They reunite with the stranger who helped them while fleeing the war 23 years ago.

Ayda Zugay I wait for decades for this day. She will finally meet the woman she has been looking for for a long time. It’s been more than 23 years since a stranger on a plane handed Zugay and her sister an envelope containing $100 that would change their lives forever. Immediately the emotional history that occurred in the United States has gone viral on social media.

Zugay only knew that the woman’s name was Tracy, that she played tennis, and that her gesture of solidarity more than two decades ago had made a huge difference in the reality of two young refugees from the former Yugoslavia who escaped from the war and started a new life in the United States.

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Tracy Peck, from Blaine, Minnesota, is the protagonist of this viral story that has caught the attention of millions of Internet users to the point that the CNN news network invited them to the event “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” so that they could meet and they will tell the event that 23 years ago united them forever.

On May 31, 1999, Peck was 40 years old and had just enjoyed a vacation watching the French Open with some friends. I continue, who was 17 at the time, and Zugay, almost 12, they had just said goodbye to their parents and everything they knew when fleeing a country punished by war.

Peck was coming home to be with his family. Zugay and Contino entered into uncertainty. They sought refuge in the United States., but they had no idea what they would find when they arrived. Zugay didn’t speak much English then, but she heard the compassion in her seatmate’s voice.

“We were able to communicate despite having so many differences,” he says. After hearing the story of the sisters that day, Peck handed them an envelope at the end of the flight., telling them to wait until they got off the plane to open it. Inside he stuffed a US$100 bill and the earrings he was wearing.

“To the girls of Yugoslavia…” began her note on the outside of the envelope. “I am very sorry that the bombing of your country has caused problems for her family. I hope her stay in the United States is safe and happy-Welcome to the United States- please use this to help yourself. A friend from the plane – TRACY”, can be read.

The envelope that Tracy Peck gave to Ayda Zugay and Vanja Contino. (Photo: CBS News | YouTube)

Tracy Peck wrote this note on the envelope she gave the sisters on the plane. It took 23 years to know her identity. Peck had no idea how much that supportive gesture would come to mean. for its recipients… and how much writing it would end up changing their lives as well.

Zugay and her sister moved in with a relative who also lacked resources. So the $100 fed the family for three months. Zugay says that he continues to feed his soul to this day. “That’s why I kept Tracy’s envelope, because it’s a reminder to me that people are good,” Zugay said.

A few years ago, Zugay spread the word on social media in hopes of finding the woman who gave his life direction. News outlets like the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrote about the search for Zugay, but it was only after a CNN article came to the attention of a friend who recognized Tracy’s handwriting that the final connection was made.

After years, his message finally reached Tracy Peck of Blaine, Minnesota. Her daughter approached Zugay: “You’re looking for my mom, Tracy Peck! Her handwriting is unmistakable. He remembers you from the flight, girls!”. Peck, Zugay and her sister, Vanja, got together this past weekend.

Ayda, Zugay and Tracey walked through the streets of New York. (Photo: Catherine Shoichet)

“We just stood there and hugged each other and cried,” Peck said. “I felt such a deep love for them”he explained. Peck gave away $100 to complete strangers, but she says the gift she received in return is far more valuable.

“I’ve been taught the smallest thing you can do for somebody, you don’t realize the impact that’s going to have on their life,” Peck said. “We have no idea.”

Source: Elcomercio