There are 2,000 Dagestani females without children in the Al-Hawl and Roj camps, which are under Kurdish control in Syria, stated L., a Dagestani female recently rescued from Al-Hawl, a sprawling detention facility in northeastern Syria.Many more families with children are likewise held there.
I dont know the specific number, however our living conditions are definitely excruciating, she said, speaking on condition of privacy for safety reasons.Located near the Iraqi border, Al-Hawl was initially established to house Iraqi refugees running away the Gulf War and, later on, the U.S.-led intrusion of Iraq.
Today, it holds countless women and children, a lot of them loved ones of Islamic State fighters, under the control of Kurdish-led forces.Women and children are subjected to abuse and whippings by the Kurdish authorities, L.
said.
We are being held with no legal defense, in dreadful conditions.
Some of us dont simply reside in tents, however in prison toilets basically latrines converted into cells.
Even healthy individuals establish heart disease and agreement tuberculosis in those cells.L.
is among numerous women identified as affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS), the terrorist company that took swathes of area in Syria and Iraq in 2014 and declared a caliphate.
While IS still exists in some form, the self-proclaimed state collapsed in late 2019 after the battle of Baghuz Fawqani.In the consequences, partners, sisters and children of ISIS fighters, a lot of whom are foreign nationals, were sent to Kurdish-controlled camps in northeastern Syria.There are no exact figures on how many females and kids from Russia and its annexed areas are being held in these camps, but lots of appear to hail from the North Caucasus.
Households detained in these camps explain traumatic living conditions and state they feel they have been abandoned by the global community.Some kids have actually invested their entire lives in detention, either being born in the camps or brought in as babies throughout the final battles with ISIS.
Others were preschoolers at the time and hardly remember the group.For six years, children aged 12 and older have actually been drawn from Al-Hawl and separated from their moms, basically locked in special jails for teens, L.
stated.
The conditions they live in are dreadful.
You can envision the trauma theyve endured, being separated from their mothers and siblings.
No matter a moms past, she is still a mom.
And children must not be penalized for their moms and dads mistakes.A female walks with a saline infusion on her hand at the Al-Amal Camp.Zaid AL-Obeidi/ AFPAccording to L., moms are often left in the dark about their boys whereabouts.
A handful of kids have actually been returned to families, she explained these instances as manipulative gestures rather than systemic change.In Roj, this specific practice does not exist, but even there, Kurdish authorities are vicious toward children, including young children, abusing them physically and mentally.
When the media are nearby, they pretend to be kind.
When the electronic cameras are gone, they reveal their real faces, she said.On social media platforms such as Telegram and Facebook, North Caucasus women consistently organize fundraisers for warm clothes and blankets for their imprisoned kids, or to pay kickbacks to Kurdish guards in hopes of protecting their release.The Chechens have actually virtually ransomed all their fellow residents.
There are far fewer Chechen households left in the camps, said Ansar Dishni, an agent of NIYSO, a Chechen self-reliance organization.He said his group frequently receives demands for aid raising the cash required to totally free someone.There are many groups that pay allurements to get women and children out of the camps if youre able to pay, added Ali Charinskiy, a representative of the Independent Dagestan in Ukraine initiative.
It costs around $15,000 to get someone out.
I know, because I personally assisted to ransom and free one family from the camp.Charinskiy likewise blamed Russian authorities for funneling disaffected youth toward Syria in the early years of the war.Before 2014, the authorities in the North Caucasus were pressing young Muslims who might withstand, he explained.
The FSB allowed individuals to leave for Syria, doing nothing to prevent households from joining the anti-Assad resistance or even terrorist groups.
Their objective was to eliminate Muslim youth who might engage in Islamic uniformity or the Dagestani freedom movement.
And after that Russia pertained to Syria to combat for Assad, and bombed them.Dishni echoed that view, associating youth radicalization to decades of Russian repression.The main factor was stringent control and persecution by Russian authorities.
Thats what drove numerous young families to leave, he said.While Russia had a function in producing the conditions that led to the camps, it has actually done little in the way of resolving the crisis.Inside Russia, the plight of ISIS-affiliated women and kids is taboo, and even discussing it can lead to criminal charges.In July 2024, Russian theater director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk were sentenced to 6 years in prison for justifying terrorism over their play Finist, the Brave Falcon, which tells the story of Russian women enticed into joining ISIS fighters in Syria.
The play plainly condemns ISIS, its subject matter showed too politically charged.In contrast, British author Nussaibah Younis 2025 satirical unique Fundamentally, about a London scholastic trying to rescue a former ISIS bride from a Syrian camp, became a bestseller and was shortlisted for the Womens Prize for Fiction.And in 2019, Azadeh Moavenis Guest House for Young Widows, a nonfiction account of 13 women linked to ISIS, was named one of the years best books by The New York Times, The Toronto Star and The Guardian.Experts agree that early intervention is key for deradicalization.
The earlier kids are eliminated from such camps, the much better their prospects.
Return efforts stay inconsistent.Though some women and children have been returned to the North Caucasus, the process is sluggish and complicated.We understand of just a few isolated cases where women who voluntarily returned from the camps were subjected to criminal prosecution, said Dishni of NIYSO.Generally, in Chechnya and other parts of the area, families of previous ISIS members face little methodical prosecution, he stated.
While returnees are evaluated, these procedures hardly ever intensify into persecution.However, he cautioned that in Russia, where the repressive machine operates outside the law, nobody is genuinely safe.
Even if not officially charged, females went back to Chechnya may deal with intimidation and harassment, he said.Charinskiy, from Independent Dagestan in Ukraine, described cases in which Dagestani women deported back to Dagestan were separated from their kids and jailed.Thats why numerous ladies are afraid to return, he said.Whether to return or remain is a deeply personal choice, stated L., the Dagestani woman.
Everybody has their own plans and preferences.
But right now, Syria seems like the safer option.Still, numerous women state they wish to go home.Theres no one-size-fits-all response, said Dishni.
Each case is unique.
You need to think about broader aspects local dynamics, global policies and how returnees are treated.He added that sometimes, returning teens to their prolonged families in the North Caucasus may use the most gentle and stable path forward.The household structure there is based upon shared assistance.
If these kids are surrounded by their liked ones, they may discover stability, care and a path to reintegration, he said.The political landscape in Syria is likewise shifting.
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assads routine, the brand-new Salvation Government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa has actually discussed releasing detainees from Kurdish camps and has actually apparently opened settlements with Kurdish forces though no concrete development has been made.L.
said that conditions have actually worsened under the Kurdish authorities, who are now relinquishing responsibility.With the arrival of brand-new authorities, we expect the development of more transparent and legal mechanisms for saving the ladies and children caught in these camps, Dishni said.
We expect that proficient bodies within the new Syrian government will establish channels for their release and guarantee their safety.Im sure the new federal government is preoccupied with other problems today, so the women and kids from Roj and Al-Hawl are not their concern.
And the Kurds see them as bargaining chips, Charinskiy stated.
Its an embarassment, but I hope it will alter.