0:00:02 > 0:00:04Families can be driven apart for all manner of reasons.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07I had no information at all about where my mum went.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10And when you do lose touch with your loved ones...
0:00:10 > 0:00:12You don't know who you are, where you've come from.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14..finding them can take a lifetime...
0:00:14 > 0:00:18I might have a brother that's still living here.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23..especially when they could be anywhere - at home or abroad.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And that's where the family finders come in,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28from international organisations...
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hi, it's the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34..to genealogy detective agencies...
0:00:34 > 0:00:37For someone to say that it's changed their life,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40it makes coming to work really, really special.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42..and dedicated one-man bands.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46It's a matter of how much effort you really want to put into it,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48how badly you want to solve the problem.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52They hunt through history to bring families back together again.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Finding new family is wonderful.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59In this series, we follow the work of the family finders...
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Suddenly, you get one spark of breakthrough and there they are.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..learning the tricks they use
0:01:06 > 0:01:08to track missing relatives through time...
0:01:08 > 0:01:13I didn't think I'd ever find sisters but I have.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17..and meeting the people whose lives they change along the way.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19I've been waiting to meet John my whole life.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Since we've met, I feel part of a family again.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26You've just completed my life for me.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Families can lose touch for all sorts of reasons.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38A relative may have moved abroad,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41sometimes people just drift apart,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43but in the most extreme circumstances,
0:01:43 > 0:01:47families must make the ultimate sacrifice and split up
0:01:47 > 0:01:51because it may be the only route to a better and more secure future.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Today, we follow two such cases.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Euan's search is for the birth mother who gave him up
0:01:58 > 0:02:02as a three-day-old baby, in order to give him
0:02:02 > 0:02:05the opportunities in life she felt she couldn't provide.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09"You may decide to tell Ewan all this yourselves one day
0:02:09 > 0:02:11"or you may give him this letter to read.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13"But, in either case, he can be assured
0:02:13 > 0:02:16"that his mother was very concerned for his future welfare."
0:02:16 > 0:02:20I couldn't just...turn away and not look at him
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and not at least have one cuddle.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26So, I did, and I fell in love with him.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30I'm going to cry now.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32And we meet Hussin who,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37after the trauma of fleeing a home being torn apart by civil war,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41left his family behind and put his own life on the line
0:02:41 > 0:02:43in search of a safer future for them all.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46I'm started crying, she started crying, my mum.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52Everybody started crying because I know this journey is very bad.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Maybe you die, maybe you lose your life, it's not very safe,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59but I have to.
0:03:01 > 0:03:0536-year-old Euan Williams grew up in Lincoln.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07From a young age, his parents were open
0:03:07 > 0:03:09about the fact they had adopted him.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13They told us the story about how a baby comes from Mummy's tummy
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and all that sort of thing and they said, "Well, you didn't,
0:03:15 > 0:03:17"but we still love you
0:03:17 > 0:03:21"and your natural parents couldn't keep you for whatever reason."
0:03:21 > 0:03:27I, at least, have the memory of being very confused.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31There's a huge sense of, "Well, who am I?"
0:03:31 > 0:03:33that sort of lingers over you.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37It wasn't until Euan was in his late teens
0:03:37 > 0:03:40that he learned some details about his birth family.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43His adoptive father gave him a letter
0:03:43 > 0:03:46he had been keeping for him since his adoption.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48It says, "Dear Mr and Mrs Clark,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52"Sarah, Daniel's mother, is a 15-year-old grammar school girl.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56"Sarah's family were very supportive and offered to help her care for her baby,
0:03:56 > 0:03:58"but she felt she was too young to give him the security
0:03:58 > 0:04:00"and upbringing that she should wish him to have.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04"He can be assured that his mother was very concerned "for his future welfare."
0:04:05 > 0:04:07I think I was dumbfounded when I first got it.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11Another couple of years passed before Euan resolved to act
0:04:11 > 0:04:15on the information he had been given about his adoption.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19I decided I wanted to find out a bit more about her
0:04:19 > 0:04:23I came across something called the Adoption Contact Register.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28They tell you whether your natural parent or parents have put their names
0:04:28 > 0:04:30on this register so, in effect,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33giving you the permission to contact them.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34And she HAD put it on there.
