Will I Meet My Daughter Before I Pass Away? | Only Human

An elderly man longs to find a long lost daughter; a woman searches for the father she's never met; and a young father is desperate to know if his dad wants to reconnect. This New Zealand documentary series sets about reuniting families, uncovering cultural identity and discovering lost family heritage.
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From: Lost and Found S1 EP 6
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[@JOHANNA-qd6iz]

How sad to finally meet up with your parent after 41 years only for it to fall apart.

[@heatherbacala7208]

He could have said how incredibly sorry he was for not being in contact with his daughter.

[@hosephine1]

The Mari welcome by dad and sons made me tear up. Such an overwhelming acceptance must have felt marvelous after thinking he didn’t want her because she was a girl.

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

Maori is how it is spelled.

[@vondahe]

I knew a man who died alone although having four children. He, too, liked to say that his door was open and that they knew where to find him if they needed him. That's not how it works. YOU reach out. Everything else is just cheap talk.

[@gabe-po9yi]

His teenage daughter is leaving with her mom as the result of a divorce and what he says to her is, “Don’t forget I’m here.” Wow, he put the whole thing in her lap. Their divorce had nothing to do with her; imagine how she must have felt with her home life shattering and going to a completely foreign country and culture, to boot.

[@Jessicace]

100% My dad said that and it's been 15 years so far. Too prideful and I have my own life now and I don't miss him tbh.

[@rahyuha8558]

​@@JessicaceNo dear, be the good one.

[@sBaum]

@@gabe-po9yigo on then

[@cplmpcocptcl6306]

Either way is shameful. To not see your father because you’re too proud to reach out, is just sad. Same for the dad not reaching out. They are both losers in this situation. I’d give everything I own to hold my Grandparents one more time. (They raised me.) Same for my bio parents…if they’d like that too.😢 If the parents/kids are still alive it’s a relationship worth investing in.

[@fionamelgaard]

i HATE people who expect a CHILD to contact them first…..

[@janeherriot7880]

Highly principled as in stubborn…

[@2ndhandSue]

@fionamelgaard - Absolutely! It is NOT a child's place to right the wrongs of her/his parents. It is NOT a child's place to be involved in any of the drama or dregs of a divorce. Of course, they are collateral damage, but they do not need to know sordid details, and they absolutely DO NOT deserve to have their parents involved in a fight to destroy each other. Don't parents "get it"? Their child loves both of them. Why all this horrible attempt by each parent to disparage the other parent in front of the child? Moving half-way around the world to distance the child from one parent is so counterproductive to that child having any kind of relationship with the non-custodial parent, that it's time for courts to rethink how child custody decisions should be made.

[@maricogan2903]

NO excuse for an adult to expect the wounded child to reach out for them. Selfish.

[@katieirish5765]

I agree, but I this the first woman was a B for making an 80 yr old man fly all that way. No need for her to hold on to that bitterness for so long.

[@sherrylawrencelewis2544]

​@janeherriot7880 this is so truly stupid. He lost out. Waste.

[@2ndhandSue]

Kees and Carolina unknowingly demonstrated the nature versus nurture theory. Despite being half a worth apart for 50 years, never seeing or speaking to each other, when reunited at ages 57 and 80+, it was clear that they both shared exactly the same temperament and the same starched backbone as each other!

[@user-cy4vw1qj9m]

It good enough for the first father 41 years without seeing his daughter tell me he just wanted her because he is old and alone.

[@HelenBellen123]

He wasn't alone by any means. He had a big family in New Zealand.

[@Ana_Ines3420]

​@@HelenBellen123why did he then stay over a month in Amsterdam bugging his daughter. He may have had ulterior motives.

[@kylady124]

The first lady was very gracious to her elder father. What he said when she was leaving, that he had shut the door on his past and she was part of that... I imagine those words haunted that poor girl for years. But he was granted a very special gift of being forgiven even though he couldn't lose his pride enough to say he's sorry all through the years. I hope she gets the welcome she's due!

