In Sweden, the Red Cross has registered 934 people who are missing 3,079 relatives. Globally, it is about 284,000 missing people.
But it is probably just the tip of the iceberg, according to the Red Cross.
Most often, it is about people who have lost contact with each other in connection with flight - on the dangerous escape routes and in the Mediterranean or in their home countries. The Swedish search cases most often concern migrants from Afghanistan, Somalia or Syria.
People who are on these routes have very small opportunities to have contact because they are treated so brutally inhumanly by refugee smugglers and under very difficult conditions in desert landscapes and in other ways, says Ulrika Modéer.
Global network
The work of locating missing relatives is done through the organization's international branches. All associations have teams that are part of the Restoring Family Links network.
It is like a global network where they, in contact with authorities, in cases where there are credible authorities, can have access to information and assist with that type of contact, says Modéer.
The Red Cross also has continuous contact with people who are searching for lost family members.
The pain is huge and often associated with trauma from their own escape. It is a very complex situation where we also work with our caregivers and psychologists.
"Incredibly important"
Last year, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent could give more than 16,000 family members information about what had happened to missing relatives.
It can also be confirmation that people are no longer alive. But the certainty is so incredibly important for people. This mission becomes even more important in a conflict-filled world where the number of people on the run unfortunately only increases.
Ulrika Modéer is currently on the Italian island of Lampedusa, where many boat refugees arrive.
Just yesterday, our reception center had received 441 people. We met two women from Sudan and the first thing they did was to charge a mobile phone to confirm to their relatives that they had made it over. It confirms how incredibly important this is.