0:04:34 > 0:04:39Euan now knew his birth mother's married name, Sarah Wroot,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and an address.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46He had everything he needed to make contact but then, he hesitated.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I just kept that information for years. I didn't do anything with it.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51I think it takes a lot of courage to do it.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54And I think, I think I had to grow up a bit more.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59After going to university, Euan eventually ended up in London
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and began a career in recruitment.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04After a few years of working in the city,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06he decided to take a break from the rat race.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09It was then, just over two years ago,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12that his thoughts turned again to his birth mother.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16It became apparent that actually finding out who I was
0:05:16 > 0:05:22was more important, at that particular time, than anything else.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25The beginning of the search was going back to the letter
0:05:25 > 0:05:27from the Adoption Contact Register,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30getting her address from there and trying that out.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33So, after 34 years of having no contact with...
0:05:33 > 0:05:36either of my natural parents, I'd written this card.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40And I think it was maybe three weeks, a month later,
0:05:40 > 0:05:41I thought if there was going to be anything,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44it would have been by now and then I had the thought,
0:05:44 > 0:05:46"Hold on, that address was really, really old.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50"How do I go about finding out more about this?"
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Realising the address he got from the Adoption Register
0:05:54 > 0:05:56could now be years out of date,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59Euan's next step was to ask his local council for help.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They gave me this, which is an adoption case sheet,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06and has all sorts of details about who she was
0:06:06 > 0:06:08and how old she was and where she lived.
0:06:08 > 0:06:15And I think, when I had this, that was when it solidified in my mind, without any doubt then,
0:06:15 > 0:06:17"I'm definitely going to find her."
0:06:18 > 0:06:21With every new piece of information,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Euan was building up a better picture of his birth mother
0:06:24 > 0:06:26but he was still no closer to finding her.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30It wasn't until he met an amateur genealogist online
0:06:30 > 0:06:34that it looked like his search might finally come to fruition.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39And I said to him, "Do you want to call me Mum?"
0:06:40 > 0:06:42And he did, straightaway.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Not every quest to reunite a family
0:06:50 > 0:06:53starts with a search through the records.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Hussin Zahra knew exactly where his loved ones were,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59but had to overcome barriers separating them
0:06:59 > 0:07:01which were both physical and political.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Just five years ago, Hussin and his family
0:07:05 > 0:07:07lived comfortably in Syria.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12I married my wife 19 years ago
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and I bring the children
0:07:14 > 0:07:19and I have six children - four girls and two boys.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24But after civil war broke out in 2011,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Hussin made the difficult decision
0:07:26 > 0:07:29to leave Syria to seek safety and security for his family.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Too much guns and too much bombs and stuff.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Very dangerous and I cannot leave and they starve, my children,
0:07:37 > 0:07:38so I take the decision
0:07:38 > 0:07:42everybody have to go from my country straightaway.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43I leave everything.
0:07:44 > 0:07:49Just one day, I tell them, "You have to be ready tomorrow.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52"We'll start to go because, you know,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55"there's no guarantee in the next day what happens."
0:07:56 > 0:08:00It's very hard for me to leave everything but I have to
0:08:00 > 0:08:03because I need to save our lives, I have to save my children's lives.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05It's not very easy.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Together, Hussin and his family made it
0:08:09 > 0:08:11as far as the relative safety of Egypt
0:08:11 > 0:08:15but they decided there wasn't a future for them there either.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18So, I tell my wife I have to go from this country
0:08:18 > 0:08:20to look for another country.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Hussin made the heart-wrenching decision to leave his wife, Sana,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29his four daughters and a baby son alone in Egypt.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Hussin planned to make the dangerous 2,000-mile journey
0:08:33 > 0:08:35to the UK, in the hope of finding asylum
0:08:35 > 0:08:38and safety for the whole family.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40But he wasn't going alone.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42He was taking his nine-year-old son, Mohammed,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45and his ten-year-old nephew, Ali, with him.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Everybody started crying,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52because it's no guarantee to see us again.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55Maybe I lose my life in the sea.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Maybe I lose it for another way, I don't know. So, it's...
