The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government has raised hopes for families still searching for loved ones who disappeared during decades of repression in Syria. Human rights groups estimate that between 130,000 and 300,000 people remain missing, many of whom are believed to have died in detention or been buried in mass graves. On the outskirts of Damascus, cemetery undertaker Mohamad Rajab has spent more than a decade burying and documenting victims, including 172 bodies recovered from a nearby highway, 145 of whom have since been identified. Rajab is still searching for two of his brothers, who disappeared after being detained by the former regime in 2012. Activists such as Mohamad Idris have preserved photographs and records of unidentified bodies, helping families identify and recover the remains of their loved ones. Syria’s National Committee for Missing Persons says it will work with activists, families, investigators and the UN to locate those still unaccounted for, but the effort could take decades.
Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto reports from Damascus.
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