The vicious fate awaiting Syrian refugees who go home

A new report finds that returnees are being tortured, detained, raped and killed by the Assad regime.

Journalism is too opaque and misunderstood. Chills gives a behind-the-scenes look at how dangerous investigative journalism gets made. 

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Testimonies about the abuse Syrians face upon returning home read like yet another chapter in a horrendously long and terrifying book. Here, displaced Syrians head back to their villages. (Photo by Rami Al Sayed/AFP via Getty Images)

There’s still a war going on in Syria. But it’s a fact of journalism that stories that are “still” happening don’t sell papers — or get clicks. After more than 10 years of a vicious civil war, there seems to be nearly nothing that will provoke widespread interest or outrage anymore. For years, readers worldwide were saturated with coverage of the beleaguered country. Now, they appear to be desensitized to its implosion.

Yet, with or without media scrutiny, the extreme cruelty of the Assad regime continues unabated. A new report from Amnesty International contains evidence that Syrians whom foreign governments like Turkey and Denmark are now encouraging to go home are being brutalized when they do. These Syrians are being tortured, imprisoned and raped. Some simply disappear upon their return.