0:09:00 > 0:09:08When you start to go, the decision is very, very difficult, you know.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Hussin paid to make the perilous passage
0:09:11 > 0:09:13across the Mediterranean Sea,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16a journey that had already claimed the lives
0:09:16 > 0:09:18of hundreds of other refugees.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23I know this journey is very bad. Maybe die, maybe you lose your life.
0:09:23 > 0:09:30It's not very safe, but I have to, so I go in the ship.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37I stay in the sea around 12 days, but in these 12 days,
0:09:37 > 0:09:43I cannot forget ever in my life, because it's very, very, very hard.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48Eventually, the boat made it to the coast of Italy safely.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51From there, Hussin, his son and his nephew
0:09:51 > 0:09:53made the arduous trek across Europe
0:09:53 > 0:09:57before finally reaching England, hidden in the back of a lorry.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02When I reach the UK, there is some traffic,
0:10:02 > 0:10:10and some people in the car, they hear the voice when I talk to the lorry, so they call the police
0:10:10 > 0:10:12and the police, later on, he stop the lorry.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16When the police open the door and they tell us,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19"Come out", I'm happy, you know,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22they saw I have two children and me, you know, straight away,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26you know, take us in the car
0:10:26 > 0:10:29and take us in safe place, you know.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Hussin and the boys were allowed to stay in the UK
0:10:33 > 0:10:35while their applications for asylum were processed.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40They settled in Birmingham, but although Hussin and the boys were safe for now,
0:10:40 > 0:10:42the rest of their family were still stuck in Egypt.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47When I arrive in England, I feel very, you know,
0:10:47 > 0:10:49afraid about my family,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51because I leave them there.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53And they don't have anything there,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55they don't have enough money to eat.
0:11:00 > 0:11:0436-year-old Euan was looking for the birth mother
0:11:04 > 0:11:07who had given him up as a baby so he could have a better future.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10But Euan's search had hit a dead end.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12He turned to the internet for help.
0:11:12 > 0:11:18And came across a group, run by some amateur genealogists,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22and one of the people in the group told me
0:11:22 > 0:11:27that because my mother's first married name was so unusual -
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Sarah J Wroot, which has that unusual spelling
0:11:30 > 0:11:31with the W on the front of it -
0:11:31 > 0:11:35that it was very easy for her to be found.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38In fact, it took just a few hours
0:11:38 > 0:11:41for the internet genealogist to find a match,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45but with another chance to meet his birth mother, Euan hesitated again.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49He asked the genealogist for advice.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53I think, in the message box, I wrote, "Argh, I don't know!
0:11:53 > 0:11:56"What SHOULD I do?" And she said, "Well, you could write a letter."
0:11:56 > 0:11:59I said, "No, YOU write it!"
0:12:00 > 0:12:04The amateur genealogist wrote to Euan's mother, Sarah,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and awaited a response. The wait wasn't a long one.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10A couple of days later,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Euan and Sarah were speaking on the phone for the very first time.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17My world just exploded.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22I was shaking from head to toe, I was in tears, I was happy,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26I was...shocked, scared.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28I was all over the place!
0:12:28 > 0:12:30We spoke and we spoke for something like...
0:12:30 > 0:12:34Oh, it was a ridiculous amount of time. It was hours.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39It was like finding your best friend, in a really gentle way.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41It was exceedingly significant.
0:12:42 > 0:12:4634 years after he had been given up for adoption,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Euan had finally found his birth mother, Sarah.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51And now they had made contact,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Euan learned the full story of why he had been put up for adoption.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01It began when, as a teenager, Sarah discovered she was expecting a baby.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05I was really scared. I was 14, you know.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07I was so confused.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13My mum and dad said it was totally my choice.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16He was a little boy that needed security
0:13:16 > 0:13:19and I wanted him to have more than I could give him.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24I'd made the decision, before I went in to give birth,
0:13:24 > 0:13:26that I would have him
0:13:26 > 0:13:28and I wouldn't look at him and I wouldn't cuddle him,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32cos I thought, "I'll get too attached and it will be too hard."