[@evewomensministry9590]

I contacted my father as an adult, married with children. The first call he cried and cried. We flew him out to visit us- I was so nervous! We connected on many levels but I wanted to understand why? Why did you leave me? I was in an orphanage and foster home, then at eight my mother literally kidnapped me. She was mentally ill and addicted to pills. It was quite bad. I left home when I was just 14 years old. I am so very glad I contacted him- over the years I began to understand him as a person. He had a very tough life, he grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, served in merchant marines when he was 15! Was drafted into Korea. He had no one. Very sad. He didn’t know my mother was mentally ill, she was only 15 when she feigned pregnancy and they married. She was a Russian immigrant and her mother died when my mom was only ten. She lived in an orphanage. They were very poor, he shoveled coal and did odd jobs. It was a disaster of a marriage! When I understood that everyone has a story and we all have regrets. I forgave both of them. I’m so thankful I got to really know them before they died. My sons have wonderful memories of their Grandfather! ❤

[@Happy_Bnzo_Puppy]

Damn.... 💜

[@cmataira]

What a sad story! 🤗

[@elizabethbrown8833]

Amongst Life's wilderness mountains, sometimes a diamond is discovered. No doubt, to your parents now, you are one of those rare diamonds, your life matters because they found eternal peace through your story which is absolutely astounding. You should write it out. Many reading it would find needed inn🌌🌎🪶💕🙏🏻er healing.

[@joannedibben2352]

I'm so glad you got to know them their lives sound very tough indeed may they rest now blessings to you🌈

[@personalcheeses8073]

My daughter also contacted her father. They aren’t bothered with finger pointing.

[@shereem3291]

The 1st story blew my mind that humans can be so stubborn and they willing to live with it .The daughter and father is 2 peas in a pod

[@aliciab.3026]

These two people need a lot of therapy. Both are extremely emotionally unstable. It’s sad after all these years there’s still so much stubbornness. Prayers and love and therapy

[@jackiebaptiste6319]

yes they both need to behave

[@Friskyhorton]

I could have cried, watching that Haka, it was so beautiful.

[@wanjiruciru6237]

I have cried😊What a beautiful welcome

[@truerosie]

What a beautiful program this is, this is such healing work. I felt sad about the Dutch guy; abandoned by his parents in the war, then he abandons his own child. Life has its way of going full circle; and though that didn't end happily, at least he got to see his sister again; extraordinary that they had not met that they had not met for 70 years. His stubbornness cost him dearly.

[@Robin-lh9wr]

I didn't understand the ending, was it because he wanted to stay with his sister, or because he didn't contact his daughter again? Would love to know! 😊

[@mickham]

@@Robin-lh9wrI suspect he wasn’t letting up and taking responsibility for anything.

[@Papin47]

First story is tragic. Sad for the daughter, who made the effort to give this very broken man another chance at redemption. Great to see the joyful meetings with father and child in the last two stories. Kudos to the perfect host/narrator.

[@figmo397]

In all three segments, the kids were amazingly like their long lost fathers. In the first segment, it was really sad that the father somehow triggered the daughter. The two seemed so alike in temperament. OTOH, that might have been what did it. The second story was such a contrast. Here you had a father and daughter who were also very alike, but the circumstances and the personalities were very different. He hadn't known she existed, yet he immediately took responsibility and welcomed her into the rest of the family. That Hakka welcome was amazing! I've been loving all the Maori culture that comes up in this show, and this segment was full of it. In contrast to the first segment, in the third one, the similarities between the father and son helped them bond.

[@flamingogirl57]

All of these reunions touched me, but the second one really touched my heart , as I met my Father and learned of my heritage. Now 8 years later I know much more about my Norwegian heritage, the language, foods, traditions. All of it somehow feels so natural !! Skól !

[@Happy_Bnzo_Puppy]

💜

[@rollo9428]

Skål❤ I am from Norway 🥰

[@buleberryjam177gaming7]

The old man suddenly remembered his daughter after 41 years as he wanted a carer 😂😂 So pleased for Rhianna, definitely a good connection instantly.

[@HelenBellen123]

Kees had a large family in New Zealand. He didn't need to cross the world to get a carer,

[@Ana_Ines3420]

​@@HelenBellen123 but he stayed over a month in Amsterdam and be ame a nuisance to his daughter. Something was not right there.

