They are welcomed by young men and women working for the commission, all wearing khaki vests with \u201cNCMP\u201d written on them. Through a wide white hall, which is slightly cooler than outside, the commission staff guide the elderly crowd towards a wooden table placed by the entrance of the auditorium. There, two female employees begin taking down the families\u2019 information, one after another. When each person finishes, volunteers lead them into the large wooden auditorium, where they sit down. The venue has several rows of orangey seats that fold up and down like cinema seats. They are divided into three sections, separated by four rows of stairs that gradually rise towards the back of the auditorium. For a day, this huge lecture hall traditionally used for scientific lectures and exhibitions is where a part of the violent and unresolved past of the country is beginning to be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c<\/strong>We are here to listen to you\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\u201cToday, we will have with us Dr. Mohammad Reda Jalkhi, head of the National Commission for Missing People; Mr. Ali Honora, deputy Governor of Aleppo; Dr. Mohamed Osama Radon, president of the University of Aleppo; Mr. Ayman Shamo, a representative of parliament and head of the Victims Committee; and Mr. Anwar al-Rushdi, the commission\u2019s legal adviser,\u201d announces Hanaa al-Khader, the NCMP coordinator in Aleppo, introducing the guests sitting on the wooden podium. \u201cWe will first hear from the commission, and then we will move on to listen to your views and suggestions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NCMP is one of the two commissions created by the new authorities of Syria to address serious crimes that have been committed over the 54 years of Assad dictatorship (1970-2024), including 13 years of civil war between 2011 and 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe commission has two main tasks,\u201d first explains the head of the NCMP. \u201cThe first is to determine the fate of missing people, and the second is to support the families of missing people,\u201d says Mohammad Reda Jalkhi. Its plan for the next three years is divided into five stages. \u201cThe first stage is to build this national institution administratively and legislatively. The second stage is to establish a national database of missing people in Syria. The third stage is to build specialized Syrian teams in this field and provide them with the necessary equipment. The fourth stage, which is the most painful, is to open the mass graves, recover the remains, and match them with the samples collected from the families. The fifth stage is to support our families, the families of missing people, with psychological and solidarity support, in addition to other forms of support that we are working on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But to start with, \u201cwe are here today to listen more than to speak,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"R\u00e9union](\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Syria_Aleppo-Commission-Missing-People-3_Karam-Amer-Justice-Info.jpg\")
Guests at the meeting inside the main auditorium of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Aleppo, on September 30, 2026. From left to right: Anwar al-Rushdi, legal adviser for the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (NCMP); Hanaa al-Khader, Aleppo coordinator for the NCMP; Ali Honora, vice-governor of Aleppo; Mohammad Reda Jalkhi, president of the NCMP; Mohamed Osama Radon, president of the University of Aleppo; Ayman Shamo, member of Parliament and head of the NCMP victim\u2019s committee. Photo: \u00a9 Karam Amer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cYou have to take care of those who have lost their memory\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy son is one of those who have lost their memory. I am sure of it,\u201d says Suha al-Akaad, a retired teacher who came to the meeting with her husband. Her son was a hardworking engineer, she says, who was arrested by the government\u2019s Political Security Branch in 2011 because of a false report made by one of his colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUntil 2018, we knew that Salah was alive \u2013 and I am sure of it,\u201d she says with very little emotion in her voice that did not match the amount of tears running from her eyes, her husband\u2019s eyes, and the eyes of those in the hall. Then, in a stronger tone, she adds: \u201cMy son is alive. I feel it. So, I believe he is one of those who have only lost their memory!\u201d Addressing the commission, she continues: \u201cThe memory comes back. I have seen many reports about that. You have to take care of those who have lost their memory, so that they remember us and come back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two commission employees approach to record Mrs. Suha\u2019s information. This is what happens throughout the session: the microphone moves from one family of a missing person to another, as they speak about their problems and needs, while commission employees follow up with them and collect their information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Athar project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A central concern of the commission is to inform about their Athar programme. \u201cAthar\u201d means a trace, a mark, or a remnant. The programme was launched on August 30, 2026, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. \u201cAthar is an electronic application that families can download to record information about missing people,\u201d Hanaa al-Khader explains. \u201cWe have prepared a plan to visit all of Aleppo and encourage families to register in the program. The mukhtars of villages and towns in the Aleppo countryside are helping us with this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brochures were distributed to the families as they entered the hall. They contain QR codes and hotline numbers to download the program and contact the commission for help with entering their information into the application. \u201cThe Athar platform is an Android application and a website for iPhone users,\u201d says Yara Qarnafel, a data entry officer and engineer working on the Athar project. \u201cThe application cannot be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store. It must be downloaded directly from the website through the QR code provided by the commission in the brochures distributed today. For iPhone users, registration is done only through the website.