“Alhamdulillah - Praise be to God!”
That was attorney Nafeesa Mohammed’s reaction following Attorney General Reginald Armour’s indication that Government is examining proposed law concerning a possible “gateway” to return women and children who are in Syrian refugee camps.
Mohammed said yesterday that information showing that there are 74 children and 24 women in those camps is readily available to help Armour.
In 2017, Government confirmed 130 people—fighters and families—went to Middle East conflict zones. This was between the years 2012 to 2015.
They joined the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group.
ISIS crumbled in 2019 following pressure from western allied forces. But ISIS Khorasan (ISIS-K), an Afghanistan affiliate of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, subsequently emerged.
On Sunday, during an interview on TTT, Armour said the majority, if not all, of the T&T men are dead. He said an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism law is being examined for a possible “gateway” to return those in the camps. He added that there’s a process, since one of the challenges is speaking to the Syrian government, which lacks access to those in the camps. This is because these are in areas controlled by terrorists and the Syrians can’t get there.
If and when T&T gets safe access, the AG said the second matter is health issues, including DNA to verify T&T parentage. Samples will be needed. Details have to be worked out through law which will have to be built.
The Anti-Terrorism Unit and Central Authority, which deals with extradition, will also be involved: if people committed an offence and cross borders into other countries or T&T may want someone extradited to face trial here.
Mohammed, who has championed the cause of families in this country seeking to get their relatives back from camps, said, “I’m heartened to read the new Attorney General has expressed some interest in the repatriation of the children and women.
“It’s very encouraging to know this new AG is approaching the legislative process by engaging in consultations with stakeholders and encouraging the development of policies that will inform legislation to be drafted and debated. In this regard, it would be useful to consider the Repatriation Plan that has already been developed and the agreement signed by all the relatives of these displaced citizens.”
Mohammed said there was an entire bundle of documents with birth certificates, passport biodata and other relevant documents that contain accurate proof that the children and mothers are all Trinidad and Tobago citizens.
“Information readily available to help the Attorney General will show there are 74 children and 24 women in these camps that are controlled by an administrative authority called the Rojava and made up of a coalition of representatives including the US Military,” she said.
“Once a government indicates its interest in repatriating its citizens, this authority is able to do what is necessary, including the availability of an electronic database to confirm the identity and nationality of these citizens and even the capacity to undergo DNA testing.”
Mohammed said collaboration with relatives, NGOs and law enforcement is required for a successful repatriation, reunification and reintegration.
She urged Armour to “save scarce taxpayers’ dollars and other State resources by engaging in meaningful dialogue to solve this humanitarian crisis. “
She said, “There’s no need for draconian legislation targeted at the Muslim community that will criminalise innocent children and mothers.
“T&T’s major Muslim organisations have signalled support for repatriations and are willing to make certain resources available to assist reintegration.”