Charity's Complicity in Child Disappearances Under Assad Regime Exposed

Wed Oct 22 2025 09:20:52 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A detailed investigation reveals that SOS Children's Villages has been implicated in the forced separation of children from their families during the Syrian civil war, raising serious ethical concerns about their operational practices.

An investigative report uncovers the role of SOS Children's Villages in the disappearance of over 3,700 children during the Assad regime's civil war. The charity, funded by international donations, is criticized for allegedly cooperating with the regime, altering child identities, and maintaining a lack of transparency while families search for their missing loved ones. Numerous whistleblowers reveal how the organization was influenced by political pressures and failure to act on safeguarding issues.

Mothers, alongside child welfare staff, are emerging from the shadows to share their harrowing experiences regarding the role of the global charity, SOS Children's Villages, in the unsettling disappearances of children during Syria’s political turmoil.

Reem al-Kari and her cousin Lama are among those tirelessly investigating their lost loved ones. Reem is searching for her son, Karim, who vanished in 2013 during an errand with his father. Since the uprising against the Assad regime began in 2011, over 3,700 children have gone missing, many allegedly taken to be used as political pawns within the regime's orphanages.

Operated under the guise of humanitarian goals, these orphanages, like Lahan Al Hayat, have thickened the shadows surrounding the fates of thousands of children. These establishments, allegedly linked to Assad’s regime through former first lady Asma al-Assad, received children whose family ties were obscured intentionally through falsified documentation.

Recent collaborative efforts among investigative journalists and media organizations have led to a database revealing at least 323 children hidden within these institutions, shrouded from their families and society. The findings indicate a disturbing alliance between SOS Children's Villages, which raises approximately €1.6 billion annually, and the Syrian regime, often categorized as a terror system by its own citizens.

Multiple whistleblowers from within SOS Children’s Villages have expressed serious concerns about the hiring practices and operations in Syria, suggesting that many senior positions were appointed directly by Assad's palace, compromising the charity's integrity. Furthermore, it’s alleged that the organization adopted troubling practices to boost numbers at facilities, including accepting any child, regardless of circumstances, to meet funding requirements.

This alarming exposition has left many parents, like Reem, still searching for their children amidst bureaucratic red tape and a lack of support since the regime’s collapse. While SOS Children’s Villages has publicly condemned the forced separations, calls for accountability and transparency from the organization continue to grow, as many families remain desperate for closure.