0:13:33 > 0:13:36And I gave birth to him and I just had to hold him.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I couldn't just turn away and not look at him
0:13:40 > 0:13:45and not at least have one cuddle, so I did, and...
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Yeah, I fell in love with him.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51I'm going to cry now.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57I did, I fell in love with him.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59SHE SNIFFS
0:13:59 > 0:14:01And I haven't stopped loving him since.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08I've got a photo of me holding him in the hospital in the bed,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10on my shoulder, and I can still feel.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14You never lose that. Yeah...
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Sarah named her baby boy Daniel
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and cared for him for three days in hospital.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Eventually, the time came to leave Daniel.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The ward sister had come into the, um, the room...
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and wanted to take Daniel away
0:14:30 > 0:14:34before my dad came and picked me up, and I wouldn't let her.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36I said, "No, he's staying with me
0:14:36 > 0:14:39"until my dad gets here and takes me home."
0:14:40 > 0:14:42And Dad came in.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46And that was the worst bit, was walking out of the hospital,
0:14:46 > 0:14:47cos I felt like I was abandoning him.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52You never stop feeling guilty, ever.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Sarah moved on with her life
0:14:58 > 0:15:01but the baby boy she had to give up was never far from her thoughts.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06I got married at 19 and then, two years later,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10I had my son, Jonathan, and we were in Peterborough then
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and I remember coming home.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19I panicked cos I thought, "Oh, I'm responsible for this one."
0:15:20 > 0:15:22And I can remember saying to my mum,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25with tears down my face, "I can keep this one. This one's mine."
0:15:27 > 0:15:32Yeah, that was hugely emotional. It helped heal the hurt that...
0:15:32 > 0:15:35Because I had Daniel and I had nothing to love at the end of it.
0:15:36 > 0:15:4234 years later, Sarah was finally about to be reunited with the son she had to give away.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Daniel, now Euan, and Sarah herself,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48wasted no time in meeting up.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50We met at London Bridge station.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Bless her, Mum was a bit of a wreck, but she was fine.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57And there was lots of hugs and lots of tears and it was amazing.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59It was the most amazing day of my life.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01I was a bag of nerves.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05I was stuttering and spluttering and we laughed about it in the end
0:16:05 > 0:16:08and I kept calling him "Daniel" and he said, "It's fine.
0:16:08 > 0:16:09"I don't care what you call me."
0:16:09 > 0:16:12And we just...hugged.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14I wasn't letting go of him.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18The first time I met her, I fell in love with her completely,
0:16:18 > 0:16:22um, which sounds weird, but, you know, it's not.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26It's perfectly natural and she's absolutely amazing.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29It was only a few days after meeting Euan and I said to him...
0:16:31 > 0:16:35"Do you want to call me 'Mum'?" And he did, straightaway.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Euan and Sarah are still in the process of catching up
0:16:39 > 0:16:41on over 30 years of life,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45so today, they're meeting up to share some more memories.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47We're off to a cafe to meet Mum
0:16:47 > 0:16:53and then we're going to have a look at the house where she grew up.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56It will be nice to see Boston and, hopefully,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59the weather will clear up, but I don't hold my breath for that.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- Hello.- Hello.- How are you?- I'm good, thanks. How are you?- I'm all right.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15To help fill in the years spent apart,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18they've both brought some photos,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21including one of a teenage Sarah
0:17:21 > 0:17:24just a few months before she gave birth to Euan.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- That was doing an operatic... - Oh, yeah.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35- I was actually pregnant with you then.- Wow! I'm in there.- Yes.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37But no-one knew.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40- And these are ones from later. - Oh, look!
0:17:42 > 0:17:48- You're so cute!- Mmm.- You're very much like that now.- What?
0:17:48 > 0:17:50- Like making a mess? - Loud and lairy!- Yeah.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52THEY LAUGH
0:17:54 > 0:17:58The next stop for mother and son is the house where Sarah grew up,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00where she discovered she was pregnant with Euan
0:18:00 > 0:18:03and where she made the decision to give him up
0:18:03 > 0:18:07so he could have a better life than the one she could have provided.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Crikey, this brings back memories!