[@jackiebaptiste6319]

I don't believe that he has people seeing about him he and she is very head strong

[@ms.binabibie6473]

Its only human , unexplainable in words to want to meet some people in life

[@Papin47]

Watching Reihanna being so powerfully welcomed by her father and brothers, was 'soul settling' resounding around the world.💙

[@terryharter9773]

That is so sad that on the 1st story that the daughter will not forgive her dad. You tell he isn't remembering how things ended but the daughter is just like her dad. Bitterness never wins. When you stay bitter it reflects your heart to others and you become a heart of stone.

[@f.l3450]

The first guy was mad at Carolina’s mom, rightfully so , and took it out on her too.

[@denisenoles3159]

Sadly you are right.

[@sherriescottrn327]

OMG The 2nd story simply brought me to tears! I am so happy for that young lady, her son, & her newly found Dad & siblings. The Dad seems like the type of man I wish my own Father could have been. Best of Luck to all the reunited families! 💖

[@Grace1957-]

The 2nd dad seems cool but I couldn't understand what he was saying :(

[@Papin47]

@@Grace1957- You can turn on Close Caption (CC button) at bottom of your screen and you can read what's being said in English. The father is also slipping into his own native language at times.

[@marypace1705]

😢

[@marypace1705]

​@@Papin47 hjh

[@ritamamavi6560]

I love this program. How it helps people to find lost family

[@peacelily7751]

Carolina and her father are both stubborn beings.

[@thelogicalanswer937]

As a Canadian and coming across this show from NZ- I am amazed at the Mauri culture and how proud and traditional they are.

[@numberone5680]

Māori.

[@keikurooka5105]

Keith n his brother during german occupation was just so heartbreaking g. Stealing to survive.😢😢

[@HelenBellen123]

Yes, charming parents they had there!

[@Ana_Ines3420]

The fact that he stayed over a month in Amsterdam is telling me that he wanted something else from his daughter, ulterior motives, not just reconnecting but needing assistance from his daughter.

[@cmataira]

Maybe Kees lived on the streets after the war, the dates did not quite add up to me. The war finished in 1945, if he was 8 at that time he was born 1937, and he would have been 80 in 2017. Are these videos old? Or is Kees embroidering the past?

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

These videos are several years old.

[@HelenBellen123]

@@Ana_Ines3420 I don't think we can see how he thought on the basis of a highly edited programme - not quite 15 minutes of their lives. Accusations based on that are pretty ridiculous. If you travel all the way from the other side of the world and you are that age, then I assume you would hang around longer, because you don't know if you'll be able to make that journey again. He also had a huge family in Australia, so if he needed assistance, he had it.

[@marietgagliardi]

Well, the first guy dropped the ball as a father but i feel bad for him after realizing he was abandoned to the streets by his own parents. He did the same thing to his own daughter. It takes a lot to overcome this kind of neglect

[@leoniea138]

Wow....what a meeting in pure Maori culture...you had me in tears ❤

[@Melissa.A]

I was so captured (if that's the right word), by the welcome and unconditional love he gave her. I watched a second time ( and will probably watch again, the tears flowed freely LOL). I recently found my biological father but I have not been so lucky. Tricky situation. But I have found a beautiful welcome in my extended family (1 cousin) whom understands the situation but still has embraced me with warmth and love. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that whatever happens, it was meant to be.

[@aliciab.3026]

Carolina needs therapy. She was a teenager when her parents divorced and that made a huge impact on her life. She still has resentments and resistance and is still angry. Perhaps that’s why she has no children or husband. Parents should understand what harm they can cause when they choose to do the things they does especially when children are involved

[@rosameryrojas-delcerro1059]

It said she was divorced with no children. She could easily be infertile, her personality doesn't necessarily need to be the answer. I am infertile (congenital) and never married, no reason to.

[@angelamorrison8634]

There are the foundations of family love that seem to never leave us. It makes me happy to see the reunification between father and daughter, a happy outcome.

