As of Friday, March 25, Tik Root ’12 has been missing for a week while studying abroad in Damascus, Syria. His last known contact with friends was March 18.
According to a Statehouse employee, on Thursday, March 24, the Vermont House of Representatives received notice that Root is currently being held by Syrian authorities for his involvement in a protest on Friday, March 18. A campus-wide email from President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz, also on March 24, gave the same informationto the College community : “According to Tik’s family, the U.S. State Department learned from the Syrian government that Tik is ‘almost certainly’ being held by Syrian authorities.”
Root was one of 22 students evacuated from the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School in the Middle East in Alexandria, Egypt on Jan. 31 during the protests against former President Hosni Mubarak. He told the Campus in a Feb. 11 articlethat he planned to return to the Middle East this semester if possible, and he began an independent study at Damascus University the week of March 13. Root’s father, Professor of Biology Tom Root, last heard from his son on March 16. He told the Burlington Free Press he had no information to suggest that Tik was involved in the demonstrations that occurred in cities all over Syria last Friday, including Damascus, but he also said it would be consistent with Tik’s general attitude to observe what was going on.
Tom Root contacted the State Department regarding his missing son earlier this week and the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs made inquiries at the Syrian Ministry of the Interior as to Tik Root’s status.
Syrian citizens began peaceful protests in the middle of February against the long-standing political regime. The Ba’ath party took power in Syria in 1963, banning political opposition and enforcing a state of emergency. Emergency law suspends most constitutional protections and authorizes the government to conduct precautionary and arbitrary arrests without arrest warrants. Suspects may then be detained for prolonged periods without charge, trial or access to lawyers. Representatives of the Syrian government told Sky News on Thursday that the government was considering lifting the state of emergency after a series of escalating, bloody protests beginning last week.
In his email, Liebowitz reassured the College community that “the College is doing everything it can to assist in the effort to locate Tik.”
Liebowitz also offered his support to Tik Root’s parents, Tom Root and Professor of Biology Andrea Lloyd, and promised to update the College community if circumstances change.