Families of Syria’s disappeared demand justice from Daraa, the birthplace of the revolution 

Families of loved ones who disappeared into Assad’s detention centers gathered today in Daraa, Syria, the birthplace of the revolution and the city that witnessed the first arrests and acts of torture 14 years ago. In March 2011, the regime arrested and tortured teenagers for writing anti-government slogans on their school wall.

The regime’s brutality was a spark that prompted thousands of peaceful protesters out on the streets and started the Syrian revolution. Fourteen years on and thousands of families are still waiting for answers about the fate of their loved ones.

Families travelled from all over Syria carrying photos of their sons, daughters, fathers and husbands, to gather together and say to the interim government and international institutions, now is the time for truth and justice.

Wafa Mustafa of The Syria Campaign spoke to the families who gathered in Daraa’s central square. She said:  “We are here because justice has not been served, because the crimes continue, and because impunity has turned injustice into the norm rather than the exception…“The Syrian revolution has always been a cry for freedom, dignity, and justice. These principles do not end with the fall of a regime; they begin when rights are restored, when crimes stop, and when no more mothers are forced to dig in the dark, searching for traces of their children.”

A mother of a disappeared detainee from Daraa said: “We want to know where they are. Huge numbers of people have been forcibly disappeared. My son was detained when he was 30 years old, leaving behind his wife and four children. My heart breaks for my grandchildren. When he was arrested, his young son would stand by the door of the house and call for his dad. “My dad is coming and he’s bringing me biscuits”, he’d say.

“I want to ask Assad: “Why did you do this to us? Why did you do this to the people of Syria? We’re human beings, why would you do this to human beings? Why did you arrest all those people?”

Ranim Ahmed of The Syria Campaign said: “We are gathering for the first time in Syria with families of the disappeared. Syrian Palestinian families joined together with mothers and families from across the country to demand truth and justice for their loved ones. Many mothers said all they want is a grave so they have a place to cry and mourn their children.

“Evidence of the regime’s crimes, the prisons and the mass graves must be protected. The interim government must work with the Syrian organisations and the international institutions to uncover the fate of tens of thousands of Syria’s disappeared and hold all the perpetrators accountable. We want to build a Syria free of enforced disappearance, free of torture and this can’t be achieved without bringing justice for all the disappeared.”