THE stories of families reunited after being separated by war, conflict or disaster will be celebrated at an exhibition at the State Library of South Australia from January 14 until March 27.
The Right to Know: 100 Years of the Australian Red Cross International Tracing Service tells the stories of a handful of the thousands of families the service has helped, from WWI to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and Yemen.
They are tales of heartbreaking separation lasting years and often decades, but also of hope in the darkest of times.
"Every day, people all over the globe are torn apart from their loved ones, and in just seconds their lives are turned upside down," tracing service national program co-ordinator Megan Goodwin says.
"The impact of separation, of not knowing, can be as crippling as any landmine or bullet.
"The International Tracing Service is an entirely free service that helps families separated by war, conflict, disaster and migration to find their loved ones, re-establish contact or clarify the fate of the missing.
"Using Red Cross' network in 189 countries we can search for the missing all over the world and get messages to places where formal postal services don't operate, where telephones don't work and where others cannot go."
Ms Goodwin said Red Cross believed people had a right to know the whereabouts or fate of their family members.
The exhibition is open from 10am-5pm seven days and entry is free.
State Library of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide.
Phone 8207-7250,
www.slsa.sa.gov.au