[@ruthrose2555]

There's no timetable when they'll be ready to see their past in person. One person may be "there" and another it'll take years. There are so many reasons why, with time, but they just aren't ready. Many times, rejecting responsibility at a young age can be very prideful to admit. But, once the heart opens, it can be beautiful through forgiveness.

[@hollydisanto9148]

Awe. The second story was a real tear jerker. So much love and open hearts on both sides. Father and daughter with a beautiful connection. God is good.

[@thelogicalanswer937]

It's amazing how people's memories of a situation can be so polar opposite.

[@patriciapingitore756]

Brave souls to live life without knowing their family or culture. These reunions touch the depths of my soul and tears to my eyes.

[@chloeuntrau4588]

This program prooves there are a lot of good people on this earth.

[@someone3187]

I would really like know why Carolina and her aunt had a fallout with her Dad Kees during his stay in Holland. What happened?

[@Robin-lh9wr]

😢. This was a real tear jerker. The obvious grief/relief when the father was told his daughter wanted to see him ❤

[@virg0_lem0nade]

i felt so bad for the woman in the 1st story, she was being reasonable and knew that it was a good idea to guard herself against an abusive parent.

[@cplmpcocptcl6306]

Story 2. I’ve never seen a better welcome.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@sherrylawrencelewis2544]

💯 ❤

[@sabuaspiller3935]

Wow wow I can't stop crying 😢. This is great. God bless you.

[@maricogan2903]

Wow. Now I understand why Case/the father is remote. Hiw own father deserted two tiny boys alone on the streets of Holland.

[@coraltaylor7327]

How do adults expect that its the child's responsibility to keep in touch is beyond me.

[@marilynbridgland3428]

WHAT A "TEAR JERKER" !!!! THANKYOU XOXO

[@missy183]

I love this program. Thanks for sharing. God bless. 😇❤❤❤

[@susansilvey1614]

There was no explanation as to what happened with the first story

[@sabinevilleneuve190]

van den BOSCH, Kees. Passed away peacefully on 27 July 2017, aged 82. Loving husband of Shirley. Father of Caroline. Step-father of Debbie, ...

[@letitbesummer6536]

First story, he blew it as a dad. Imo. I don’t know if I’d want to meet a father who abandoned me like that 40 odd years later. Perhaps for curiosity if nothing else. But possibly not. It could possibly be too painful. It was up to the father to continue to bond with his child, not up to her to continue the relationship with him.

[@lovingmayberry307]

None of us is perfect. At the end he swallowed his pride, apologized, and begged to see her again. His own father disappeared from his life, he just met a sister he hadn't seen for 74 years. He obviously wasn't raised with a sense of what "family" means. If i were his daughter, I'd stop being stubborn and cut him some slack; he won't be around much longer.

[@lizzynunez4906]

It seems to me that whatever happened with father and daughter affected their lives deeply. From the information provided the father didn't have any more children, the daughter didn't have any of her own. The patents' didn't just get divorced, the mother and daughter moved to a different country, parents are not perfect but we don't know the dynamic between ex spouses, which tends to affect the children as well.......The relationship seems to be needing a lot of healing on both sides, hopefully they can find forgiveness and move forward with love and peace.❤️

[@user-cy4vw1qj9m]

He is a disgrace as a father he was busy getting on with his new marriage which she didn't fit into.

[@CC-hx5fz]

Families don't work that way. Children have different needs of parents throughout their lives, and there are relationships with other siblings, cousins and another set of grandparents that they're missing.

[@veronicajean3612]

I have a feeling he truly meant the mother. The daughter is acting just like she says he is and dislikes. Being abandoned in war time when seven by your parents. Needs to be considered

[@tzarinaruths.2610]

Sometimes reunions just don't work. It's sad but everything is not a happy ending.

[@pollyannaprinciple5860]

First case didn't seem like it ended well. Sometimes it's okay to "not" reconnect with some family members. Just because someone is your biological relative doesn't mean having a relationship with them is necessarily good for your well being.

[@someone3187]

But it's worth to find out to not have any regrets

[@pollyannaprinciple5860]

@@someone3187 True.

[@yolandagomezsmith8522]

I don't understand why the adult thinks that the children should look for them?????

