A burly bearded man in a blue tunic moved swiftly through grassy stubble on a windswept road in rural Damascus, collecting bones with his bare hands. He added a jaw to the pile, before gently picking up a skull. Briefly, he kissed it - a moment of tenderness for one of the many victims of Bashar al-Assad. Ten months after Assad was ousted from power last December, in a lightning rebel advance, mass graves are still being uncovered.
The Syrian dictator's legacy is embedded in the soil here - skeletal remains where crops should be. There are now more than 60 grave sites and counting. One of the latest came to light in al-Otaiba village, in the district of Eastern Ghouta, where a shepherd stumbled on clothing and human remains after straw was burnt off. The authorities believe as many as 175 bodies were bulldozed into a mass grave in this former opposition stronghold.
They are among the legions of the missing. More than 181,000 people were forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained during the 14 years of Syria's civil war, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights monitoring group. It says 90% were taken by the Assad regime.
The families of the missing are now demanding answers and justice from the new Syria, which held its first parliamentary election, of a sort, earlier this month. A 'people's assembly' was chosen but not directly by the people, and many view the election as either a sham or a first step towards democracy.
As Syria faces forward, President Ahmed al-Sharaa states that the issue of the missing will remain 'a national priority'. However, bereaved relatives, like Kasim Hamami, are counting on that. They can do little else.
Kasim is seen digging by the roadside at the mass grave site, pulling secrets from the soil. He uncovered a frayed, brownish jumper, the last trace of Samer, his brother, who disappeared at age 21. These families recount heart-wrenching stories of loved ones taken away by state forces.
While the new regime struggles with its past, the hopes for accountability and justice remain fraught, with uncertainty looming over the fates of those responsible for the atrocities during the Assad regime.
The Syrian dictator's legacy is embedded in the soil here - skeletal remains where crops should be. There are now more than 60 grave sites and counting. One of the latest came to light in al-Otaiba village, in the district of Eastern Ghouta, where a shepherd stumbled on clothing and human remains after straw was burnt off. The authorities believe as many as 175 bodies were bulldozed into a mass grave in this former opposition stronghold.
They are among the legions of the missing. More than 181,000 people were forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily detained during the 14 years of Syria's civil war, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights monitoring group. It says 90% were taken by the Assad regime.
The families of the missing are now demanding answers and justice from the new Syria, which held its first parliamentary election, of a sort, earlier this month. A 'people's assembly' was chosen but not directly by the people, and many view the election as either a sham or a first step towards democracy.
As Syria faces forward, President Ahmed al-Sharaa states that the issue of the missing will remain 'a national priority'. However, bereaved relatives, like Kasim Hamami, are counting on that. They can do little else.
Kasim is seen digging by the roadside at the mass grave site, pulling secrets from the soil. He uncovered a frayed, brownish jumper, the last trace of Samer, his brother, who disappeared at age 21. These families recount heart-wrenching stories of loved ones taken away by state forces.
While the new regime struggles with its past, the hopes for accountability and justice remain fraught, with uncertainty looming over the fates of those responsible for the atrocities during the Assad regime.
