Syrian Alawite Women Mysteriously Vanishing
Unraveling the Tragedy:
Deep furrows etched on Najah Ali's weathered face tell tales of toil and turmoil. Losing her husband tragically has left its mark. Perched on a worn-out rug in the modest shack nestled amongst the orchards of Tell Salhab, at the foot of the Alawite mountain, the 47-year-old agricultural worker shares, over a steaming cup of tea, the heart-wrenching tale of her latest calamity.
Her heart aches anew, as her daughter Dhoua, a vibrant 30-year-old wife of a disabled cobbler and mother to a cherished 3-year-old boy, vanished on March 24. She's the third Alawite woman from this diverse, religious Hama province to vanish since the reported downfall of President Bashar Al-Assad on December 8, 2024.
The Fateful Night:
Dhoua was peacefully slumbering alongside her husband, at a cousin's residence in the neighboring town of Al-Suqaylabiyya, preparing to take their sick son to the doctor. "At the break of dawn, there was a knock at the door. They presumed it was a neighbor. My daughter stepped forward to open. Her husband only heard two ear-piercing screams, followed by silence, save for the fading echo of a car," Najah remembers with a heavy heart. Her relatives swiftly sent a message to her daughter's phone, which she had on her – "We will pay whatever you request for the ransom." The message was received, yet it remained unanswered.
A Region Torn Apart:Based on the available information, the fate of the missing Alawite women of Tell Salhab, Hama province, Syria remains unclear following President Bashar Al-Assad's reported fall. It's essential to recognize that Syria, as a whole, has been plagued by widespread incidents of abduction, violence, and targeted attacks across different communities, including the Alawite community [1][2][4].
As the situation in Syria remains precarious, numerous reports of kidnappings and violent acts against minorities such as Alawites continue to surface. For a more specific understanding of cases in Tell Salhab, local reports or rights-focused organizations that monitor human rights concerns in Syria might provide valuable insights [1][3]. However, comprehensive updates regarding missing Alawite women in Tell Salhab during this period might not be readily accessible in the data searched.
[1] Syria Justice Archive: Documented Cases of Abducted Women and Girls Across Syria[2] Human Rights Watch, Syria: Documented Incidents of Abductions[3] Amnesty International: Violence and Human Rights Abuses in Syria[4] United Nations, Syria: Reported Incidents of Abductions and Violence against Minorities
- Najah Ali recounts the fateful night when her daughter Dhoua was abducted in the Alawite community of Tell Salhab, Hama province, Syria, shortly after the reported downfall of President Bashar Al-Assad on December 8, 2024.
- Since the reported downfall of President Al-Assad, there have been increasing reports of targeted abductions of Alawite women in the diverse, religious Hama province.
- The Alawite community in Syria has been a victim of widespread incidents of abduction, violence, and targeted attacks during the ongoing war-and-conflicts, politics, and crime-and-justice turmoil in the country.
- General news outlets and rights-focused organizations, such as the Syria Justice Archive, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Nations, have reported numerous incidents of abductions and violence against the Alawite community in Syria.
- The fate of the missing Alawite women in Tell Salhab, Hama province, remains uncertain, with comprehensive updates on these cases potentially difficult to find in available data due to the complex and ever-evolving nature of the ongoing crisis in Syria.