[@Witch_way07]

I think some people are so stubborn and cowardly. Maybe the regret stunts them

[@TessaabriolsantosBriones27]

The second episode made me cry

[@Afterburner]

So sad to see that father-daughter relationship went south... I would hope they found a way to repair the damage... Such lifelong conflicts are tragic...

[@taniraupanapa9277]

Over the years I’ve watched David Lomas connect whanau. And this is the second time I’ve known someone 😊. Geoff meeting your son. Happy father and son😊.

[@mistyvaughn6356]

I'm not crying, you're crying ❤

[@squirrelboss7067]

I loved these episodes!❤

[@Sharon-be4df]

Omg that dutch mans personality and attitude is almost identical to my dads. We've been estranged for over 25 years. He did the same thing. My sister has to twist herself into a pretzel just to get to visit or a visit from him. She said he sometimes asks about me. Although i can never imagine him EVER saying he did anything wrong.

[@Sharon-be4df]

Oh and he is also Dutch.

[@Doreenhill67]

Only human is the most important,loved, and amazing channel out there, they really are a big impact on people lives, they are about making dreams come true for the people who really needs it, from America with love, God bless you 😊😊😊😊😊❤❤❤❤❤

[@lindamon5101]

Wow nice work!

[@kathleendonson7817]

That haka was powerful ❤

[@HelenBellen123]

Kees was 80 in this and he died aged 82.

[@issievdhorst]

The stubborn Dutch... my late husband was like this also.

[@heatherbacala7208]

You can tell your daughter you love her

[@hollyobaby6949]

My dad always said that most of being a father was just showing up. Being there. Interesting the old man that was the first father featured did the opposite and expected to still have a father daughter relationship after his long time choice to be absent in her life. I'm thinking my dad may have a good point. This man could have reached out when she was 18 at least. Whatever age dutch people start living on their own would have been a decent enough time to reach out. Somewhere between 18 and 25 maybe? That period of time when a child grows into adulthood and begins thinking for themselves.

[@ainemurray8250]

I love this program

[@marciageorgiades6507]

Well bet he was shocked to see her old ,as he kept seeing her photo of her younger .Wonderful they found each other again ,hope they can develop a father and daughter relationdhip ,not sure but hopeful

[@kerrigrandmaison7844]

Amazing

[@benjie2x2]

more than a movie. a welcome like that...

[@b1LL1eMc]

I feel Karolina was too harsh on Kees. He, an elderly man, had flown a long way to come and see her. He is a victim of the war, was homeless and no doubt has had multiple traumas which will have affected his whole life. Why could she not just be kind?

[@10tenman10]

The Maori welcome was fantastic

[@yourkarma2250]

the 2nd story got me in the feels

[@user-sj6jl5nd5x]

Heart breaking

[@leoniea138]

Wow Gary you are awesome connecting your blood ❤

[@mmeme5861]

I so wish that you can finish one story at a time....

[@heathermccready5511]

Lovely

[@cordeliav3055]

Having seen a few of your videos now, I am reminded of the famous quote by Shakespeare: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their entrances and their exits; And one man in his time plays many parts...." What is not resolved in this incarnation will have to be resolved next time around, long after we have all "gone back to the ranch" (as my American friend says). What a pity Kees' daughter could not understand that her father probably has dementia and is most likely playing his very last part.

[@Hbk-gc7st]

He is as sharp as a fox and very cunning. She saw bs coming and crossed the streets. See hiw he cried, but never shed a tear? It was all about him and not about her.

[@hanijibas2516]

You are the only person that seems to understand aging here. Where I come from we don't disagree with our elders. It is our duty to take care of them at such old age.

[@naturalmaxhealth5021]

I can't believe she made her 80-year old father travel all the way to Holland. Where is the forgiveness? 😔

[@gabe_2544]

Sounds like the old guy’s desire to reconnect with his daughter was for the purpose of her taking care of him. If he’s bothering her and his sister so much that they’ve told him to leave them alone, it sounds like he also just up and stayed in Holland.

[@beverlyanne5192]

i agree. he wanted her to look to care for him in his old age .

[@olgavarela3647]

That was my thinking, since the beginning.

