In a humble dwelling in the Damascus countryside, Jamila Muhammad Dhiban sits, a poignant symbol of the suffering endured by Syrians caught between internal tyranny and external aggression. The weight of her experiences is etched upon her face, a testament to unimaginable loss.
Jamila has lost two sons to the brutality of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. A third son is now detained by Israeli forces, while a fourth succumbed to illness and grief. Her story is a microcosm of the broader Syrian tragedy.
Mahmoud, her eldest, was only 17 when he was arrested by Assad’s forces in 2014. He disappeared without a trace, his fate unknown to his family. When the Assad regime was finally overthrown a year ago, Jamila joined thousands searching for loved ones in the former regime’s prisons, but she found no solace.
“I scrutinized every face of those who were released,” she told DZWatch, her voice heavy with sorrow. “Now, my dream is no longer to embrace him, but simply to find a grave where I can weep.”
The second tragedy befell her son, Sudif, who chose to fight against Assad. He defected from the Palestinian Liberation Army (then administratively affiliated with the Syrian army) and joined the Free Syrian Army. He was killed in battle on June 6, 2016, at the age of 23.
With the fall of Assad, Israeli forces took their turn in inflicting pain upon Jamila’s family. On February 5th of this year, Muhammad Muhsin Ahmad was arrested in the village of Umm al-Luqas, in the southern Quneitra countryside.
Jamila, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin, says through tear-filled eyes that Muhammad was not involved in any military activity. He was simply working various jobs, like other young men in the village. She contacted the United Nations office in Damascus and was informed that he is being held in Ofer Prison in Israel. Her ordeal continues, a stark reminder of the ongoing suffering in Syria. The hope for his release, and for closure on her other sons, remains her driving force.
