Ayda Zugay, a former Yugoslavian refugee living in the US, has been searching for her saviour who left her a letter with a $100 and dangly earrings as she fled from her war-torn country in 1999 on a plane. The letter was signed with only a first name — Tracy, along with a heartwarming note.
The letter reads, “To the girls from Yugoslavia. I am so sorry that the bombing of your country has caused your family many problems. I hope you stay in America will be a safe and happy one for you. Welcome to America-please use this to help you here-a friend from the plane-Tracy.”
Every year, on the anniversary of her arrival in the US, Zugay renews her search. Recently, Zugay’s video searching for Tracy was shared by Refugees International’s Twitter page.
Zugay is heard saying in the video, “And they ended up giving us an envelope and told us not to read it or open it until we left the plane.”
Can you help us #FindTracy?
She welcomed @aydazugay into the US with an unexpected message in 1999. We’d love to help her decade-long search so she can reunite and thank Tracy in person.
Email info@refugeeadvocacylab.org if you can help us connect with Tracy! #BeAWelcomer pic.twitter.com/TT74V1Zmcc
— Refugees International (@RefugeesIntl) April 26, 2022
Zugay also mentioned that $100 meant a lot for them at that time. “I opened the envelope and inside of the envelope was about a $100 bill. It might not seem like a lot to some, but to us, it was an inordinate amount of money that helped us survive that entire summer. And three months of that helped us be able to be placed with a host family,” she says.
“We would not have been able to survive those three months. I want to be able to find Tracy to thank her for her generosity, for her kindness, for welcoming my sister and I, “she added.
Zugay recollected her meeting with Tracy and shared a few clues about the mystery woman.“Tracy by this time would be middle-aged or an older woman who is amazing at tennis and has travelled for in the past. She would have flown from Paris, where she stayed at Holiday Inn and played tennis to Amsterdam, where we met each other on that flight. She would have flown from Amsterdam to Minnesota and this would have been on May 31st, 1999,” she says.
Zugay’s search for Tracy did rounds on social media and many media outlets reported it. On Tuesday, Zugay shared an update on Twitter saying that she finally found Tracy.
I am so thankful to many people across the world who sent messages with clues and ideas that led us to #FindTracy! It’s been an honor to also read about each of your journeys for those that wrote to me, and I am so overwhelmed and inspired by those that want to #BeAWelcomer too! https://t.co/B5z5T8PjFm
— Ayda Zugay (@aydazugay) May 2, 2022
Tracy Peck, a 70-year-old massage therapist living in Minneapolis was left stunned to read reports on Zugay’s search for her. Peck and Zugay met through a Zoom call. Peck told CNN that she was unaware that one of the sisters had been looking for her for a long time.
Peck’s daughter shared a photograph on Twitter showing her handwriting which has a stark resemblance with the script in the letter. Zugay noticed it and a coach, Susan Allen, approached her. Allen told CNN that she has known Peck for years as a generous person who doesn’t think twice about helping others. Allen also managed to bring evidence showing Tracy had travelled to Paris to watch the French Open as part of their company’s programme.
