For months we drew a blank in our hunt for Luka.

And then we had our first breakthrough.

One of those listed in the book, who we tried calling again, finally answered the phone.

He had been the guard for Luka’s apartment block, he told us, and eventually agreed to give us the number for someone he said had been Luka’s personal bodyguard – a man we are calling Mahmoud.

It took weeks to secure an interview with Mahmoud. Meetings would be scheduled but he would not show up, or he would request a meeting in a private space such as a car or apartment, which our reporter judged too much of a risk.

They eventually met at a hotel one night, just before midnight. Broad-shouldered and physically imposing, Mahmoud seemed to be considering every answer carefully before he spoke.

He told us he was angry with Luka for leaving him behind when the regime fell. As word had spread in December 2024 that Assad’s rule was on the brink of collapse – with rebels advancing on the capital – Luka had said he would stay and defend Damascus, Mahmoud told us. But by the early hours of the next morning, Luka had disappeared, taking a large sum of money with him from the office safe, Mahmoud said.

Mahmoud refused to share any contact details for Luka or his family, but did give us a number for Luka’s driver, who he believed had driven the former spy chief out of the capital that night.

This man proved even harder to reach.

When he answered the phone, his voice was nervous and unsteady. He repeatedly insisted he was just a driver, and knew nothing of Luka’s activities. Multiple meetings with us were never kept, and eventually he stopped replying.

We turned our attention to Luka’s possible escape routes, including neighbouring Lebanon – where the Iran-backed group Hezbollah had close links with the Assad regime.

One senior source in the Lebanese government told us he understood Luka had passed through Lebanon on a “good Russian passport but with a different name”, before flying out to Russia.

We managed to find a man, now based in Lebanon, whose name was listed in Luka’s contacts book, but under a number that no longer worked. He is one of many wanted by the new Syrian government, because of his close association with the Assad regime.

This man, who we cannot identify, said he had a number for Luka.

We saw it, and realised it had a Russian country code.

Russia was a key backer of the Assad regime, and in the days after his fall, Assad released a statement confirming that he had fled there. Many of his inner circle were believed to have followed him.

Back in Luka’s apartment in Damascus, we had found clues that Luka also had strong links to Moscow – awards from Russia’s foreign spy service, and even a New Year’s card addressed to him from a senior Russian official.

Now, the Russian telephone number for him suggested we finally had proof that he was – as we had predicted – in Russia.

What Makes Us Human is the work of Brazilian linguist and writer Victor Santos, with illustrations by Italian artist Anna Forlati.  

The book uses the form of a riddle to introduce young readers to the concept of language while underscoring the need to preserve all languages globally.

“I have existed for a long time, longer than toys, dogs, or anyone you know,” the book begins.

“My roots date back several centuries. Some are even much older. I am everywhere, in every country, in every city, in every school, and in every home…”

Linguistic diversity in danger

UNESCO estimates that there some 8,324 spoken or signed languages, with around 7,000 still in use today. However, linguistic diversity is under threat as many languages are disappearing at an accelerating rate due to globalization and societal changes.

To help safeguard this heritage, UNESCO is joining forces with publishing houses across the world to translate What Makes Us Human into as many languages as possible, with a special focus on indigenous languages.

For example, it is now available in Mapuzugún, the native language of the Mapuche people in Chile.

Love for the mother tongue

Nevenca Cayullán, a traditional Mapuche educator, translated the book into her mother tongue. She expressed her love for Mapuzugún in a recent interview with UN News.

“My mother taught it to me, and that is why I carry it in my skin, in my heart, and in my head,” she said, speaking from Araucanía, the Mapuche heartland.

“I make it present in all territories, wherever I am. Language is the engine that preserves culture, spirituality, the worldview of our indigenous people, respect, and the value of life.”

For 25 years, the UN has celebrated International Mother Language Day on 21 February to highlight the importance of preserving linguistic diversity and promoting all mother languages, which in the simplest definition are those naturally acquired without being officially taught.

‘A living treasure’

Ms. Cayullán believes everyone’s “mother tongue” is much more than that.

“It is a living human treasure, which is why it must be carried, taught, and educated in the establishments where children are confined to monolingualism but have the capacity to learn the culture of indigenous peoples, the land – in this case, the Chilean territory and all territories,” she said.

With this conviction, she enthusiastically joined the What Makes Us Human project when Planeta Sostenible, the publishing house co-editing the bilingual Mapuzugún-Spanish version of the book with UNESCO, proposed that she translate it.

