The last time Debra Tice hugged her son, he was 30 years old. Now the American journalist is 43 and still being held somewhere in Syria.
“I can’t really get past that,” Debra Tice told VOA with a grimace.
Wednesday marks 12 years since Austin Tice was abducted while reporting in Syria. His family and press freedom groups are re-amplifying calls for the U.S. government to secure his release.
“Every year it seems like it’s different, because the news is different, and what we’re hearing from the White House changes year to year,” Debra said. “I never know what to expect, which is also just another stressor.”
A Texas native and former U.S. Marine, Austin is an award-winning freelance journalist and photographer who worked for outlets that include The Washington Post, CBS and McClatchy.
In the summer of 2012, ahead of his final year at law school at Georgetown, Austin traveled to Syria to report on the civil war. On August 14, as he headed to the border after an assignment, the journalist was detained at a checkpoint in Damascus.
Aside from a brief video after his capture, little has been seen or heard of him since.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden reiterated his call for Austin’s immediate release.
“We have repeatedly pressed the government of Syria to work with us so that we can, at last, bring Austin home. Today, I once again call for his immediate release,” Biden said in a statement.
“The freedom of the press is essential, and journalists like Austin play a critical role informing the public and holding those in power accountable,” Biden added.
On the tenth anniversary of his detention, Biden said in a statement that the U.S. government knows “with certainty” the journalist has been held by the Syrian government. In response, Syria denied holding him.
Austin’s exact whereabouts are unknown, but he is still believed to be held captive somewhere in Syria. The U.S. State Department and Syria’s mission to the United Nations did not reply to VOA’s emails requesting comment.
One challenge in securing the journalist’s release has been U.S. political sensitivities over engaging with the Syrian government, according to Bill McCarren, a press freedom consultant at the National Press Club in Washington. The U.S. and Syria do not have official diplomatic relations.
The United States was among the first countries to cut ties with Syria over President Bashar al Assad’s response to antigovernment protests in 2011 that erupted in a civil war and led to the deaths of more than half a million people. Syria is still under expansive Western sanctions, but the Arab League regional organization in 2023 agreed to reinstate Syria’s membership after it was suspended more than a decade ago.
“I love a challenge, but it does become wearing when you can’t really seem to get an equitable effort out of the government,” McCarren told VOA, referring to the United States.
A historic prisoner swap earlier this month between the U.S. and Russia included the release of two American journalists — Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva. That means Austin is the sole American journalist unjustly held abroad.
Learning about the prisoner swap was bittersweet for his mother.
“It is just an incredible tumbler of emotions. And as a human and as a mother and as a woman of faith, of course we’re overjoyed to see these people walk free,” Debra said.
“And then there’s the details about how long [the U.S. government] worked on it, and how diligently they worked on it, and how many countries they worked with on it. And that’s the part where I just become so frustrated,” she said.
After 12 years of sporadic updates and little-to-no progress in her son’s case, Debra says she doesn’t think the U.S. government is working that hard to secure her son’s release.
McCarren sees a double standard between U.S. policy on Syria and Russia, the latter of which has been ostracized by much of the world following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Relations are as strained as they have ever been, yet we were able to conduct these very intricate negotiations with Russia, and we were able to exchange hostages and get people home,” McCarren said. “And that doesn’t change our policy with Russia.”
In May 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States is “engaged with Syria, engaged with third countries” to try to bring Austin home. And in April of this year, President Assad said Syria has held meetings “from time to time” with Washington.
Last week, a bipartisan group of 36 U.S. senators called on Biden to do everything he can to secure Austin’s release.
With Biden nearing the end of his political career since stepping down from the presidential race, Debra hopes that he’ll prioritize securing her son’s release.
She’s holding tight to the promise Biden made when he announced the U.S.-Russia prisoner swap that he would secure the release of all Americans wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad.
“He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she said.
More than a decade of shuttling between the family home in Texas and Washington to advocate for her son has taken a toll on her.
“For 12 years, I haven’t been able to be myself, because I have to be this advocate in Washington,” she said. “I’m trying to help [the U.S. government] understand that my son is worth it. I have to prove his value? That’s just so demeaning.”
Despite the time apart from her son, Debra said she has never lost faith that Austin will eventually be released.
“I’ve never doubted that Austin’s going to walk free. So, it’s just a matter of time,” she said. “And for me, the time has been long — really long. And I’m sure it has been for Austin, too.”
