The Disappeared

When Hong Kong passed the National Security Law at the end of June, many things disappeared in the city overnight. Some were long-held principles of democracy and free speech; others were more tangible things, as Oliver Farry writes, like books on the protest movement, posters promoting an independent Hong Kong, and people who either fled the city or were arrested. But Hong Kong is not the only place in the world where things are disappearing. Across the border in China, Rushan Abbas does not know where her sister is, a Uighur who has vanished in China's vast network of concentration camps. In Europe, countless perish in the Mediterranean Sea, their graves unmarked, as Alessio Perrone investigates. Some are trying to find answers. Laura Silvia Battaglia speaks to a film director whose new documentary on Syria's disappeared traces two heart-breaking stories. And some are trying to stop answers being out of reach, as Jessica N Mhainn explores when she talks to people from Ireland who are fighting to keep archives about historic child abuse open. Outside the special report we have a new short story from Lisa Appignanesi, we ask Donald Trump voters from 2016 whether he has listened to those "forgotten Americans" and a look at how street art has been used during Covid-19 for important political statements. ---publisher's website