[@gabe_2544]

@@olgavarela3647 You’re very perceptive. I’ve gotta admit I went back and forth between suspicion and believing him, but I wasn’t surprised the daughter’s instincts about him ended up being on target.

[@aunaturel4]

Are you sure? Your perception might be completely wrong. As viewers of this show, we really don't know anything about these people, except for what we are shown.

[@mistytaylor8166]

The 2nd family, ain't no denying that!!!

[@alanalycan3986]

No i wouldn't call the daughter stubborn at all sir. HURT is the word. Rejected another. Her father made a selfish mistake but its good he is trying to make amends before he meets his maker

[@henerypasi7861]

That is Petone Wellington beautiful place

[@anjodosol46]

Poor Rihanna, so much emotions

[@candykane4271]

I hope he finds a good charity to leave his inheritance.

[@ritaranee4787]

Why is it so difficult to take the first step to reconciliation and to remember blood is thicker than water.... we Indians respect our parents generally

[@leoniea138]

Its a long walk for them to meet their dads

[@heatherbacala7208]

He could have said let's make things right.

[@angelatappenden363]

So sad both stubborn

[@katysummer9418]

I really wonder why men think the child have to contact them first even if they are 9 yrs old. The child wants to feel important and is hoping their dad will reach out to them.

[@anjodosol46]

The second case, I would thought, what this crazy man doing, haha

[@gailekelly3534]

The person who said parents think their children to see them first. I dont understand how your brain works. But it does think the same as mine. As i see it, you were born to your parents. They raised, fed you, cloth you. Educate you. Then you grow up and make a life for yourself. But you dont ever forget who.raise you. No matter what the circumstances are with the parent. They didnt turn their back on you. Children as adult is their turn to be incontact and visit their parents. To so their respect to them for what they did for us. But without them we wouldnt be here. To give them the love and support they gave us. Thats what family is. There. Is a thing call forgive or forget. People now a day hasnt the intelligent to do thst. As they think that the world owes them. Isay one day their children are going to do.the same to them. Then they will know what it feels like to be sick and lonely.but thank fully his daughter is going to.see him. Which is wonderful. I want to also.that you only have one set of of parents. So what difference you have, make amends before its to late. Love of your family is most imprtant part of life that you will ever have.

[@sirmadam8183]

Do not look for purity in relationships. People are not pure. If you insist on purity, ie. he must contact me first, he must apologize, he must.., you will always be disappointed.

[@williambabbitt7602]

Did she really say she loved him? She said she’s willing to see him, that’s not the same thing.

[@MrAdal206]

Carolina does not seem like a nice person. I think her mother poisoned her against her father the entire time, and as soon as her father said something she didn't like, she decided to cut him off like the brat she was raised to be.

[@lynnebrooks7950]

Unfortunately so many men don't know how to be fathers! Sometimes they weren't taught but they are the adults in the circumstances! Jesus is love, without him people don't know what love is!! God help families to love, forgive & cherish one another!!!

[@annamartinsen1058]

😭😭😭🙏

[@20bluelilies]

So familiar with that old style Dutch rigidity and arrogance. As soon as I heard the first sentence of the video he made for her, I knew she'd be making a mistake to let him back into her life.

[@Hbk-gc7st]

That was the first thing I thought of when I heard by his accent that he was Dutch. It was not her responsibility to keep in contact for he was the parent. He probably chased everybody around him away. Made alot of crying sounds, never shed a tear. The narcissistic tedencies fortunately are character, not culture.

[@annamartinsen1058]

😥😢😭

[@leoniea138]

Maori culture is nothing u ever seen....no comparison....just beautiful

[@mgriffet2004]

who's the guy that finds the people

[@georgiagoodwin2009]

David Lomas

[@mgriffet2004]

@@georgiagoodwin2009 ok thank you

[@anjodosol46]

Her younger brother looks like her son, rihana

[@isabellamcauley9790]

I would this guy to help me to find my father birth dad

[@anjodosol46]

She does look like her daddy

[@StevieD.]

Color my cynical, but I do wonder how many of these "lost fathers" are due to child support.

[@cmataira]

Are these videos funded by a TV network? All that flying around is not cheap!