The danger of shunning the ‘ISIS brides’
5/7/202617 min
Late yesterday, four women and nine children arrived in Australia from Syria.
The women, who originally left the country to be part of the Islamic State caliphate, have spent the years since its collapse in Syrian refugee camps.
Many of their children, who are Australian citizens too, have never been here before.
But they aren’t the first to come back – since 2019, women and children like them have been returning.
What they’re returning to has become more and more hostile, with politicians maintaining they aren’t welcome, and police threatening arrest.
Today, Professor Michele Grossman, expert on violent extremism from Deakin University, on our responsibility to these citizens and the danger of politicising their position.
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And special credit for the audio of Australian children inside al-Roj refugee camp goes to William Christou and the Guardian.
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Guest: Expert on violent extremism from Deakin University, Professor Michele Grossman
Photo: AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
[gentle music] I'm on a Qatar Airways flight about to head to Melbourne with a group of Australian women and children who have been linked to the Islamic State group.
Speaker 10:11
These are women who left the country to marry ISIS fighters and their sympathizers. They were put into the al-Roj detention facility in northeast Syria after the fall of the caliphate. And there may be- Expected to arrive tonight, but their freedom is likely to be short-lived.
Speaker 20:27
Federal police have confirmed some of the women will be arrested as soon as they arrive on home soil.
Ruby Jones· Host0:34
Late yesterday, four women and nine children arrived in Australia from Syria. The women, who originally left the country to be part of the Islamic State caliphate, have spent the years since its collapse in Syrian refugee camps. Many of their children, who are Australian citizens too, have never been here before.
Speaker 4· Soundbite0:54
Well, I want to taste the ice cream there and buy, and buy some toys.
Ruby Jones· Host0:59
Like, we all want to go back to our countries and stay with our family. But they aren't the first to come back. Since 2019, women and children like them have been returning. What they're returning to has become more and more hostile, with politicians maintaining they aren't welcome.
Michele Grossman· Guest1:15
Uh, we have been very c- clear from the beginning, these people should not return to Australia. And we- From the start is that, that government should be doing everything it can to prevent them coming back to the country, and they haven't.
Speaker 6· Soundbite1:27
They've done- I don't want them here.
Speaker 7· Soundbite1:28
I don't trust them. I don't like