I don't know if this is the correct place, I don't know much of anything anymore, I do know that I have a mother and a brother, and uncles and aunts, out there somewhere.
I am trying to find them. Years and distance have separated us, but since my father passed, I have to fulfil this mission for him.
Through my own searching I have found my uncle and told him of dad, he too has been searching for us, and other relatives.
Australia lacks any government organisation to aid me in my search.
I reached out to the Red Cross, they do not help with "domestic tracing" so If I were separated by migration or war, they would help me, but not in my case.
The Salvation army once had a family tracing service, now abandoned since 2018.
I am not adopted, so I have no grounds for searching that way.
I have been told to search the electoral roll and social media, so I did, and still am.
I found my Uncle on the roll, and an address for someone matching my brother, but the roll is not all encompassing, many people are not on the roll, and any woman who has married will be much more difficult to find.
I don't know what I am trying to say, but there should be a government department that offers help for those trying to reconnect with family under the so called "domestic tracing" term they use.
Sure, people can say to me, it's our own fault, we should have kept in touch, but hey, life is complicated, people move, things come up, and all of a sudden several years have passed and that old phone number no longer connects.
I only want to reach out so they can know about dad, my uncle was devastated that he missed the funeral, and also, to reconnect with family would be a healing process for me, it takes a village.
The government is lacking in so many areas of support, mine may not be the most pressing, but it is important, and I think there are many others out there trying to find relatives that are also having to do it alone, it is so hard.
I can picture my mother searching for me, as I search for her, and we both walk right past one another looking the wrong way.
I don't know if this is a rant, or a cry for help, probably both...
