Relatives of missing Syrians ‘suspended between hope and despair’

A Syrian woman whose grandfather, father and two brothers were detained by the military nearly 12 years ago has told the BBC it is “devastating” that her loved ones remain missing, despite the country’s most notorious prison being emptied.

“Now, miles away from that most brutal prison, we are huddling around screens, our hearts suspended between hope and despair,” Hiba Abdulhakim Qasawaad, a 24-year-old from the city of Homs, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“We are scanning every face in the footage, searching for traces of our loved ones. This is the only thing that we can do.”

On Sunday, when rebel forces swept into the country’s capital and declared an end to Bashar al-Assad’s rule, families rushed to Saydnaya Prison outside Damascus, where political opponents were reportedly held, tortured and executed.

But with rescue workers now ending their search for possible detainees in the prison, some families face renewed anguish.

“Now freedom rings like a bell too loud for ears accustomed to silence,” Ms Qasawaad said.

“Now, our hearts racing, we have this anticipation, joy and pain as we await the moment when we can finally embrace them, free at last, but I don’t know if we can see them again, because now we are torn between finding answers or never knowing at all.”