Facebook reunites brothers after 2 decades of separation
abu dhabi — It was such a happy moment when two brothers met in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, after a gap of 23 years. Zachariah Peter Bodia, 37, had arranged the UAE visit for his younger brother. The Sudanese national from a polygamous family was estranged from his younger brother Lino Peter Bodia while the latter was just 14, after the death of their father in 1992.
Lino, now 29, was living in their dad’s second home in Khartoum with his mother and elder sister during the time. Their father, who was a military officer in the Sudanese army, had four wives — all having children. After his demise, Lino migrated to Egypt and later to Australia with his mother and uncles.
A Facebook chat with a distant relative helped Abu Dhabi-based Zachariah to find and reunite with his half-brother after 23 years of separation. The brothers have been communicating online and through telephone calls since they found each other four years ago. While chatting with a relative — who surprisingly knew Lino’s mother— Zachariah, after 19 years came to know about his whereabouts.
“My brother landed in Abu Dhabi last night and I was so happy meeting him again,” told Zachariah, a hospitality expert, to Khaleej Times at Abu Dhabi’s Mushrif Mall, as he toured his brother around the city.
“I couldn’t believe that I was seeing him again after all those years. I am here with him now. This is such a great and an exciting moment for both of us. I have been keen on seeing this happen for many years. I even tried to apply for a visit visa to Australia several times so I could meet him, but I couldn’t get it.”
“I last saw him in 1995 when he was staying in Khartoum with my step-mother. For me, I was staying in Shendi in Northern Sudan,” said Zachariah.
“And a few years later, I learned that Lino had moved to Europe or America with his mother and uncles. I was still a teenager and I had no idea where exactly they had moved. No one in the family knew the exact information about the whereabouts of my brother.” years of separation turned into to reunion through a Facebook chat
After completing his university studies, Zachariah embarked on the job of hunting for his brother. He asked everyone, including family friends and relatives, whether anyone knew where Lino and his mother had migrated or heard about them.
How they found each other
“When I came in the UAE, I continued to try finding my brother, but in vain,” he said.
“It was in 2013 that I was linked to Lino through a Facebook chat with my distant aunt who stays in Australia. She told me she didn’t know him when I first asked her. And when I told her his mother’s name, she said she knew the woman who was
I have never seen majority of them as I left Sudan while I was still a small boy. Zachariah is the one who told me about many of my siblings after we linked up again through Facebook.”
Lino,
staying in a nearby town in Australia,” he said. Zachariah’s aunt then linked him to Lino’s mother, and eventually to Lino through Facebook. “All I could remember was that Lino was a handsome and charming four-year-old, and when I saw his photo on Facebook after so many years, Lino had not changed,” he said.
And since then, we have been communicating until he came here for a seven-day visit. “This is a great reunion,” said Lino, who works for a construction firm in Australia. He said he was sad for many years as he couldn’t meet his elder brother and all other siblings back in Sudan, including 12 sisters and nine brothers.
“I am so happy now that I have
I learned that Lino had moved to Europe or America with his mother and uncles. I was still a teenager and I had no idea where exactly they had moved.”
Zachariah Peter Bodia,
long lost brother
met my elder brother. I’m planning to go to Sudan in the near future to see my other siblings,” he said. “I have never seen majority of them as I left Sudan while I was still a small boy. Zachariah is the one who told me about many of my siblings and other relatives after we linked up again through Facebook. Now that I have found my family, I don’t want to lose them again,” said Lino, father of two girls.
Zachariah, who has three children staying in Sudan, said he took some days off from work to have fun with his brother. He planned a desert safari, a visit to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Al Ain and Dubai before he returns to Australia next week.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com