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some families say they have already registered. But for the elderly families, it was not as easy, as most of them had never used such technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Abu](\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Syria_Aleppo-Commission-Missing-People-1_Karam-Amer-Justice-Info.jpg\")
Abu Naim, a farmer who is not used to smartphones, argues with a staff member of the National Commission for Missing Persons as she tries to explain how to register on the Athar platform. Photo: \u00a9 Karam Amer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAn age and technology gap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe spent a whole week trying to register me. Every time, the program gave them an error,\u201d Abu Naim says, before adjusting a red keffiyeh tied around his head and wiping his face with it. \u201cI am a farmer from the village of al-Halabiya, and I do not have much experience using a mobile phone,\u201d he continues. Abu Naim is here Because his son was arrested at their home in 2017. He was 16 years old. \u201cThey put him on trial in 2018, and the judge sentenced him against her will. Although she later told me that my son was innocent, she said there was nothing she could do. I told her: He is my only son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Abu Naim leaves the table where an NCMP employee has taken down his information, given him a brochure and written down numbers for him to call for help, he says: \u201cI could not hear anything because of the noise, and I did not understand anything. But at least I got someone\u2019s number who might be able to help me later.\u201d Then he leaves in a hurry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe always face some problems with families, especially elderly people,\u201d Qarnafel reckons. \u201cThe lack of internet infrastructure and the fact that some families do not have mobile phones make communication with them difficult. Also, the lack of an email culture in our communities causes problems during the registration stage on the application.\u201d Also, the form requires to take some time for it. \u201cThe form has between 160 and 165 questions, which may cause that some details are missed by families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To solve these problems, \u201cwe formed groups with a plan to travel around and visit all areas of Aleppo,\u201d says al-Khader. \u201cThese groups help families register on the application. We have also dedicated quick numbers to communicate directly with the technical team, and we have a plan to distribute help points in different areas. We have also dedicated speakers for Kurdish and Turkmen, for families who are unable to speak Arabic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reaching out to the Kurdish community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI personally did not face any problems registering on the platform,\u201d says a 22-year-old woman, the niece of Ahmed Khalil, who disappeared in 2021 on the road between Azaz and Afrin. She came to the meeting with her sister, and the missing man\u2019s wife and their son. They had travelled from the predominantly Kurdish city of Afrin. \u201cThe registration was smooth. I only needed to turn on a VPN, and the application worked well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe faced some problems at the beginning in gaining the trust of the Kurdish community, but now we are seeing better participation, especially with people communicating with members of the community in their own language. There is still some hesitation, but things are moving forward,\u201d says Suzana Ahmed, a member of the NCMP\u2019s communications team and a Kurdish woman from Afrin. \u201cIt was very important to attend today\u2019s session. For the first time, I felt that there was hope,\u201d says Khalil\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the meeting ended, everyone left the auditorium and made their way down the long stairs towards the exit gate. As they left, they divided into two groups. A small group at the front, made up of the younger people who had attended the meeting, reached the exit faster. It was followed by a group almost twice as large, moving slowly and unevenly. As they made their way out of the university campus, the students\u2019 normal life gradually returned \u2013 smiles, laughter, and cups of coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to take care of those who have lost their memory\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy son is one of those who have lost their memory. I am sure of it,\u201d says Suha al-Akaad, a retired teacher who came to the meeting with her husband. Her son was a hardworking engineer, she says, who was arrested by the government\u2019s Political Security Branch in 2011 because of a false report made by one of his colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUntil 2018, we knew that Salah was alive \u2013 and I am sure of it,\u201d she says with very little emotion in her voice that did not match the amount of tears running from her eyes, her husband\u2019s eyes, and the eyes of those in the hall. Then, in a stronger tone, she adds: \u201cMy son is alive. I feel it. So, I believe he is one of those who have only lost their memory!