In 2018, Sukayna Jebawi and her daughter Hiba were detained by Syrian security forces to pressure the family of her husband, a rebel. They spent a harrowing month in dire conditions where Jebawi witnessed the suffering of her child, including weight loss and infestations. Mothers were later forced to surrender their children to guards, leading to the placement of these children in orphanages. By 2014, evidence emerged that hundreds of children were being taken to orphanages by the regime's intelligence agencies, highlighting the devastating impact of conflict on innocent lives.
Jebawi told NPR that she and her daughter were crammed in a dank, dark cell with other women and children. She said Hiba was losing weight for lack of food.
Nearly a month after the two were detained, Jebawi recalls, prison guards banged on their cell and ordered the detained mothers to hand over their children. 'It was chaos,' she said.
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