Eleven ISIS brides and their 20 children trapped in a squalid Syrian refugee camp launch an extraordinary attempt to return to Australia
- Save the Children wants the government to take children home
- They say innocent children live in terrible conditions
- Women are wives, widows and relatives of ISIS fighters
- Do you know more? Email brittany.chain@mailonline.com
Eleven women and 20 children living in a refugee camp in Syria after the fall of ISIL have launched an extraordinary attempt to return to Australia.
Charity Save the Children took the Department of Home Affairs to the Federal Court on Tuesday, demanding the repatriation of Australian citizens and their children.
The 11 women are wives and widows of Islamic State fighters – most of whom have died or are serving prison sentences – and who have lived in the squalid Al Roj detention camp for the past four years.
One of the children is now an adult, while others have been born since their mothers were detained.
“The situation of the remaining women and children is grim and dire… they are being held in appalling and appalling conditions,” said Peter Morrissey SC, lawyer for Save the Children.
“Their health, safety and dignity are seriously compromised by any standard.”
Eleven women and 20 children living in a refugee camp in Syria after the fall of ISIL today launched an extraordinary effort to return to Australia. The photo shows women and children in the al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria
CEO Mat Tinkler (pictured arriving at court on Tuesday) visited Al Roj in 2022 and said ‘nothing could prepare him for seeing the impact of long-term exposure to these conditions’
Save the Children says children living in the camp are in “grave danger” and lack basic needs, including health care, nutrition and education.
CEO Mat Tinkler visited Al Roj in 2022 and said ‘nothing could prepare him for seeing the impact of long-term exposure to these conditions’.
He said children suffered from untreated shrapnel wounds and long-term illnesses.
‘They have already suffered greatly; many have experienced violence, bombings and lost loved ones,” he said. Other children suffer from tooth decay, stunted growth and a range of health complications.
The women have been living in the camp in northeastern Syria since the defeat of ISIS in March 2019.
They traveled from Australia to Syria at the height of the caliphate, and many say they were coerced, tricked or forced to leave their homes.
But some children were born in the camp and never knew life outside the camp. Armed guards line the exits and patrol the unpaved streets.
These women are the wives and widows of Islamic State fighters – most of whom have died or are serving prison sentences – and they are now living in appalling conditions in the squalid detention camp (ISIS fighters in photo)
There are reports that most of the Australian cohort lives in an area called ‘Australia Row’, and many other citizens of Western countries have since been repatriated.
France, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Russia, Spain and the United States are among some of the countries that have repatriated citizens in 2023.
In October 2022, the federal government repatriated four women and thirteen children. Eight children were also returned to Australia in 2019.
Save the Children is now advocating that the women and children still in Al Roj should receive the same treatment. The lawsuit is also based on the argument that the group’s detention is unlawful.
The women have been living in the camp in northeast Syria since ISIS was defeated in March 2019 (photo, Al-Hol refugee camp Syria 2019)
“Despite numerous opportunities to repatriate these families, the Australian government has ultimately failed in its duty to keep all its citizens safe,” Tinkler said.
“The government cannot allow these innocent children to continue to suffer. They must do what is legally and morally right before it is too late.”
Save the Children argues that previous repatriation efforts prove the Australian government’s ability to successfully withdraw families from these camps.
The camp is also home to Britain’s most famous ISIS bride, Shamima Begum, who is embroiled in legal proceedings with the British government to repatriate her after revoking her citizenship.