Bisharo left her hometown, Mogadishu, in Somalia, in 2008. She was fleeing the civil war in her country, which began in 1991.

Bisharo had a boyfriend, Abdi, who she loved very much and to whom she was promised in marriage. However, she didn’t have time to say goodbye to him and went to Dadaab refugee camp, in Kenya, with her family. She remained in that camp for almost 3 years and then moved to Nairobi.

Feeling safe and secure, Bisharo decided to search for Abdi, but she had no success in her quest. She asked about him to friends and relatives back in Somalia, but Abdi could not be found. Bisharo was heartbroken.

In September 2018, Bisharo got an SMS from REFUNITE, telling her to flash a number in case she was looking for family and loved ones. Our Somali agent called her and she told about the boyfriend that went missing. “She was crying on the phone, saying Abdi is the love of her life and begging us to find him”, said our REFUNITE’s agent.

With Abdi’s information in hands, our team started to search for his profile on REFUNITE’s platform and found him, still in Mogadishu. We called his number and explained Bisharo was looking for him. “I can’t believe it! Please, put me in touch with her, I’ve been looking for her.”, Abdi told us.

REFUNITE’s team initiated the reconnection facilitation and connected both Bisharo and Abdi via a conference call. The couple heard each other’s voices for the first time in 10 years.

Bisharo told us her life has changed when she learned her beloved partner was alive and waiting for her. “He is the most important thing for me in this world and our future dream is to finally get married and have good life together”.

ABOUT THE INTERVIEW

The above interview took place on September 27, 2018, in Nairobi. Kenya. It was conducted in Somali and translated by Farhiya Bishar, a REFUNITE call center agent.

* All the names have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.

CONTACT

Alexandra Aparicio, East Africa Project Manager, REFUNITE (aa@refunite.org)