"Maryam Hassan sits on a couch in her home in Jdeidet Artouz, a suburb of Syria's capital Damascus, her voice soft but steady as she speaks. She raises her eyes to look upon a photograph of Younes and Mohammed al-Muqbil, her husband and teenage son, whom she last saw on September 26, 2013. The family was told that Younes would have to be present to pick his son up."
"The unassuming father, a school teacher who Hassan says hadn't even participated in anti-government protests, walked straight into a trap, disappearing into the unknown with his child. For the next 12 years, Hassan and her children lived their lives in fear. When Bashar al-Assad's regime was toppled in December 2024 by rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, she hoped it would lead to the long-awaited moment of reunion for the family."
"According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), more than 100,000 people remain forcibly disappeared to date, with thousands of their loved ones, including Hassan, still waiting to learn of their fate. In the first years after the disappearance, Hassan inquired about her family in police stations and courts, and even reached out to NGOs like the Red Crescent."
Maryam Hassan lives in Jdeidet Artouz, near Damascus, and last saw her husband Younes and teenage son Mohammed on September 26, 2013. Mohammed, 14, was detained at a regime checkpoint outside Yarmouk camp after the family moved there from Al Hajar Al Aswad. Officials told the family that Younes needed to collect his son; Younes, a schoolteacher who did not participate in protests, went to pick him up and disappeared with his child. For 12 years Hassan and her children lived in fear, moving between homes, often claiming widowhood to avoid attention. After the 2024 regime overthrow, hopes for reunion persisted amid reports that over 100,000 people remain forcibly disappeared.
Read at Truthout
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