0:18:11 > 0:18:13I bet it does.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17- There it is.- This one here?- Yeah. It hasn't changed much.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21That's where you lived. It looks like a lovely house.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23- It was a happy house.- Yeah.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27- Yeah, although we went through some emotional times.- Sure.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Does it bring back a lot of memories for you, coming back here?
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Yeah, and it's not as hard as I thought it was going to be.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- That's nice.- I think, now, cos I've got you...- Yeah.- That's...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38That's the main thing.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40..put all that into perspective.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Now I feel like I certainly have a mum
0:18:44 > 0:18:48who I can talk to about anything, which is amazing.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50I've never had that before.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55Euan coming back, it has made me think, "What if, if I'd kept him?"
0:18:55 > 0:18:58And both of us have said what happened happened,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01the past is the past, what we've got now is the future
0:19:01 > 0:19:03and that's the important thing.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08Since meeting my mum, I'm a lot more settled in myself
0:19:08 > 0:19:11and I definitely have a sense of identity.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13It's really nice having someone in your life
0:19:13 > 0:19:15who you look like and that you ARE like.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20I think you grow up with discussions about nature versus nurture
0:19:20 > 0:19:22and you might have these ideas about it
0:19:22 > 0:19:24but you really don't have any clue
0:19:24 > 0:19:27about what that really means, practically...
0:19:27 > 0:19:31..or emotionally, and then, finally, for all of that to sink into place,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36- is amazing.- Now I've got him, Euan's here for ever.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38SARAH LAUGHS
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Yeah, we've always said we'll never lose each other again. Yeah.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44He's family.
0:19:54 > 0:19:59In Birmingham, Hussin Zahra, along with his nine-year-old son, Mohammed,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02and his nephew Ali, had left their family in Egypt,
0:20:02 > 0:20:07after fleeing their war-torn home in Syria, in search of a better future.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Fearing for the family he had left behind, Hussin had one glimmer of hope.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16I reach this city and I contact the Red Cross.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18Er...
0:20:18 > 0:20:25And they start help me about to join my family here.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30The British Red Cross is one of the world's best-known
0:20:30 > 0:20:33international humanitarian organisations.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Relying on a huge global network of volunteers,
0:20:37 > 0:20:43they provide help to people in crisis, both in the UK and overseas.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47There are about 17 million volunteers globally.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50In British Red Cross, there are about 30,000 volunteers,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53all in local areas, doing different services,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57like independent living, emergency response,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01first aid and, of course, international family tracing.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The Red Cross tracing service handle over 1,000 cases a year,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08finding and reuniting families.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12And it was to the Red Cross, that Hussin now turned for help.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14But he had no idea
0:21:14 > 0:21:16if they would be able to reunite him with his family.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21Hussin had claimed asylum on arriving in the UK
0:21:21 > 0:21:25and that's a very complex process in itself,
0:21:25 > 0:21:28because you have to prove to the Home Office
0:21:28 > 0:21:32that you fled persecution and you're interviewed
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and everything you say is being cross-checked.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40So, once you are granted protection in the UK,
0:21:40 > 0:21:42when you have refugee status, then you become eligible
0:21:42 > 0:21:46to apply for family reunion, but the criteria is very narrow,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49so it's another complex process that starts.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54Every day it took for Hussin's application for refugee status
0:21:54 > 0:21:57to be considered, was another day apart for the family.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Finally, it was confirmed.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04But that was just the beginning of a complex process
0:22:04 > 0:22:06to bring the rest of his family to the UK
0:22:06 > 0:22:09that had no guarantee of success.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Red Cross support worker Fabio took on the case.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15When Hussin approached us
0:22:15 > 0:22:19in the first place, he was absolutely lost
0:22:19 > 0:22:21in a sense that he said,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23"I don't know what to do."
