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From Our Own Correspondent

Searching for Syria's missing

Dec 21, 2024
Rebecca Henschke, a correspondent focusing on Myanmar's military, shares the fascinating tale of 'watermelon spies'—soldiers who secretly aid rebels, shifting power dynamics in the region. Monica Whitlock highlights heart-wrenching stories of Syrian families searching for loved ones lost under Assad's regime, revealing their desperate quest for truth. The podcast also touches on the struggles of Ivorian cocoa farmers facing economic hardship despite rising chocolate prices.
28:32

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The search for missing individuals in Syria is deeply emotional, as families confront the silence surrounding their loved ones' fates after years of repression.
  • In Myanmar, the emergence of 'watermelon spies' highlights a dramatic shift in military loyalty, affecting the balance of power in the ongoing civil conflict.

Deep dives

The Search for Closure in Syria

In Syria, the recent discovery of mass graves tied to the Assad regime has reignited the search for missing individuals among families affected by the regime's brutality. Many relatives have spent years trying to uncover the fates of their loved ones, often finding heartbreakingly little information about their disappearances. The emotional toll of this search is profound, with families visiting morgues filled with unrecognizable bodies, hoping to locate their missing kin. This quest for closure is a challenging journey, compounded by the regime's history of repression and the long-lasting impacts of the civil war.

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