The Bureau of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development said it was reviewing the case of Zaid * and his mother, Mariam * – who was injured in a bomb blast in Syria in 2019 and left with a broken head – “as a matter of priority”. However, despite repeated requests for several months for the family to be repatriated, no action has been taken. Maryam’s condition continues to worsen and she is unlikely to survive without medical intervention, according to doctors. At least 30 British children remain in Syrian detention camps in dangerous and miserable conditions, despite MPs’ warnings that there was “unstable evidence” that women and children had been trafficked. Most of the women and children in the camps were captured by Syrian Kurdish fighters, ground troops in the US-led coalition against the terrorist group, as they fled IS territory after the fall of Baghuz in 2019. Women and children line up to help al-Hawl camp in Syria, where relatives of Islamic State fighters are staying. Photo: Delil Souleiman / AFP / Getty The Al-Hawl and Roj camps in northeastern Syria are home to 60,000 people. Half of those detained are children aged 10 or younger. According to Save the Children, at least 163 people died in the camps in 2021, 62 of whom were children. Last year, Danish intelligence confirmed that at least 30 children from the camps had been abducted and trafficked by Islamic State, formerly known as Isis. A report released this week highlighted the deteriorating conditions within the so-called “widowhood camps”, saying that “children” were found to be severely neglected, abused and forced to work, while mothers were at a “psychological break”. . The human rights charity Reprieve works for multiple cases of British children living in dangerous conditions in the camps, including Zaid, whose age cannot be given to protect his identity. Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, who visited the couple, said Maryam’s tent was lit recently and Zaid had to drag his mother out to save them both. Arson is common as IS supporters try to escape from the camps, although stove accidents often occur. The young boy is now “seeing fires everywhere” and remains on constant alert, Foa said. “He refuses to play outside with other children as he fears that if he leaves his mother’s side, she may die.” Andrew Mitchell, a Conservative MP and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British victims of trafficking in Syria, told the Guardian: “The position of the government is certainly difficult to understand. Ministers are asking us to believe that this British woman who can barely walk is such a threat to national security that she cannot return home for life-saving medical care with her young son. “Has the UK really become so scared and so cruel? “I urge the government not to risk orphaning a young Briton and to bring this family home.” Last week, Germany repatriated 27 children and eight mothers from northeastern Syria, and in February, the Netherlands repatriated 11 children and five mothers. The United Kingdom has so far repatriated seven children but no women. The Foreign Office responded to a request for comment on Zayed’s case, saying: “There may be British children in camps internally displaced in Syria who are innocent victims of the conflict. “Wherever we find that there are unaccompanied or orphaned British children in Syria, we will work to facilitate their return, subject to national security criteria.” This is tantamount to a policy of separating children from their mothers, says APPG co-chair Apsana Begum. “By choosing to separate British children from their mothers, the government is putting these women in a situation that no parent should ever face,” the Labor MP told the Guardian. “The fact that the government would take this brutal approach to break up British families shows all that is wrong with its counterproductive and unbearably harsh policy towards British nationals in northeastern Syria.” During the pandemic, eight children under the age of five died within days of each other as humanitarian access to the camps diminished. Their deaths were linked to conditions such as heart failure, internal bleeding and severe malnutrition and could have been treated. Children in al-Hawl camp in Syria. “The UK government can easily repatriate them,” said Maryam’s family. Photo: Baderkhan Ahmad / AP Although the government claims to be evaluating any repatriation requests on a case-by-case basis, letters with similar wording have been sent to British mothers who refuse to help. “These letters indicate a general policy of offering to separate mothers from their children – something the government has said in the past is wrong,” Foa said. “Any child psychologist would tell you that this is incredibly harmful and that the policy is also completely incompatible with our international partners.” In a statement to the Guardian, Maryam’s family said: “The UK Government can easily repatriate them and save their lives if they want to. Instead, we expect a phone call every day that tells us the worst has happened. “We feel completely helpless and we want them a home where we know they are safe.” Last month, more than 8,000 Reprieve supporters wrote to Secretary of State Liz Trouse, urging the government to repatriate Zade and his mother to receive the emergency medical care they need.
- Names have changed
