WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
Eleven ISIS wives and their 20 children trapped in squalid Syrian refugee camp launch extraordinary bid to return to Australia
Save the Children wants the government to bring children home
They say innocent children live in squalid conditions
The women are the 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 ISIS have launched an extraordinary campaign to return to Australia.
The charity Save the Children filed suit against the Home Office in the Federal Court on Tuesday, demanding the repatriation of Australian citizens and their children.
The 11 women are the wives and widows of Islamic State fighters – most of whom have died or are serving prison sentences – and have been living in the squalid detention camp known as Al Roj for four years.
One of the children is now an adult, while others were born since their mother was arrested.
“The situation of the remaining women and children is harsh and dire… they are being held in horrible and appalling conditions,” Save the Children lawyer Peter Morrissey SC said.
“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 request to return to Australia. Pictured are women and children at 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 to see the impact of prolonged exposure to these conditions”.
Save the Children says children living in the camp are in “grave danger” and lack basic necessities, including health care, nutrition and education.
CEO Mat Tinkler visited Al Roj in 2022 and said “nothing could prepare him to see the impact of prolonged exposure to these conditions.”
Survey
Should Australian women and children be brought home?
He said the children suffered from untreated shrapnel wounds and prolonged illnesses.
“They have already suffered enormously – 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 northeast Syria since the defeat of ISIS in March 2019.
They traveled to Syria from Australia at the height of the caliphate, and many say they were coerced, deceived or forced to leave their homes.
But some children were born in the camp and never experienced life outside its confines. Armed guards line the exits and patrol the dirt streets.
These women are the wives and widows of Islamic State fighters – most of whom are dead or serving prison sentences – and they now live in appalling conditions inside the squalid detention camp (photo of ISIS fighters IS).
It is reported that most of the Australian cohort lives in an area nicknamed “Australia Row” and that many other citizens of Western countries have since been repatriated.
France, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Russia, Spain and the United States are among the countries that repatriated their citizens in 2023.
In October 2022, the federal government repatriated four women and 13 children. Eight children were also returned to Australia in 2019.
Save the Children now says women and children still in Al Roj should receive the same treatment. The lawsuit also hinges on the argument that the group’s detention is illegal.
Women have been living in the camp in northeast Syria since the defeat of ISIS in March 2019 (photo, al-Hol refugee camp in Syria, 2019)
“Despite countless opportunities to repatriate these families, the Australian government has ultimately failed in its duty to bring all of its citizens back to safety,” Mr Tinkler said.
“The government cannot allow these innocent children to suffer further – they must do what is legally and morally right, before it is too late.
Save the Children says previous repatriation efforts prove the Australian government is capable of successfully removing families from these camps.
The camp is also home to Britain’s most famous ISIS bride, Shamima Begum, who has been locked in legal battles with the British government to repatriate her after it revoked her citizenship.