ROCHELLE JUNIOR

As-Sweida — Participants in the weekly "Sabaia Sand" vigil called on official authorities and international organizations, particularly the Red Cross, to intensify efforts to uncover the fate of the forcibly disappeared and to provide families with any confirmed information, stressing that the ongoing waiting for a year has exacerbated families' suffering.

The "Sabaia Sand" team organized a new vigil yesterday evening, Friday, July 17, as part of its weekly series, within a solidarity campaign ongoing for a year demanding the disclosure of the fate of the forcibly disappeared and abducted. The vigil coincided with the passage of a full year since the disappearance of a number of civilians who were kidnapped by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham jihadists, affirming that they are unarmed civilians and that the reasons for their arrest or disappearance remain unknown to this day.

Demands to Intensify Efforts for the Release of Detainees

Civil activist Lamees Munther from the "My Home Is Your Home" organization said that her participation came in the candlelight vigil organized by "Sabaia Sand" to pray for the safe return of the disappeared and the disclosure of their fate after a year of absence. She added that to date, there is no confirmed information about their fate, though there is circulating information that some may be detained in Adra Prison.

Lamees Munther called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intensify its efforts in searching and investigating within Adra Prison and other possible detention locations, and to make strenuous efforts to alleviate the suffering of the waiting families. She noted that the file of the forcibly disappeared is one of the most prominent outstanding files in Sweida.

She considered that revealing the fate of more than 125 missing persons could provide a glimmer of hope for their families, explaining that among the missing are elderly individuals, in addition to the documentation of 29 elderly persons, including the 16-year-old child Hamza Waseem Aql. She affirmed that all of them were arrested from their homes without justification, expressing hope for their safe return.

"Our Solidarity Gives Us Inner Peace"

For her part, Jumana Nassif from the "Sabaia Sand" team explained that the team organized this vigil after a full year of the young men's disappearance, whose fate remains unknown, affirming that there are mothers who have not heard their sons' voices for a year and have no information about their whereabouts or conditions.

She added that the weekly vigils will continue and will not stop until the last abducted, disappeared, and detained person is released, affirming that the team stands with the mothers and wives waiting for any news about their loved ones. "Their tears are precious, and we will continue to support them and stand by their side permanently."

Jumana Nassif pointed to the great community solidarity in the city of Shahba, affirming that community members have not abandoned each other, living as one family sharing joy and sorrow. She considered that the continuation of this solidarity and love gives them confidence that peace and love will ultimately prevail.

She also expressed her views on the events accompanying the civilians' disappearance, saying they were optimistic that those coming to the region would be "brothers united by the Syrian homeland," but they were surprised by killings and kidnappings, questioning how unarmed civilians could be exchanged with an army that entered through killing and weapons, considering this equation illogical.

For her part, Rania Abu Hassoun, mother of the disappeared Daniel Muwaffaq Al-Harfoush, spoke about her suffering after a full year of his disappearance. She explained that he is a university graduate who worked outside Syria and had returned for only one month to visit his family, that he is a civilian with no affiliation to any faction, and that his disappearance has left his family in painful waiting with no information about his fate.

She added that her son went with his cousins to a farm before his trail was lost, calling on official authorities and concerned parties to inform families of any available information about their children, noting that the past year was the hardest in her life. "All the days of this year were black, not just July."

She explained that her son is her only child, and all she wishes for is to hear his voice, affirming that she has been participating in the vigils for a full year and will continue as long as she is able until she receives any news about him, expressing hope to see him soon.

Akhkam Khair, mother of the disappeared Ashraf Al-Harfoush, said that her son and four of his cousins disappeared on July 19 of last year after going to a farm in the Deir Shu'air area, and since that day the family has known nothing about their fate. She added that her children are "students of knowledge and could not harm even an ant," affirming that a full year passing without knowing whether they are alive or dead is an extremely harsh feeling for any mother.

She explained that the family wakes up daily hoping to hear reassuring news, and that the phone ringing makes them rush, thinking it might carry information about their sons. She noted that the waiting continues after a full year, and called on anyone with the ability to help or any information to do what they can to reveal the fate of the missing and return them to their families.