“On 26 May 1993, Merab told us that he had decided to go fight in the armed conflict in Abkhazia. We argued a lot. I told him to think about his young wife and two-year-old child and not leave him an orphan because we knew how hard it was to grow up without a father. I could not join him in war and I was anxious about him going alone,” says Iakob. However, Merab had made up his mind and went ahead as he had planned. Soon, he went missing without a trace during the Tamishi battle. “Since that day, my life became an endless suffering and all my attempts to somehow find out what had happened to my brother went in vain,” says Iakob.
In 2017, Iakob learned about the programme implemented by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing people. He clearly recalls his first meeting with the ICRC representatives.
“When they came to collect data about my brother, I became extremely nervous. It gave me hope that Merab would definitely be found. I trusted the ICRC, as many people like me had got answers about their missing loved ones through them,” says Iakob.
Source : Icrc
