War in Syria: A gravedigger who won't leave his job

Syrian gravedigger Abu Fahd al Ajouz buries those killed in the war both young and old, even members of his own family.

A graveyard in a rebel-held besieged area in eastern Damascus, Syria, November 6, 2016.
TRT World and Agencies

A graveyard in a rebel-held besieged area in eastern Damascus, Syria, November 6, 2016.

Abu Fahd al Ajouz is a gravedigger in Jobar, near the Syrian capital Damascus.

The job has been in his family for generations.

Al Ajouz is in charge of washing the bodies, burying the dead, and the overall maintenance of the graveyard – which has been bombed four times.

His son, who used to assist him in the family business, died in a missile strike.

"I was affected by everyone's death, every martyr is important to me … But I was most affected when my son died, my only son. I don't have anyone but him."

Yet al Ajouz says he has no intention of leaving his home or his job in the besieged rebel-held district that the Syrian regime bombs on a regular basis.

TRT World's Abubakr Al-Shamahi has al Ajouz's story.

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