The sickening death toll from the war in Syria is regularly updated and reported on, but often the sheer numbers mask the personal cost.
SBS was granted exclusive access behind the lines in Syria under government supervision and met with families of young men killed on the streets of Damascus.
Luke Waters reports.
The confronting audio captures a street procession before the funeral of Suheel al-Nabki.
The 28-year old Syrian Christian was killed by a mortar in Damascus.
His coffin is draped symbolically in the government's distinctive red, white and black flag.
Still blood-stained, it's now the prized possession of Suheel's son Marwaan.
The four-year old is being raised by his grandmother, who wears a pendant bearing her son's image around her neck and vows to do so for the rest of her life.
Suheel's father Marrwa says his son regularly risked his own life transporting injured Syrians to hospital.
(Translated)"Wherever an explosion happened he would take his car to help the people and every day his car was covered with victim's blood."
His image is now displayed publically in Martyr's Square in Damascus.
According to his mother Marneen it's a fitting tribute.
(Translated)"I hope God will register his name as a martyr because he was very kind - his heart is good and he is generous."
Grieving parents are all too common in Syria.
Daher and Amal lost two of their three sons to the war within four months.
25-year-old Hanna, a mechanic, was one of six men fatally shot while manning a check-point.
His 23-year-old brother Rami, a law student, was killed by a car bomb.
Their mother Amal says her sons were brave men who sacrificed their lives for the country.
(Translated)"It's very difficult, but we don't change our mind towards our country. On the contrary as a mother of two martyrs we love our country more."
Due to the fragmented and rapidly changing nature of the war in Syria, accurately assessing the number of casualties and fatalities is virtually impossible.
It's generally accepted that a quarter of a million people have been killed - including tens of thousands of civilians and children and 81 humanitarian workers.
The death toll increases by the day and for so many desperate Syrians like Suheel al-Nabki's mother Marneen the cost is far, far too high.
(Translated)"I wish that the last bullet will be on my chest and let this be the end of this war."
Share
