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How do I go about finding someone in Brazil? Its a long story, but my father was stationed in Rio de Janerio during WWII. During that time he had a girlfriend and she had a son by him. I never knew their names, not even a first name. The only "clue" I have to go by is a photo of my father, taken in Rio, in his army uniform. I understood he gave her a copy of the picture. If she is still alive, she would recognize the picture. Perhaps the child" would also recognize the picture.
I thought to post the picture in either a Brazilian paper in the classified, or if there's a facebook version in Brazil. I don't really know Portuguese, I thought of getting it translated. Then I figured, just write it in English, everyone either knows English or can get it translated.
So, any suggestions how to find my long-lost half-brother
How do I go about finding someone in Brazil? Its a long story, but my father was stationed in Rio de Janerio during WWII. During that time he had a girlfriend and she had a son by him. I never knew their names, not even a first name. The only "clue" I have to go by is a photo of my father, taken in Rio, in his army uniform. I understood he gave her a copy of the picture. If she is still alive, she would recognize the picture. Perhaps the child" would also recognize the picture.
I thought to post the picture in either a Brazilian paper in the classified, or if there's a facebook version in Brazil. I don't really know Portuguese, I thought of getting it translated. Then I figured, just write it in English, everyone either knows English or can get it translated.
So, any suggestions how to find my long-lost half-brother
Do you know the names of the mother and son?
If yes you can search in facebook.
Even if the girlfriend of your father is still alive, she must be very old, maybe she could have memory issues. Also, there is no reason to believe she stayed in Rio de Janeiro, or her son stayed in Rio de Janeiro. They could be anywhere in Brazil.
You could try to put an ad in some websites in Brazil with the photo, and asking: "Have you ever seen this photo before? If yes, please contact me".
In Portuguese that would be something like: "Você já tinha visto esta foto alguma vez antes? Caso já tenha visto, por favor entre em contato comigo".
I don't want to be negative, but based in what you informed this is to difficult. Maybe he doesn't even have your father's surname. Maybe he doesn't live in Rio anymore... Many people of his age doesn't have a profile on Facebook...
He can have been raised by another man, and got his surname... many things could have hapenned. He would be more than 70 now.
Even if the girlfriend of your father is still alive, she must be very old, maybe she could have memory issues. Also, there is no reason to believe she stayed in Rio de Janeiro, or her son stayed in Rio de Janeiro. They could be anywhere in Brazil.
You could try to put an ad in some websites in Brazil with the photo, and asking: "Have you ever seen this photo before? If yes, please contact me".
In Portuguese that would be something like: "Você já tinha visto esta foto alguma vez antes? Caso já tenha visto, por favor entre em contato comigo".
I don't want to be negative, but based in what you informed this is to difficult. Maybe he doesn't even have your father's surname. Maybe he doesn't live in Rio anymore... Many people of his age doesn't have a profile on Facebook...
He can have been raised by another man, and got his surname... many things could have hapenned. He would be more than 70 now.
I suppose you, and the other posters, are right The trail's gone cold on this....My father, if alive, would be almost 100 years old, so his girlfriend would be about that age, too. I doubt she would be alive, and, if so, her memory and eyesight would be failing. The "child" could be living anywhere, and he would be 78--80, no spring chicken, either
I truly doubted the mother would be alive, but I was thinking perhaps my father's picture had survived in her effects, and the son inherited it and knew the story behind it. However, that is improbable. I doubt his mother would display a picture of an American GI and say "that's your real father". Like others have said, the mother probably went on, married someone else, and had other children.
Time is compressing for me. I'm 62, that's a lot older than 52, when I first got this idea. Even 10 years ago, there would have been more of a possibility the son would be alive and somehow see the picture. Besides, why interfere now with someone else's life? Who knows what can of worms this might open? It could be upsetting to him as well. I got interested in tracking him down when I became interested in genealogy, but there are limits and lines one shouldn't cross. In the outside chance I did find him, I could interfere with his life, just so I could have another leaf on my tree? God Bless him, wherever he is!
I suppose you, and the other posters, are right The trail's gone cold on this....My father, if alive, would be almost 100 years old, so his girlfriend would be about that age, too. I doubt she would be alive, and, if so, her memory and eyesight would be failing. The "child" could be living anywhere, and he would be 78--80, no spring chicken, either
I truly doubted the mother would be alive, but I was thinking perhaps my father's picture had survived in her effects, and the son inherited it and knew the story behind it. However, that is improbable. I doubt his mother would display a picture of an American GI and say "that's your real father". Like others have said, the mother probably went on, married someone else, and had other children.
Time is compressing for me. I'm 62, that's a lot older than 52, when I first got this idea. Even 10 years ago, there would have been more of a possibility the son would be alive and somehow see the picture. Besides, why interfere now with someone else's life? Who knows what can of worms this might open? It could be upsetting to him as well. I got interested in tracking him down when I became interested in genealogy, but there are limits and lines one shouldn't cross. In the outside chance I did find him, I could interfere with his life, just so I could have another leaf on my tree? God Bless him, wherever he is!
The closest you could get would be DNA ancestor searching. When you get your DNA done they match you with others with your same DNA. It's a far off chance though.
Have you done your DNA?
Honestly there's a good chance the child is not alive either, and you have so little information to go on.
Unfortunately, I don't even have the original picture. I have copies my aunt gave to me. I remember seeing the original. It was an oval, about 8x11. On the back was the name of the photographer, written in Portuguese, so that's how I knew it was taken in Brazil. My Dad was stationed in Rio for ~3 years with the Army Air Corp, and he did have a girlfriend there. I'm afraid the rest of the story is lost to history. If Dad wanted me to know, he had plenty of time to fill me in. Let the past be.
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The trail's gone cold on this....My father, if alive, would be almost 100 years old, so his girlfriend would be about that age, too. I doubt she would be alive, and, if so, her memory and eyesight would be failing. The "child" could be living anywhere, and he would be 78--80, no spring chicken, either
Like others have said, the mother probably went on, married someone else, and had other children. 
