Barnaby Joyce has warned children born under ISIS rule pose “a real risk” to Australia and should be left where they were born overseas, regardless of any claim to citizenship.
Australia announced over the weekend that it had repatriated four Australian women and their 13 children after the families landed in New South Wales.
The women and their children had been held in al-Hol and al-Roj camps in Syria’s northeastern region known as Rojava since March 2019.
Some had traveled with husbands who became ISIS fighters, while others were brought to the war-torn region as teenagers and children by their parents before marrying local men.
The former Nationals leader has criticized the decision to repatriate the children, suggesting their parents had made a choice.
“They chose to go and be part of a terrorist organization that was murdering people, raping people, destroying the cultural heritage of countries, and children who were born abroad are citizens of wherever they were born,” Joyce said. Sunrise.
The women have disputed these claims, with some insisting they were “tricked” or coerced into entering Syria.
Joyce also warned that the cost of repatriating and asking security agencies to monitor the families could run into the millions of dollars.
“As the former vice chairman of the National Security Committee, this is going to cost millions and millions of dollars to control,” he said.
“We have a problem for a person who does not give up the vile views he has and gets together with other people and begins to adopt their views at some point in the future.
“This is a massive risk for us and a massive problem. Because people chose to go there, it’s totally different and I have a real concern about that, a serious concern about that, a serious concern about what happens.”
However, Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said we should not visit the sins of the parents on the children.
“(ISIS) was a disgusting organization that did disgusting things, but … some of these women were taken as children to Syria,” he said.
“They were children themselves when they were themselves when they were taken and now they have children who are Australian citizens growing up in some of the most dangerous places on earth.
“I understand why people are concerned and it is absolutely vital that we continue to follow the advice of our security agencies that these women remain in contact with people who are prepared to monitor them and in many cases will be for a long time time, but we need to bring these children home safely and get them into normal schools, surrounded by a loving family, integrating into the Australian way of life.
“That’s how we stay safe and that’s how we keep them safe.”
Ms. Plibersek also supported expanding the region’s humanitarian contribution.
“I think we should have a stronger humanitarian program than the previous government had,” he said.
“We could have done better in the humanitarian space in recent years, but that does not mean that these women, in many cases, who were taken as children or tricked into going there, do not deserve to come. return to Australia.
“If they are willing to abide by Australian laws, and they said they will, we need to return to Australia those children who were bought there and the women who were tricked or taken as children. I have no sympathy for ISIS.
“If you are a child that your parents took there, you are a victim of child abuse.”
Families welcome the return of lost daughters
Australian Mariam Dabboussy and her three children were among the families repatriated over the weekend.
Kamalle Dabboussy, the woman’s father, said it was a “happy day” to see his daughter and grandchildren.
“Today I want to take the opportunity to enjoy the return of my daughter and my grandchildren. It’s been an overwhelming day,” he said.
“I just saw my daughter and my grandchildren. They’ve had a long, long journey home, they’re tired, they’re fine. Kids are opening presents and toys are what they’re awake for anyway.”
Dabboussy said authorities would advise how many checks and balances families would be subject to over time.
“We’ll wait and see what it’s like, so I don’t know,” he said.
“But we know they could contain things from ankle bracelets to curfews to surveillance, but there’s no clear information at the moment.”
“To my knowledge, these women are not a threat to Australia,” he said.
“Clearly on Mariam’s trip, and I’ve been very public about this, she was coerced into Syria. That was the position that the government had told me, which has been published.
“Everything she’s done has been for the safety of her children and herself. If she needs to explain she will and that’s the situation she’s in.
“I’m not too worried about his story, we’ll see if there’s anything unknown that comes up.”