Australian Women and Children Caught in Syrian Camps Apply for Passport to Be Repatriated
Aside from the currently held ten Australian women and children, who are living in the displacement camps in northeastern Syria, have officially submitted their passport applications to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This move marks a vital and desperate step in the long-term battle they have been struggling with to return to Australian land. These people are families of the former Islamic State fighters, who are commonly known as ISIS brides, a group of people that have been imprisoned for years right after the territorial caliphate collapse of the terrorist organization.
The al-Hol and al-Roj camps, run by Kurdish-led forces, are the assigned places for this long-standing humanitarian and political predicament. Camps are often mentioned as dreadful places that include overcrowding, lack of sanitation facilities, and insufficient access to health services. An Australian can think of the camp passport application procedure as a means of legally demanding their consular assistance and repatriation.
This change unintentionally shifts the burden on the Australian government, which has been historically very careful with handling these sorts of situations, since they believe there is a risk to national security. The officials are now in a position where they must deal with the complicated issue of weighing the danger of the returnees against the rights of the children involved—many of whom were born in the war zone—and their obligations under international law. In the past, the government has played its part in enabling the return of some women and children on a case-by-case basis, with the previous results involving protracted legal arguments and support from the groups of human rights.
The legal attorneys acting for the families stress that Australia has an original duty to protect its citizens, especially the minors who are not guilty of anything. They assert that the decision to leave the Australians in those camps for an indefinite period is a failing of the duty and, in creating a future threat, they foster resentment and instability. In contrast, the security professionals cite the difficulties involved in surveilling and counseling individuals who have been indoctrinated in extremist ideologies.
The introduction of these passport applications will probably initiate a new cycle of red tape and political controversy. It requires, as a result, a really concrete choice on each individual, which actually changes the issue from an abstract political argument to a real bureaucratic and policy decision. While the applications are anticipated in Canberra, the whole world is watching how Australia will harmonize its humanitarian obligations with its security imperatives. The result will set up a milestone for not only these ten applicants but also the other instances that might come after, which means defining the newly postwar direction of Australiakom’s stance on this issue.
Source: Mail
