On December 1, 2014, security forces loyal to the deposed regime arrested Murad Istanbouli from his shop in the industrial area of Salamiyah city. His family accused him of manufacturing weapons, aiding the displaced, and financing "terrorism." However, activists say the real reason for his arrest was his participation in peaceful demonstrations.
Istanbouli is one of the Syrian revolution activists from Salamiyah who were forcibly disappeared and whose fate remains unknown. In his honor, a group of activists in Salamiyah launched a rally called "We Will Not Forget," aiming to shed light on the issues of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons in the city and its countryside and enable their families to demand justice.
The rally was launched in cooperation with the New Dawn Gathering and the Network for Change for Syria, within the framework of the Friends of Salamiyah Association.
Sama Mahmoud, a founding member of the Change for Syria Network, said in a video clip broadcast by Al-Salamiyah newspaper that she has been a human rights activist since 2019. She worked with a group of activists outside Syria, and after the fall of the regime and the country's liberation, they were able to work and coordinate within Syria.
She added that the "We Will Not Forget" initiative is primarily a free and independent space for the families of detainees. She added, "It is an initiative for them to communicate with each other and share their experiences with the enforced disappearance of their children."
She pointed out that the initiative's goal is to uncover the fate of the disappeared and achieve transitional justice, emphasizing that "without uncovering the fate of these people, there will be no transitional justice in Syria. Without this justice, there will be no civil peace, and we will not be able to move forward and rebuild our country after the forced displacement and systematic killing perpetrated by the Assad regime throughout the years preceding its fall."
Ammar al-Hajj, one of the group's founders, said that mothers have the right to have graves for their children to mourn over. Therefore, the goal of this initiative was to bring together the families of the forcibly disappeared, detainees, and survivors of detention to amplify their voices and pressure for transitional justice.
Fatima Ezzou, for her part, said that she lost two brothers who disappeared and hoped until the last moment to reunite with them safely. She revealed that her mother, who suffers from tumors, had hoped to live to see them. However, after the liberation and release of the detainees, the family's hope was dashed, and her mother's health deteriorated.
She noted that meeting with the families of other detainees eased her grief because the pain brought them together and their concerns became one.
Activist Ayham Saqr said that the issue of the families of the victims is one of the most important issues that deserves the attention of all Syrians, adding that revealing the fate of detainees and the forcibly disappeared is a matter linked to peace and stability.
He added that if this issue is not properly and directly addressed, in partnership with the government and international organizations, there will be no stability. He expressed his belief that the "We Will Not Forget" initiative is good, but it needs to be developed further, moving toward inviting and following up with all the families of the victims and providing them with assistance.
On May 15, a number of families of those forcibly disappeared in the prisons of the former regime launched an advocacy campaign called the "Tent of Truth in Salamiyah and its Countryside." This campaign seeks to create a safe space for them to communicate and work to uncover the truth and achieve justice for the disappeared and their families. This is an extension of a struggle across various regions of Syria led by the families of detainees and the forcibly disappeared.
The initiative's founders commented on their Facebook account at the time: "We will not forget our detainees and families who are still missing, and we will not hesitate to demand their rights and justice."
They added: "Our path is long and arduous, and working on the enforced disappearance file is complex and extremely exhausting. This requires a great deal of patience and deliberation, and we must be united in our pain and the goal of uncovering the truth."
Fares Al-Rifai - Zaman Al-Wasl
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