Jordanian father finds renewed hope after son’s 38-year disappearance in Syria

Bashir Hassan Al-Bataineh, the father of Osama Al-Bataineh, who disappeared in Syria in 1986, has endured a personal tragedy lasting over three decades.

Osama, a first-year high school student, traveled to Damascus on a short trip but never returned, leaving behind a family that has suffered years of pain and futile searches.

In an interview on Roya's Nabd Al-Balad program on Tuesday, Bataineh shared that authorities initially confirmed Osama had entered Syrian territory. Since then, the family embarked on an exhausting search, spending significant sums of money without obtaining any conclusive information.

He added that despite repeated promises from Syrian authorities to release him, they received no answers about the reasons for his arrest or his fate.

Hope was renewed two days ago when a video surfaced on social media showing a person believed to be Osama, who identified himself as being from Irbid.