Syria’s urgent fight for justice | Start Here

Sandra Gathmann travels to Syria to learn about how people are rebuilding their lives after years of conflict and how the country is facing its past.

There are reportedly 66 mass graves spread across Syria, with up to 300, 000 people missing. Wafa Ali Mustafa is confronted by the reality that her father, who hasn’t seen him in 12 years, is most likely dead.

We enter the newly opened Syrian Identification Center, where forensic scientists work tirelessly to identify bodies. And in an exclusive interview, we speak with one of Syria’s “shadow warriors,” a lawyer who risked his life to elude arresting 1.3 million documents and creating an archive of evidence linking regime officials to top officials, right up to Bashar al-Assad himself.

A pro-Assad militia claims that ten of his relatives were taken by Start Here. He expresses regret over the new Syrian government’s apparent amnesty to the militia’s commander, who also gives the stark ultimatum, “Either the government gives me justice or I take justice myself.” His example serves as a powerful reminder of how complicated and fragile the transitional process is in Syria.

Sectarian violence has erupted since the Assad regime’s rule was overthrown in Suweyda and the coastal regions of Syria. When government forces or fighters affiliated with them became involved, violence erupted, raising questions about whether the new, under the leadership of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, is willing and able to deliver justice fairly.

In the last year, more than a million Syrians have re-enter their nation. At Damascus Airport, families are finally reunited after years of separation, and we can see their joy and emotion.

There are optimism and optimism in Syria as it looks to the future, but there are also tension, uncertainty, and a pressing need for crimes from the past to be resolved. It is on the ground to explore Start Here.

Presenter: Sandra Gathmann
Producer: Harriet Tatham
Georgios Iosif Skortsis, video editor
Animation, Graphics, and More: Muaz Osman
Aref Alkraz, a local producer,
Omar Haj Kadour, the director of photography
Noor Bayoumi, production assistant
Executive Producer: Julia Mills