Scattered across the Maldives, a tropical
island chain in the Indian Ocean, is a group of families with an unusual
problem. These grandparents, aunts and uncles are trying to rescue 33 children
who are trapped in a sandblasted refugee camp in Syria, the sons and daughters
of Maldivian parents who joined the jihadist group Isis.
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Now that US-backed Syrian rebel fighters
have forced the Islamist extremists out of their final scrap of territory,
governments around the world are struggling to deal with thousands of foreign
nationals who are being held in the squalid, overflowing Al Hol camp.
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The UN says 65 per cent of the more than
70,000 refugees in the camp are children under the age of 12; 2,500 of them are
foreign and cordoned off in a restricted section. Unicef estimates there are
9,000 children of foreign Isis members from 60 countries in Syria.
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A surprisingly large number of them are
from the Maldives, which has a population of 400,000. About one in 2,000
Maldivians became Isis fighters. Ali Maher was one of them. He was killed,
leaving behind a 10-year-old son in Syria. “Maybe my brother made a wrong
decision,” says his brother Abdul Nasir, 43, a hospitality worker. “But we
should get the children out . . . they are innocent.”
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According to three families trying to
retrieve them, the 33 Maldivian children are crammed into a single tent in Al
Hol. Two infants have already died, they say. Reports from the 12 surviving
Maldivian women with the children say the babies are hungry and ill. They fear
time is running out.
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Aid workers report miserable conditions in
the 40C heat of Al Hol. Thousands more tents are needed. The Syrian Democratic
Forces have called on other countries to take back their nationals, for trial,
deradicalisation and reintegration. Unicef wants them to repatriate the
fighters’ vulnerable children. Russia, Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium,
Norway and Sweden have already taken back some people. The UN says 526
foreigners have now left Al Hol.
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But the Maldives, like the UK, has been
unwilling to repatriate the children of the 200 Maldivian Isis fighters.
Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s ex-president and current parliament Speaker,
said last week he does not favour repatriating them yet.
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“We are totally helpless,” sighs Abdulla
Jaweed, 31, an airport worker who is trying to retrieve his orphaned nephew
from Al Hol. Mr Jaweed says the baby “is like the lost member” of his family.
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Maldivian authorities say that because of the
SDF is not Syria’s government, it cannot engage with the group to bring
Maldivians back. The SDF says it cannot release anyone without dealing with
their government. That leaves the families stuck and frustrated. “For all 33
kids, there are grandparents here willing to take them back,” said Shana Umar,
34, a marketing professional trying to help her aunt retrieve grandchildren.
“We have considered going to Syria to approach the camp,” she explained. “But
we are not sure if it is illegal . . . It’s a war zone, right?”
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Many families are also struggling to
understand Isis’s appeal to Maldivians. “We want to know . . . how this
happened,” says Ms Umar, to “stop it from happening next time”.
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Mr Jaweed says he is baffled why his newly
married, not particularly pious, 19-year-old brother joined Isis: “He told us
life there [under Isis] was very good, better than living here.” But Mr Nasir,
who has another brother, who is an imam, thinks tourism — the biggest
contributor to the Maldivian economy — has angered conservative Muslims and
fuelled radicalisation. Half-naked holidaymakers are “a new thing for us”, says
Mr Nasir. Local religious leaders preach that serving alcohol is sinful: “For
these things, the Prophet Mohammed has said there will be punishment.” Mr Nasir
worries he will be eternally damned for working in a tourist resort and sends
me related Koranic verses to explain why.
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The strength of Islamic fervour has had a
secondary effect: many Maldivians are now wary of repatriating the children of
Isis members. “Half of the community is totally against helping,” explains Ms
Umar. They fear it “might bring back something that would ruin our peace”.
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Source: Financial Times: 17 June 2019
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