Reem al-Kari and her cousin Lama are searching through dozens of photos of children spread out on a desk. Lama thinks she spots one with a likeness to Karim, Reem's missing son.
Karim was two-and-a-half when he and his father disappeared in 2013 during Syria's civil war while running an errand. He is one of over 3,700 children still missing since the fall of the Assad regime. Now he would be 15.
In December, following the regime's collapse, journalists, activists, and families have accessed resources previously unavailable. The BBC, in collaboration with investigative organization Lighthouse Reports, has established a database of 323 children hidden by the regime in orphanages.
SOS Children's Villages International, an Austrian charity operating in over 130 countries, has been implicated in this crisis. Testimonies reveal that senior positions at SOS in Syria were filled by appointees from the Assad palace, indicating a possible link to human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime.
Upon interrogation, SOS admitted that it had taken in 140 undocumented children between 2013 and 2018, with many later returned to the authorities, leaving their current locations unknown. The charity faced accusations of changing children's identities and restricting family contact, effectively making tracing these children more difficult.
As families like Reem's confront the bureaucratic labyrinth of the Syrian healthcare and welfare system, the reality remains grim. Parent's searches yield minimal results, issuing cries for transparency and accountability amid rising despair. With many organizations now pulling foreign support from SOS, the fate of countless children stands precariously on the edge, echoing through the memories of their worried families.
Karim was two-and-a-half when he and his father disappeared in 2013 during Syria's civil war while running an errand. He is one of over 3,700 children still missing since the fall of the Assad regime. Now he would be 15.
In December, following the regime's collapse, journalists, activists, and families have accessed resources previously unavailable. The BBC, in collaboration with investigative organization Lighthouse Reports, has established a database of 323 children hidden by the regime in orphanages.
SOS Children's Villages International, an Austrian charity operating in over 130 countries, has been implicated in this crisis. Testimonies reveal that senior positions at SOS in Syria were filled by appointees from the Assad palace, indicating a possible link to human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime.
Upon interrogation, SOS admitted that it had taken in 140 undocumented children between 2013 and 2018, with many later returned to the authorities, leaving their current locations unknown. The charity faced accusations of changing children's identities and restricting family contact, effectively making tracing these children more difficult.
As families like Reem's confront the bureaucratic labyrinth of the Syrian healthcare and welfare system, the reality remains grim. Parent's searches yield minimal results, issuing cries for transparency and accountability amid rising despair. With many organizations now pulling foreign support from SOS, the fate of countless children stands precariously on the edge, echoing through the memories of their worried families.