0:22:23 > 0:22:28But immediately, it did emerge that his worry was about his family
0:22:28 > 0:22:30and I think what he told us, at that stage,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33was an incredibly worrying situation.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Trying to get families back together
0:22:37 > 0:22:40means getting approval from a string of government departments,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44such as immigration, visa and border control.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46Applying for family reunion
0:22:46 > 0:22:49when you are a refugee is a very complex process.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Gathering the relevant documents
0:22:52 > 0:22:55to be able to prove that you are who you say you are,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57that you are related to your family members,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59as you say you are related,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01that you're married to your wife or your husband,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05because the Home Office asks for original documents
0:23:05 > 0:23:08and that can be very tricky for families who have been on the move,
0:23:08 > 0:23:13who have had to flee, if these documents existed, actually,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15because in some of the countries,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18there are no birth certificates or marriage certificates.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22The final stage of the process involved, first of all,
0:23:22 > 0:23:25making sure that there were no other obstacles.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27100 telephone calls, maybe,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29and numerous e-mails with our head office
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and communicating that back to the family here,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34back to the family in Egypt,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37so all of those things were behind the scenes
0:23:37 > 0:23:40before we actually met the family.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45It's been seven months since Hussin left his wife and children in Egypt
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and started his epic journey to the UK.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Today, his family is finally making the same trip,
0:23:52 > 0:23:56except they are making their journey by plane.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58With the help of the Red Cross,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02they have been granted permission to join Hussin, Mohammed and Ali.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08It's long time, you know, I don't see them
0:24:08 > 0:24:14and it's more than, now, seven months. I very miss them, you know.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17It's too much I miss them, so I wait,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21but at least now they come here now together
0:24:21 > 0:24:24and we'll be same, we'll meet again all the family.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE TONGUE
0:24:48 > 0:24:51HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE TONGUE
0:24:52 > 0:24:56THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE TONGUE
0:25:09 > 0:25:14To see my family, to hug them, I'm very happy, you know, very happy.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Really amazing, I think,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19and privileged to be a witness of that, really -
0:25:19 > 0:25:23seeing that sense of coming together again after such a long time
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and, more than anything else,
0:25:25 > 0:25:29the idea that we are safe, a sense of safety.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33The Red Cross will be very, very fantastic,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36because I saw from them a lot of help,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38so I'm very appreciate to them to help me.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44When we find people and when you hear about the first contact,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47that feeling is just incredible,
0:25:47 > 0:25:50because I think we can all relate to it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:55I think most people have someone in their lives that they cherish
0:25:55 > 0:25:59and so, when you see people actually being put back together
0:25:59 > 0:26:02or speaking to someone for the very first time, it's incredible.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10It's been seven months since Hussin and his family were reunited
0:26:10 > 0:26:14and they're now building a future for themselves in the UK.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19The horror of their time apart is fading and the joy of their reunion
0:26:19 > 0:26:22has already become a treasured family memory.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27Very stressed there when they wait, so when will be coming together,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30so it's amazing, you know.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34It makes me feel...happy.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Today, Red Cross case worker Fabio has come to visit Hussin,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41his wife, Sana, and their children,
0:26:41 > 0:26:44to see how they're settling into life in Britain.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48I know it's been quite a journey to come to a new place.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50It's a new city.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54I just wanted to check that everyone in your family are OK.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Yeah, actually, everybody now they go to school
0:26:56 > 0:26:59and they start now to be in English.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Have you made any friends in here now, Mohammed?
0:27:02 > 0:27:05- Do you have any friends here? - Yes.- Yes?
0:27:05 > 0:27:08There seems to be a smile on your face which is nice to see.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10- Do you like the school?- Yeah.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Very clever, you know, and he do very good in the school
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- and everybody happy there with... - Mmm, the teacher?- Yeah.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19I'm just curious to know how can you see your future?
0:27:19 > 0:27:21What would you like to see to happen?
0:27:21 > 0:27:25To work very hard here, to build us again, you know.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29To do some business here, to do something for the family.
0:27:29 > 0:27:33It's incredible to see that whatever Hussin and his wife
0:27:33 > 0:27:37and, indeed, the others in the family do is for their children,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40to make sure that they will have a better chance.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Thank you very much for you.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47- I appreciate that.- No... - You work very hard for my family.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50For us, seeing families back together means a lot,
0:27:50 > 0:27:54because it's really what gives sense to people's lives,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56being supported by your family.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Hopefully, it will allow you to also build a better future.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02We are happy when we see families back together.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05You help us too much, you know. Thank you very much.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10TODDLER CHUCKLES