“Ultimately, it’s not just about the translation, but also the interpretation of the book. Being a translator and interpreter of the Mapuche language allows me to have the knowledge and capacity to understand such an important text as What Makes Us Human,” she said.

“It was very relevant because the voice of my people, the voice of my ancestors, will reach others, other countries, other territories, that will learn about my culture. For me, it was incredibly important.”

Recovering ‘what was already there’

Ms. Cayullán lives in Chile’s bustling capital, Santiago.  She said the book shows how to recognize the simple things in life.

“It talks about the games or toys that children use and how we recover them, as well as the value of these games or toys, which are often forgotten. Before all this globalization, many things existed, and this also includes the knowledge of language, which was already there. 

“However, over time, everything has been left behind. The book talks about how to recover what was already there, how to understand the knowledge provided by what existed before globalization.”

She said this was especially true for indigenous languages, “especially the language of the Mapuche people.”

Language makes us human

When asked what makes us human, Ms. Cayullán highlighted the values of respect and appreciation of linguistic and territorial identity.

“For us, this is a living treasure that must be passed down, generation after generation. Language is the means we have to communicate with each other and share our culture, which is why what this book says is so important, and it says it in Mapuzugún as well,” she responded.

What Makes Us Human has been very well received in Chile, where it has initially been distributed in cities where children only speak Spanish.

“I was at an event where many books were given out, and I obviously went with my Mapuche clothing,” Ms. Cayullán recalled.

“The children thought that Mapuches no longer existed; they thought I came from, I don’t know, another planet. They received the books very happily, excited to see me and to have a book translated into Mapuzugún. It was a very emotional event.” 

History of repression

When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in what is now Chile in the 16^th century, Mapuzugún was spoken from the Choapa River, which begins in the Andes mountains, to the island of Chiloé in the south.

At that time, several groups shared this language. In the face of the Spanish presence, they came together and strengthened their bonds, eventually forming the Mapuche identity.

The Mapuche are the largest indigenous community in Chile, numbering more than 1.4 million. They mostly live in the central part of the country, but there is also a small group in Neuquén province in Argentina. Most live in urban areas.

Unfortunately, because of a history of repression, only 10 per cent of Mapuche speak Mapuzugún today, and only another 10 per cent understand it.  

Defend and encourage

When asked whether What Makes Us Human could help children reclaim pride in Mapuzugún, Ms. Cayullán’s response was clear.

“Yes, of course,” she said.  “Yes, because it is a very easy-to-understand book. I believe that texts should be made with monolingual children in mind. I have faith that it will have an impact on society and the new generation.”

She is adamant that defending her mother tongue, and encouraging its use, is a duty.

“I have the responsibility to transmit knowledge. That is why I have this team of traditional educators where I promote speaking Mapuzugún in a city because we all live in Santiago.

“But from here, we are working with the traditional educators who are currently in schools, teaching these monolingual students from different communes in the metropolitan region.”

‘My grandmother talks like you’

Ms. Cayullán explained that efforts to revitalize her language are slowly beginning to bear fruit through support from the Chilean Ministry of Education which is helping to disseminate What Makes Us Human in schools.

She noted that since 1992, schools located in Mapuche territories have been teaching Mapuzugún as part of their curriculum.

“The child recovers their identity by seeing someone, perhaps in traditional clothing, perhaps wearing Mapuche jewelry. They will recover their identity. ‘Oh, my grandmother talks like you, or my grandmother dresses like you, or my aunt’… it’s so significant.” 

Fear and discrimination

The Mapuche educator acknowledges that, despite these advances, there is still a “red zone” in southern Chile where speaking Mapuzugún is forbidden.

“It is forbidden to be indigenous; cultural gatherings are prohibited. And this happens like an everyday war in the red zone,” she said.

“If one passes by the highway, one sees the Chilean state guard, where they violate the rights of the children but also of the indigenous communities. And those children won’t speak Mapuzugún but they won’t speak out of fear, not because they dislike it.”

Sadly, Ms. Cayullán also noted some of the discriminatory incidents that indigenous people face because they are different.

“I walk around Santiago in my traditional attire, and I have often been asked, ‘Do you come from the area where they burn trucks?’ This is a violation of people’s rights. If it’s done to a child who is just starting their life, obviously they won’t speak Mapuzugún and won’t recognize it either.” 

Respect for diversity

But What Makes Us Human promotes respect for diversity, which fills her with hope.

“We should learn to respect all diversity because we live in a diverse world, and today we do not respect that diverse world,” she said.

“And this diverse world is made up not only of human beings but also everything around us, everything that has life. In that diversity, languages are included.”