REPAIRING THE HURT; Dad helps families torn apart

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Oct 2, 2008

Byline: By KATY SIMPSON

WHEN his family was torn apart by the Dafur conflict, he came to Newcastle a broken man.

Yunis Hasaballa, 29, of Walker, Newcastle, became separated from his wife and three children during the bloodshed in his home country of Sudan.

After their village was bombed, they sheltered in a forest where they were attacked by a terrifying militia.

In the chaos, Yunis lost his family and has never seen them since.

He fled to the UK where he was granted asylum, and although he feared the worst for his loved ones, he refused to give up hope. With the help of the Red Cross, he spent six months searching for his wife and children.

And to his joy, the charity discovered Yunis' family had survived and were alive and well in a refugee camp in Chad. He spoke to wife Hadja, 26, and Mohammed, eight, Hassan, six, and Zaid, four, on the phone. He said: "It was unbelievable. My wife was crying. Since then I've spoken to them about once a month. I hope they'll be able to join me here one day."

Yunis was so inspired by the work of the Red Cross, he decided to volunteer himself and now works as a translator for the organisation's International Tracing and Message Service (ITMS) in Western Avenue, Newcastle, to help others find loved ones. He also visits schools to talk to children about asylum seekers as part of the Community Service Volunteers project to tackle prejudices.

Earlier this year Prime Minister Gordon Brown, invited Yunis to join 40 other charity workers for a tour of Downing Street in recognition of the work they do.

Hilary Hodgson, service manager, ITMS, Newcastle, said: "Yunis is such an asset to our service, he is really committed and passionate."

CAPTION(S):

ASSET: Yunis Hasaballa, Red Cross