Iraq: When time stopped at Abu Saif’s house
At a night like any other Ramadan night in 2016, Abu Saif sat on his couch to read the Quran. And as usual, he had prepared food rations to give away to the poor the next day. However, that night, Abu Saif didn’t finish reading the Quran and couldn’t give away the food in person, because he became another missing person in Baghdad. In the photo, we see his mother sitting in the same place as Abu Saif used to sit in front of the same Quran book.Carlo SINHAREEB
"I am too old to have any dreams to achieve in this tiring life. But one last dream I have is to see the return of my son to his children," said Abu Saif’s father who told us that his family has searched for him everywhere and paid a lot of money to people who claimed to know his whereabouts but that turned out to be a lie.Carlo SINHAREEB
Abu Saif’s wife and four kids looked for him everywhere including detention centres and hospitals but couldn’t find him. After one hard year of painful searching, Abu Saif’s wife died.Carlo SINHAREEB
"He always sat in this place at home and read, until the night when he was taken, and to this day I am hoping to see him sitting in his place and reading because I miss him," says his mother.Carlo SINHAREEB
Saif is the eldest of the four children and he is the one who looks the most like his father according to his grandmother. Saif told us, "I lost my father and mother within two years and during the most important stages of my life, as I was in dire need of their presence as I needed their support the most. I wish no other young man goes through what I’ve been through."Carlo SINHAREEB
That was the last photo of Abu Saif and his sons before he went missingCarlo SINHAREEB
Saif and his brothers wait for their father’s return to take a new photo.Carlo SINHAREEB
Abu Saif’s family and thousands of other families still live in ambiguity as they seek answers about the whereabouts of their loved ones.
Four consecutive decades of conflicts and violence left many Iraqi families to suffer the pain of missing a family member. Practically, every Iraqi family has either lost a member or knows a family that has lost one or more.
For as long as we existed in Iraq, we’ve been working to assist families in their search for clarity and shed light on the fate and whereabouts of persons unaccounted for. We have always been calling on authorities to provide all the possible support to these families. Abu Saif’s family and others have the right to know the fate of their loved ones and while there is hope for finding answers, no matter how slim, the search should continue.
