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Saudi Farasan Islands Close to Being Registered in UNESCO’s MAB

Saudi Farasan Islands Close to Being Registered in UNESCO’s MAB
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Saudi Farasan Islands Close to Being Registered in UNESCO’s MAB

Saudi Farasan Islands Close to Being Registered in UNESCO’s MAB

The poet of the Farasan Islands, Ibrahim Moftah, describing the people of Farasan’s love for the archipelago, its beaches that captivate minds, natural beauty, and the rich heritage that goes beyond its physical form, the Saudi poet and writer says that as soon as he leaves Farasan: "Life has been being sucked out of him."

Farasan, the archipelago of more than 200 islets on the Red Sea, is in the far southwest of Saudi Arabia. The area is considered a cultural and tourist treasure because of its virgin islands, proximity to the strategically significant Bab al-Mandab strait and its many palaces and heritage sites, which had previously been a meeting point and place to rest for commercial and military ships. Also, a fishing festival is held annually; Al-Harid began decades ago but has been canceled this year because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

These qualities, the uniqueness of its biodiversity and topography, led Saudi Arabia to set a plan to develop and preserve it and its culture, thereby allowing the “Farasan Islands Marine Sanctuary” to meet the requirements to become the first Saudi natural reserve registered in the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) at UNESCO.

"We are working on our Twitter account," tweets Minister of Culture and chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Heritage Preservation Society Prince Badr bin Farhan. "Our country is dear because of its people and its natural and cultural diversity.”

Each island contains historical imprints and a heritage dating back to ancient periods set by cruise ships left by imperial ships, in addition to an industrial history, having been the German coal depot during World War II. All this gives these islands, which have an estimated total area of 1050 square kilometers, historical significance.

The over 12,000 residents of the area live almost exclusively on the main Farasan Island and have a unique maritime lifestyle. Ships and sailboats are major means of transportation to those who reside by the diverse islands on the colorful shining water which sits on top of the coral reefs, alongside diverse marine life, including whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles.

The Saudi Society for the Preservation of Heritage is working to register the Farasan Islands on UNESCO’s MAB before the registration deadline in September.

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Syrians Face Horror, Fearing Loved Ones May Be in Mass Graves

People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP
People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP
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Syrians Face Horror, Fearing Loved Ones May Be in Mass Graves

People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP
People search for human remains at a trench believed to be used as a mass grave on the outskirts of Damascus - AFP

After losing hope of finding his two brothers among those freed from Syrian jails, Ziad Alaywi was filled with dread, knowing there was only one place they were likely to be: a mass grave.

"We want to know where our children are, our brothers," said the 55-year-old standing by a deep trench near Najha, southeast of Damascus.

"Were they killed? Are they buried here?" he asked, pointing to the ditch, one of several believed to hold the bodies of prisoners tortured to death.

International organizations have called these acts "crimes against humanity".

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8 and the takeover by an Islamist-led opposition alliance, families across Syria have been searching for their loved ones.

"I've looked for my brothers in all the prisons," said the driver from the Damascus suburbs, whose siblings and four cousins were arrested over a decade ago.

"I've searched all the documents that might give me a clue to their location," he added, but it was all in vain.

Residents say there are at least three other similar sites, where diggers were frequently seen working in areas once off-limits under the former government.

- 'Peace of mind' -

The dirt at the pit where Alaywi stands looks loose, freshly dug. Children run and play nearby.

If the site was investigated, "it would allow many people to have peace of mind and stop hoping for the return of a son who will never return", he said.

"It's not just one, two, or three people who are being sought. It's thousands."

He called on international forensic investigators to "open these mass graves so we can finally know where our children are."

Many Syrians who spoke to AFP in recent days expressed disappointment at not finding their loved ones in the prisons opened after the takeover by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

A few kilometres (miles) from Najha, a team of about 10 people, most in white overalls, was transferring small white bags into larger black ones with numbers.

Syrian Civil Defense teams have received numerous calls from people claiming to have seen cars dumping bags by the roadside at night. The bags were later found to contain bones.

"Since the fall of the regime, we've received over 100 calls about mass graves. People believe every military site has one," said civil defence official Omar al-Salmo.

- Safeguard evidence -

The claim isn't without reason, said Salmo, considering "the few people who've left prisons and the exponential number of missing people."

There are no official figures on how many detainees have been released from Syrian jails in the past 10 days, but estimates fall far short of the number missing since 2011.

In 2022, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor estimated that more than 100,000 people had died in prison, mostly due to torture, since the war began.

"We're doing our best with our modest expertise," said Salmo. His team is collecting bone samples for DNA tests.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch urged the new Syrian authorities to "secure, collect and safeguard evidence, including from mass grave sites and government records... that will be vital in future criminal trials".

The rights group also called for cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which could "provide critical expertise" to help safeguard the records and clarify the fate of missing people.

Days after Assad's fall, HRW teams visiting Damascus's Tadamun district, the site of a massacre in April 2013, found "scores of human remains".

In Daraa province, Mohammad Khaled regained control of his farm in Izraa, seized for years by military intelligence.

"I noticed that the ground was uneven," said Khaled.

"We were surprised to discover a body, then another," he said. In just one day, he and others including a forensic doctor exhumed a total of 22 bodies.