My life was shattered on September 14, 2014, when my boy, Samer Reda Abdelfattah was taken by the Syrian program.
Samer was simply 29 years of ages when he was apprehended. A dad of 3, he is a kind and considerate male, enjoyed by everybody around him. His youngest kid was just 5 months old when Samer was drawn from us.
I will always remember the last time I spoke with my boy. He left our house early in the early morning after the Fajr prayer. Samer worked as a bus chauffeur which day he was transferring trainees from Atarib to Mamoun University in Aleppo when he was stopped at a routine checkpoint and apprehended.
The last time we spoke with Samer he was still at the checkpoint. His dad called him at 11am to ask him to gather groceries from Aleppo on his method house. Samer acted as though absolutely nothing was taking place, he had no factor to think otherwise.
Minutes later on, we got a call from a guy at the checkpoint. He informed us Samer had actually been apprehended. My other child hurried to the checkpoint and asked for Samer’s release, however he was informed to leave or run the risk of being taken, too. It was heartbreaking for him to need to leave his sibling in risk.
The minute I heard the news that my kid had actually been apprehended, my heart sank and I began to hope. I have actually not stopped hoping given that. We have actually attempted whatever to protect Samer’s release however military authorities consistently inform us they do not understand why Samer has actually been taken which we need to wait.
Samer has actually now been opted for 8 and a half years. We can not be sure that he is alive, my heart informs me that he is.
Ramadan is a specifically challenging time for our household– I am filled with bittersweet memories of Samer. Our time together was constantly happy, as he had a propensity for informing jokes and raising everybody’s spirits.
Among his preferred features of Ramadan was collecting around the iftar table with our household. He would typically ask me to prepare him any meal with wings that might fly, and we would share a laugh over his love for grilled chicken.
Samer likewise had a craving for sweets and loved knafeh, although he was constantly thoughtful when I made other desserts and stated they were beautiful.
He was a truly kind individual, and his lack has actually left a space at our iftar table. To honour Samer’s memory, I prepare his preferred meals and reserved his part to contribute to those in requirement.
4 months earlier, we got news from a previous detainee from Daraa just recently devoid of Sednaya jail– Syria’s a lot of infamous detention centre. He informed us Samer was being kept in an underground cell there. He stated that while Samer had actually informed him the names of his better half and 2 older kids, he had actually forgotten the name of his youngest kid. I question what those beasts did to my child in the al-Assad program’s dungeons to make him forget his own child’s name.
Hearing news that he might live provided me some hope. Together with countless moms whose kids are by force vanished or apprehended, I am awaiting my kid to be launched. 2 and a half years ago I signed up with Families for Freedom, a women-led motion of Syrian households promoting for the flexibility of all Syria’s vanished children and children, since I wished to discover uniformity in my battle.
With over 100,000 detainees and vanished individuals in Syria, I understood that I was not alone. Our objective as a motion is to accentuate our liked ones who have actually gone missing and to eliminate relentlessly for their flexibility.
We desire our liked ones to understand that we are doing whatever in our power to bring them back, and we prompt the worldwide neighborhood to support us to press the Syrian federal government to launch all detainees. Among the important things we are requiring is for the United Nations to develop an independent and worldwide organization that will assist households like ours learn the location of their liked ones.
Seeing my boy totally free once again in some cases seems like a far-off dream, however the news of periodic releases keeps me keeping the hope that a person day I will get a call or a knock on the door and it will be him.
Every day I dream he would return, I want I might see him and speak to him.
My dear child Samer, you would take pride in your kids; they are maturing to be excellent boys, much like you. Your memory constantly stays with me. I offer zakat in your name, hoping that God will safeguard you and bring you back to us securely. I will keep defending you.
As we commemorate another Eid without him, I am advised of his lack and wish for his jokes and warm existence. My decision to see him once again keeps me going, and I will not stop battling till he and all detainees in Syria are totally free.
The views revealed in this post are the author’s own and do not always show Al Jazeera’s editorial position.