence erupted in the Central African Republic at the end of 2013. The armed conflict drove thousands of people to flee within and beyond the country, and many families became scattered in the process.
All but one of the children ended up in refugee camps in Goré and Kobité, in southern Chad. The youngest, Saleh, at just seven years old, was taken in by a family in Baïbokoum, in the far south-west of Chad. ICRC staff and Chadian and Central African Red Cross volunteers tried everything to trace their families and finally located them in the Central African Republic. An ICRC team brought the children to N'Djamena, from where they travelled onwards a few days later to be reunited with their loved ones.
Delighted to be going home, Saleh was also excited to be travelling by plane for the first time: "I've only seen planes in the sky until now, never up close. I can't wait to see my family again and play football with my best friend Hassan." Of the 11 children, two were returned to their families in Paoua, in the north-west of the country, and one returned home to Bambari, in the centre. The other eight were reunited with their families in the capital Bangui.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
3648x2048
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
