An 11-year-old Ukrainian boy who traveled hundreds of miles to the Slovakian border with just a phone number written on his hand has been reunited with his mom.
Hassan Al-Khalaf made headlines around the world earlier this month when Slovakian police shared his incredible journey on their Facebook page, per Reuters.
When Russian military forces invaded Ukraine last month, Hassan's widowed mother Júlia was unable to leave his elderly grandmother home alone.
With the threat of conflict looming, she made the impossible decision to send her young son on the 750-mile journey from their southeast Ukraine hometown Zaporizhzhie to the Slovakian border with nothing but a plastic bag, a passport, and her phone number on his hand.
After traveling by foot and on trains, Hassan eventually reached the Slovakian border where he was picked up by police.
Authorities were struck when they heard his tale and shared a snap of the young boy on their Facebook, writing: "This brings tears to our eyes. This is the biggest hero of last night," in the March 5 post.
Using the phone number on his hand, police were able to arrange for Hassan's four siblings to come and pick him up. Since then, The Sun reports that their mother and grandmother have also been able to escape Ukraine and reunite with their family - including the family dog!
Footage of the emotional reunion was later shared by the Police of the Slovak Republic's official Facebook page.
Check out the heartwarming reunion in the video below.Mom Júlia told The Sun that she was grateful to be reunited with her family, saying: "I’d like to thank everyone from my heart. We have to start from scratch. We lost everything we’ve had but we’re healthy."
She went on to talk about the grueling journey from Ukraine to Slovakia, saying: "the train ride was very difficult. Hundreds were crammed in a single car. But we had to escape so our family could be back together."
Hassan and his family are among more than 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees who have fled to neighboring countries since Russian forces invaded.
If you would like to know how you can support the Ukrainian people at this time, click HERE to find a list of organizations and groups dedicated to helping those affected by this crisis.
