Successful search for ‘lost’ dad

Forty-Year-old Ian Swanston’s search for the father he never knew is over.It was an emotional moment when the two spoke for the first time last month, one in Barbados, the other in New York.Swanston, an Englishman, and the relatives of his father Cameron Darcy Greenidge finally got to share in all the things he missed out on while growing up unintentionally cut off from his paternal family.And just before he returned to his Manchester, England home, Swanston enjoyed the warmth, hugs and kisses in the setting of a good old-fashioned Bajan family gathering mid-June. He spoke with his father, who now resides in New York, and the two made arrangements to meet.But the special moments would not have been possible were it not for the help of a good Samaritan – another Cameron D. Greenidge. The young man’s quest to find his father started on the online social network site Facebook about a year ago. His mother, a Kittitian living in England, had lost touch with Greenidge for decades and failed to locate him when she visited the island eight years ago. Swanston, armed with only the name of his father, one Cameron D. Greenidge, posted the name on the site and was excited when there was a match. His joy was short-lived after he found out that the Cameron D. he found was DeCourcey and not Darcy. “He contacted me via Facebook. He saw that I had the same name and middle initial as his father, and he was hoping I was [Swanston’s]  brother,” said Greenidge.As it turned out, they weren’t even related, but Greenidge was more than willing to help Swanston gather information on his family. He opened his home to Swanston upon his visit to the island and spent days tracking the “lost father”.“We had very little information to work with. The only piece of information Ian had at the time was the name of his grandmother and her address,” he said.“Prior to the publishing of the story in the June 13 Sunday Sun we went to the Barbados Registry on the morning of June 9 to seek whatever information we could. “We were told that there was nothing except the date of birth, the birth mother’s address and the baptismal church. They added that if there was no information on his father, he was either not living in Barbados or he might not be alive,” he recalled.Their hopes started to dwindle but they never gave up.“That same day I called the Archives Department and the James Street Methodist Church and had no luck. On June 10, we went to the deaths division at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to seek information on whether his father was dead or alive and we were assured he wasn’t dead as there was no death certificate.”But there was one last glimmer of hope.The morning after the story was published, the two received a call from a woman saying she had seen the story and knew the family. She gave them a telephone number, which turned out to be that of an aunt. Greenidge said throughout the day they got numerous calls from other family members. Later that day Swanston spoke to his dad in New York and on Thursday, June 17, he finally met his relatives.“We really want to thank the Sunday Sun for highlighting the story. Smiles have been brought to everyone’s faces. Ian has gone back home having spoken to his dad. They have made arrangements to meet each other. “Ian now knows his family and his Bajan roots. Everyone involved is grateful. I will remain in contact with him even though we’re not blood relatives,” said an elated Greenidge.