The first ISIS family to return to Australia in more than three years touched arrived in Sydney, as a relieved father welcomed his daughter and grandkids home.
After being removed from a camp in Syria for Islamic State families, four women and their 13 children came home on a repatriation aircraft on Saturday.
Mariam Daboussy, a former daycare provider in Western Sydney, was traveling with her three kids when she was tricked into going to Syria to marry an ISIS warrior.
“Today I want to simply enjoy my daughter and grandkids coming home,” I said. Her tearful father Kamalle Dabboussy remarked, “It’s been a huge day.
I just visited my daughter and grandkids. They are exhausted and in good health after their long and difficult trip home. The only ones awake right now are the youngsters who are unwrapping gifts and toys.
The 17 Australians were taken 30 kilometers from the northeastern camps of al-Hol and al-Roj to Iraq, where they boarded a plane for Sydney International Airport.
The ladies, who are the spouses and widows of IS members, are now in a secure location as Australian police continue to question them.
Australian government authorities and the Syrian Democratic Forces worked together to bring them home; the final Australians to return were two sets of orphans in July 2019.
Mr. Dabbousy has been pleading with the authorities for his daughter and her children to be returned to Australia for years.
He expressed the hope that his family will relocate to live with him, but they were awaiting word on the restrictions that would be put in place by the authorities, which may include ankle bracelets, curfews, or surveillance.
The four ladies, he said, were not a “danger to Australia,” and they continued to work with law enforcement while being aware that they would face charges if any alleged crimes were found.
They have been properly inspected and evaluated by security services, who have advised them to return home and are of no concern, he added.
“The ladies were taken with the men as they went.” The lady was abandoned and stuck behind while the guys were either dead or imprisoned.
There is no proof that my daughter joined any such organization, and I am assured of that. Additionally, law enforcement has shown their understanding in private interactions we have had.
The ladies released a statement in which they thanked God for their safe return and apologized for the hardship their connections to the Islamic State had created.
The ladies released a statement saying, “We are truly grateful to be back home in Australia with our children.”
Specifically to our families, “We want to convey our apologies for the difficulties and grief we have caused.
We are thrilled about the chance to start again as members of the Australian community.
At the age of 22, Ms. Dabboussy wed Kaled Zahab in 2011. She left for Lebanon in the middle of 2015 with her husband and their 18-month-old kid only to be persuaded to go to Syria.
She was forced to remarry twice more before ending herself in a camp with her three children three months after Zahab was murdered by a coalition attack.
The ladies have been given the all-clear to go home, according to Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, after individual security services evaluations.
The priority has always been on ensuring the security and safety of all Australians as well as the people participating in the operation, she added.
Karen Andrews, one of her rivals in the opposition, criticized the action.
“It is unacceptable that the Albanese government’s actions are endangering Australian lives… the danger that now exists in these Australian communities,” she added.
The rescue operation was announced by the Albanesian administration earlier this month, and the first to be rescued were thought to be the most fragile detainees.
The extraction, which allegedly included DNA testing the subjects to demonstrate they were Australian residents, was carried out in collaboration with Kurdish officials.
Since the majority of the kids were born in Syria, they will be seeing Australia for the first time.
The group was brought to an undisclosed hotel in Sydney, where they are receiving assistance services from the NSW government to help them integrate into the neighborhood.
The CEO of Save the Youngsters, Mat Tinkler, said that the children now had hope, but urged people to keep in mind the about 30 mothers and children who are still waiting to be sent home.
He remarked, “Unless they are here in Australia, we cannot ensure their safety.”
Australians’ safety is always the first priority, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and the government will keep acting on national security advice.
We constantly take precautions to ensure the safety of Australians.