\u201d Addressing the commission, she continues: \u201cThe memory comes back. I have seen many reports about that. You have to take care of those who have lost their memory, so that they remember us and come back to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two commission employees approach to record Mrs. Suha\u2019s information. This is what happens throughout the session: the microphone moves from one family of a missing person to another, as they speak about their problems and needs, while commission employees follow up with them and collect their information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Athar project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A central concern of the commission is to inform about their Athar programme. \u201cAthar\u201d means a trace, a mark, or a remnant. The programme was launched on August 30, 2026, to mark the International Day of the Disappeared. \u201cAthar is an electronic application that families can download to record information about missing people,\u201d Hanaa al-Khader explains. \u201cWe have prepared a plan to visit all of Aleppo and encourage families to register in the program. The mukhtars of villages and towns in the Aleppo countryside are helping us with this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brochures were distributed to the families as they entered the hall. They contain QR codes and hotline numbers to download the program and contact the commission for help with entering their information into the application. \u201cThe Athar platform is an Android application and a website for iPhone users,\u201d says Yara Qarnafel, a data entry officer and engineer working on the Athar project. \u201cThe application cannot be downloaded from Google Play or the App Store. It must be downloaded directly from the website through the QR code provided by the commission in the brochures distributed today. For iPhone users, registration is done only through the website.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some families say they have already registered. But for the elderly families, it was not as easy, as most of them had never used such technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe spent a whole week trying to register me. Every time, the program gave them an error,\u201d Abu Naim says, before adjusting a red keffiyeh tied around his head and wiping his face with it. \u201cI am a farmer from the village of al-Halabiya, and I do not have much experience using a mobile phone,\u201d he continues. Abu Naim is here Because his son was arrested at their home in 2017. He was 16 years old. \u201cThey put him on trial in 2018, and the judge sentenced him against her will. Although she later told me that my son was innocent, she said there was nothing she could do. I told her: He is my only son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Abu Naim leaves the table where an NCMP employee has taken down his information, given him a brochure and written down numbers for him to call for help, he says: \u201cI could not hear anything because of the noise, and I did not understand anything. But at least I got someone\u2019s number who might be able to help me later.\u201d Then he leaves in a hurry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe always face some problems with families, especially elderly people,\u201d Qarnafel reckons. \u201cThe lack of internet infrastructure and the fact that some families do not have mobile phones make communication with them difficult. Also, the lack of an email culture in our communities causes problems during the registration stage on the application.\u201d Also, the form requires to take some time for it. \u201cThe form has between 160 and 165 questions, which may cause that some details are missed by families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To solve these problems, \u201cwe formed groups with a plan to travel around and visit all areas of Aleppo,\u201d says al-Khader. \u201cThese groups help families register on the application. We have also dedicated quick numbers to communicate directly with the technical team, and we have a plan to distribute help points in different areas. We have also dedicated speakers for Kurdish and Turkmen, for families who are unable to speak Arabic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI personally did not face any problems registering on the platform,\u201d says a 22-year-old woman, the niece of Ahmed Khalil, who disappeared in 2021 on the road between Azaz and Afrin. She came to the meeting with her sister, and the missing man\u2019s wife and their son. They had travelled from the predominantly Kurdish city of Afrin. \u201cThe registration was smooth. I only needed to turn on a VPN, and the application worked well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe faced some problems at the beginning in gaining the trust of the Kurdish community, but now we are seeing better participation, especially with people communicating with members of the community in their own language. There is still some hesitation, but things are moving forward,\u201d says Suzana Ahmed, a member of the NCMP\u2019s communications team and a Kurdish woman from Afrin. \u201cIt was very important to attend today\u2019s session. For the first time, I felt that there was hope,\u201d says Khalil\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the meeting ended, everyone left the auditorium and made their way down the long stairs towards the exit gate. As they left, they divided into two groups. A small group at the front, made up of the younger people who had attended the meeting, reached the exit faster. It was followed by a group almost twice as large, moving slowly and unevenly. As they made their way out of the university campus, the students\u2019 normal life gradually returned \u2013 smiles, laughter, and cups of coffee.<\/p>\n\n\nAn age and technology gap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Reaching out to the Kurdish community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Image-article-Syrie-07.04-Justice-Info-540x360.jpg\")
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