{"id":65035,"date":"2021-09-21T17:56:54","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T17:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=65035"},"modified":"2021-09-21T17:56:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T17:56:55","slug":"isis-families-fear-shunning-by-community-after-leaving-hawl-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/65035\/","title":{"rendered":"ISIS families fear shunning by community after leaving Hawl Camp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RAQQA, Syria (North Press) \u2013 <\/strong>37-year-old Aisha Mohammed and her children, in addition to her eldest daughter\u2019s two sons, have been residing in a two-room house in al-Akrad neighborhood in the northern part of Raqqa city 14 months after trying to re-integrate into the community after leaving north Syria\u2019s infamous Hawl Camp.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammed, a native of Raqqa, is trying to re-build ties with her neighbors and community after leaving Hawl Camp. She was married to an ISIS member who was killed in ISIS\u2019 final stronghold in al-Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several requests for an interview, Mohammed finally agreed to speak to North Press; her daughter, who was also married to an ISIS fighter, refused to be interviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other families who left Hawl Camp for al-Akirshi area in the southern countryside of Raqqa, have also refused to be interviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overcoming fears<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we first came, our family and neighbors were afraid of us, as we were families of ISIS militants. However, they found out later we are normal, and even more than normal,\u201d Mohammed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She believes that sending her children to a private teacher in the neighborhood to learn reading and writing is the first step towards their reintegration into society.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 1,000 families, or around 4,000 people, left Hawl Camp under a Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) initiative which was launched to evacuate Syrian nationals from the camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the intensification of the battles between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS at the end of 2017, Mohammed left Raqqa city, the former de facto capital of ISIS\u2019 caliphate, heading east until she reached al-Baghouz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since October 2020, 17 groups have left Hawl Camp after the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) decided to empty the camp of Syrian families wishing to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawl Camp is known as a \u201cticking time bomb\u201d due to the presence of extremists of ISIS wives and children, and tens of thousands of their supporters in a camp sometimes described as \u201cthe most dangerous camp in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no breadwinner<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mohammed\u2019s family has not received any support from any of the organizations that provide relief aid or from the responsible authorities. \u201cNo one helped us or recognized us; not our relatives or others,\u201d Mohammed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to her husband and son-in-law who were killed within the ranks of ISIS, the woman has a son who is detained by the SDF for being a member of ISIS.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that her son, who is now 19 years old, once planned to desert ISIS and flee to Turkey. However, ISIS prevented anyone from going to \u201cthe lands of blasphemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was injured during his attempts to flee. \u201cHe especially wanted to flee from his father, who got him involved with ISIS.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohammed\u2019s 21-year-old daughter has two sons, and her husband was an ISIS member who was killed in 2017 during the expulsion of ISIS from Raqqa by the SDF with the support of the Global Coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawl Camp, which was first established to house refugees fleeing the Iraq War, is located near the Syrian-Iraqi border on the southern outskirts of Hawl town in the Hasakah countryside. The camp now hosts about 64,373 people, including 9,544 wives and children of foreign ISIS fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to evacuating the Syrian families from the camp, the AANES conducted transfer operations to relieve pressure on the camp and to remove families from the influence of extremists in the foreign women\u2019s section, according to the camp administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improvement in relationships<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

45-year-old Zahia al-Ali, a mother of six who left the camp, said in an audio message to North Press that residents of Raqqa have so far refrained from communicating with her and her children because they believe she still has ties to ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Ali is the widow of an ISIS member who was killed in the battle for Raqqa in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family\u2019s commitment to their home and their avoidance of conflict in the neighborhood has allowed the majority of residents accept them little by little, until communication between them became normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sara Organization to Combat Violence against Women in northeast Syria and women’s boards affiliated with the AANES have proposed special plans and programs to rehabilitate women who lived during the period of ISIS\u2019 control of Raqqa and the countryside of Deir ez-Zor, though none have been implemented yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These programs include \u201cre-integrating them into society and cleansing them of ideas of extremism and violence,\u201d according to a previous statement by Sara Organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Ali is currently works sewing women’s clothes and is trying to secure the needs of her children, rid them of the philosophy of the Islamic State, and integrate them into society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obstacles and bullying<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

29-year-old Ibtisam al-Hammadi said in an audio statement to North Press that her children faced \u201cactions and verbal altercation at school that express society’s rejection of them, as they are the children of a former ISIS fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Hammadi’s husband is detained and has been awaiting trial since the SDF arrested him in al-Baghouz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Hammadi says that she and her children faced a \u201cdifficult reality” after they were rejected by local society and abandoned by their closest relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said that they blamed her for the actions of her husband, who was an ISIS emir<\/em> (prince), despite his arrest years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Hammadi pointed out that the fact that her children were prevented from going to school and forced to stay at home due to constant bullying from their peers has prevented them from integrating into the community in the way she desired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absence of aid<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most of the women of families that left Hawl Camp and settled in Raqqa and its countryside complain about the lack of income and the absence of relief aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every sheikh or notable of a clan monitors the cases of those he has guaranteed and follows-up on their affairs in the long term until they are able to integrate into society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheikh of al-Sabkha clan Mohammed Turki al-Soa\u2019n said that he has guaranteed more than 50 families leaving the camp towards Raqqa and that \u201cthese families have not made problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only one family has refused to talk with him about their situation. \u201cIt is a rare case, but there are no problems except for the deterioration of their living conditions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, SDF Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi called on the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS to help these people and support education and counter-extremism programs, as well as support stability and economic recovery in northeast Syria to address the root causes of extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Al-Soa\u2019n called on relief organizations to help these families, because most of them are now without any breadwinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that difficult living conditions alone may push them towards extremism again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting by Ammar Haydar<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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