Twitter Reconnects Woman With Man Who Gifted Her a Bike When She Was a Refugee Child

Mevan Babbakar, a 29-year-old woman living in London, pleaded with followers on the internet to help her find the man who gifted her a bike when she was a five-year-old refugee. She lived in a refugee camp near Zwolle in the Netherlands for five years during the 1990s. 

Mevan and her family fled Iraq during the gulf war and ended up in a refugee camp in the Netherlands before settling in London.

The message spread quickly and had over 3000 retweets within a day. A local newspaper from the Zwolle municipality also picked up the story which helped spread the news

The willingness of strangers to help sure does reinstate hope in humanity.

Mevan told the BBC “There was so much hardship at that point in our lives and this was such a generous act, it taught me kindness can exist everywhere, no matter how terrible it may seem.”

They were reunited!

“This gives me hope”

She will meet him in person later today and in the meantime is still spreading inspiring messages on Twitter.

Featured image source: Skitterphoto on Pixabay

Freya Sawbridge
Freya Sawbridge
Freya was born in Edinburgh but raised in New Zealand (cue every person she meets saying “oh I have always wanted to go there but it’s so far away!”). A restless and curious nature has led her to move countries 5 times in the last 3 years in attempt to find a place she can call home. She contacted DutchReview on a whim and arrived in the Netherlands in summer 2019 to start her internship.

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