Dia Hadid

Well, after getting this tip, me and producer Mirna Rashid, we went to other orphanages across Damascus and we asked, did intelligence agents force you to secretly take in children? And what happened to those children?

Well, after getting this tip, me and producer Mirna Rashid, we went to other orphanages across Damascus and we asked, did intelligence agents force you to secretly take in children? And what happened to those children?

While it was really hard to get answers at first, orphanages did not want to speak to us. The situation felt so uncertain. The Assad regime had just fallen at the time and people online were accusing them of collaborating with the former regime. But as we investigated, we finally met an official at the Ministry of Social Affairs who also wanted to know the answers.

While it was really hard to get answers at first, orphanages did not want to speak to us. The situation felt so uncertain. The Assad regime had just fallen at the time and people online were accusing them of collaborating with the former regime. But as we investigated, we finally met an official at the Ministry of Social Affairs who also wanted to know the answers.

While it was really hard to get answers at first, orphanages did not want to speak to us. The situation felt so uncertain. The Assad regime had just fallen at the time and people online were accusing them of collaborating with the former regime. But as we investigated, we finally met an official at the Ministry of Social Affairs who also wanted to know the answers.

You see, the ministry had been overtaken by rebels who formed an interim government, and Syrian families were asking them for help to find their children. So this official helped us by calling up orphanage directors and telling them that they had to talk to us. He requested anonymity through this process because he wasn't meant to be speaking to the media, let alone helping us.

You see, the ministry had been overtaken by rebels who formed an interim government, and Syrian families were asking them for help to find their children. So this official helped us by calling up orphanage directors and telling them that they had to talk to us. He requested anonymity through this process because he wasn't meant to be speaking to the media, let alone helping us.

You see, the ministry had been overtaken by rebels who formed an interim government, and Syrian families were asking them for help to find their children. So this official helped us by calling up orphanage directors and telling them that they had to talk to us. He requested anonymity through this process because he wasn't meant to be speaking to the media, let alone helping us.

Yeah, we spoke to one orphanage director who wanted us to hear from the detained women themselves. So she connected us to a couple of mothers. One of those women was Sukaina Shbawi. We reached her at her home in a village in the southern Syrian province of Daraa. That's where the uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad first erupted. She was keen to chat.

Yeah, we spoke to one orphanage director who wanted us to hear from the detained women themselves. So she connected us to a couple of mothers. One of those women was Sukaina Shbawi. We reached her at her home in a village in the southern Syrian province of Daraa. That's where the uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad first erupted. She was keen to chat.

Yeah, we spoke to one orphanage director who wanted us to hear from the detained women themselves. So she connected us to a couple of mothers. One of those women was Sukaina Shbawi. We reached her at her home in a village in the southern Syrian province of Daraa. That's where the uprising against the regime of Bashar al-Assad first erupted. She was keen to chat.

So Ayesha, this is what Shabawi told me. She says that in the fall of 2018, Syrian security forces turned up one day and they dragged her and her daughter Hiba from their home. Hiba was just two. Shabawi believes they were taken hostage to pressure her husband's brothers to surrender to government forces.

So Ayesha, this is what Shabawi told me. She says that in the fall of 2018, Syrian security forces turned up one day and they dragged her and her daughter Hiba from their home. Hiba was just two. Shabawi believes they were taken hostage to pressure her husband's brothers to surrender to government forces.

So Ayesha, this is what Shabawi told me. She says that in the fall of 2018, Syrian security forces turned up one day and they dragged her and her daughter Hiba from their home. Hiba was just two. Shabawi believes they were taken hostage to pressure her husband's brothers to surrender to government forces.

That was a pretty common tactic at the time because the brothers had joined the uprising against the regime. Jibawi and Heba were driven to holding cells run by the Air Force Intelligence Directorate. That was one of the most feared and violent arms of the Syrian regime. Guards pushed her and Heba into a cold, dark cell with about six other women and their children.

That was a pretty common tactic at the time because the brothers had joined the uprising against the regime. Jibawi and Heba were driven to holding cells run by the Air Force Intelligence Directorate. That was one of the most feared and violent arms of the Syrian regime. Guards pushed her and Heba into a cold, dark cell with about six other women and their children.

That was a pretty common tactic at the time because the brothers had joined the uprising against the regime. Jibawi and Heba were driven to holding cells run by the Air Force Intelligence Directorate. That was one of the most feared and violent arms of the Syrian regime. Guards pushed her and Heba into a cold, dark cell with about six other women and their children.

Nearly all the women's cells also held children, but the conditions there were not conducive to staying alive. Jibawi says they were only allowed to use the bathroom three times a day, not enough for little kids. So the mothers procured a bucket for the children to use as a toilet and they emptied it out whenever they could. There was never enough food.

Nearly all the women's cells also held children, but the conditions there were not conducive to staying alive. Jibawi says they were only allowed to use the bathroom three times a day, not enough for little kids. So the mothers procured a bucket for the children to use as a toilet and they emptied it out whenever they could. There was never enough food.

Nearly all the women's cells also held children, but the conditions there were not conducive to staying alive. Jibawi says they were only allowed to use the bathroom three times a day, not enough for little kids. So the mothers procured a bucket for the children to use as a toilet and they emptied it out whenever they could. There was never enough food.