Mevan told in an interview that she “felt apprehensive and excited before meeting him [Egbert], but eventually very calm and comfortable. It was like seeing an old relative again.”

“I always knew the internet was full of incredible and lovely people and this just confirmed it for me! I am so grateful to everyone who helped me find him. It was another gift altogether!” Mevan was overjoyed with everyone’s help.

“He was so pleased to see me, and we are working on plans to see each other again,” said Mevan. She also revealed that she doesn’t know the fate of her shiny red bike: “Unfortunately I have no idea what happened to it. We left the Netherlands for London and the bike had to stay behind.”

The BBC writes that Mevan and her parents ran away from Iraq during the first Gulf War. They then traveled via Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia to get to the refugee camp near Zwolle, where they stayed between 1994 and 1995. The family’s fortunes then took an upward turn, and eventually, they sank their roots in London. Mevan is now the head of automated fact-checking at the UK’s independent charity Full Fact, though she has now taken a sabbatical from work to “retrace her refugee journey.” All we hope is that she brought her bike with her.