Imagine waiting for years for a phone call. Syrian families have placed hundreds of phones across Berlin’s Bebelplatz to demonstrate the scale of their suffering as they wait, willing the phone to ring with any news of the fate of their disappeared loved ones #DayoftheDisappeared
To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, Syrian families whose loved ones were forcibly disappeared by the regime or other armed groups gathered their strength to lay hundreds of phones on the cobbles of Berlin – a bold statement to illustrate their agonizing wait by the phone in hope for news about the release of their husbands, sons, sisters, and friends, or for confirmation of their fate and whereabouts.
Their message to governments: families have the right to know what happened to tens of thousands of missing Syrians. It’s time for the world to act to end impunity for these crimes, hold perpetrators accountable, and reveal the fate of Syria’s disappeared. The families will never stop demanding answers.
