Nearly a 12 months after the autumn of the Assad regime, Syrians are dealing with one other combat – for justice and accountability.
On this Begin Right here On-The-Street, Sandra Gathmann travels to Syria to learn the way the nation is confronting its previous and the way persons are attempting to rebuild their lives after years of struggle.
As much as 300,000 folks in Syria are lacking and there are regarded as as many as 66 mass graves throughout the nation. We meet Wafa Ali Mustafa as she faces as much as the truth that her father, who’s been lacking for 12 years, is almost certainly useless.
We go contained in the newly opened Syrian Identification Centre, the place forensic scientists are finishing up painstaking work to establish our bodies. And in an unique interview, we introduce one among Syria’s “shadow warriors” – a lawyer who risked his life to assist smuggle out 1.3 million paperwork, creating an archive of proof that hyperlinks struggle crimes to regime officers on the highest ranges, proper as much as Bashar al-Assad himself.
Begin Right here additionally hears from a person who says ten of his family have been taken by a pro-Assad militia. He’s distraught that the militia’s commander seems to have been given amnesty by the brand new Syrian authorities and delivers a stark ultimatum: “Both the federal government provides me justice or I take justice myself.” His story is a robust reminder of how fragile the scenario stays in Syria and the way advanced the method of transitional justice is.
For the reason that fall of the Assad regime, there have been outbreaks of sectarian violence in Syria’s coastal areas and in Suweyda, within the south. Violence escalated when authorities forces – or fighters aligned with them – turned concerned, elevating troublesome questions on whether or not the brand new authorities, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, is prepared and in a position to ship justice pretty.
Greater than one million Syrians have returned to their nation within the final 12 months. We witness the enjoyment and emotion of households at Damascus airport, who’re lastly being reunited after years of separation.
As Syria seems to be in direction of the long run, there’s hope and optimism – but in addition stress, uncertainty, and an pressing demand for crimes of the previous to be handled. Begin Right here is on the bottom to discover all of it.
Presenter: Sandra Gathmann
Producer: Harriet Tatham
Video Editor: Georgios Iosif Skortsis
Graphics & Animation: Muaz Osman
Native producer: Aref Alkraz
Cinematographer: Omar Haj Kadour
Manufacturing Assistant: Noor Bayoumi
Government Producer: Julia Mills
This movie was shot in Syria in August 2025.
Revealed On 30 Oct 2025
