Letta Tayler, deputy director for crises and conflicts at Human Rights Watch (HRW), met with several of these Canadians between June 2019 and May 2022 in northeast Syria, an autonomous region controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), one of Kurds dominated alliance, led by fighters who fought against the armed group Islamic State (IS).
Many of them live in the al-Roj and al-Hol camps, where hundreds of adults and children have died due to fighting in the area, lack of medical care or unsanitary conditions.
According to her, at least 43 Canadians or 30 children, seven women and six men are currently being held in these camps. According to the Federal Supreme Court decision, 23 of them must be repatriated within a reasonable period of time, while the fate of the remaining 20, including 17 children, is still unclear.
According to Ms Tayler, ten of those children were born to Canadian fathers – most of whom are missing – and foreign mothers. These mothers were informed that their children could be accepted for possible repatriation, but that they could not accompany them, says the researcher. It’s an unreasonable offer. […] From the point of view of international law, family reunification comes first. This should be considered on a case-by-case basis […] to avoid exposing these children to further trauma.
Canadian children and their mothers are being held in al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria.
Photo: Julie Astoul
The majority of Canadians detained in north-eastern Syria arrived in the war-ravaged country in early 2014. At the time, ISIS’s influence in Syria and Iraq was growing, attracting an unprecedented number of foreigners from more than a hundred countries. More than 25,000 foreign fighters joined this jihadist group between 2014 and 2015, according to a UN report.
Several reasons to explain their presence in the camps
Among the Canadian nationals being repatriated following a federal court ruling is Jack Letts, a British-Canadian who has been held in a prison in northern Syria for four years. Islam-converted Mr Letts, who grew up in Oxford, UK, joined IS fighters in Iraq and Syria in 2014 before being captured by a Kurdish militia.
There were several reasons why these Canadians traveled to northeastern Syria, but many of them were part of this influx of foreigners from around the world who joined Syria’s so-called “caliphate,” Islamic State, says Ms. Tayler.
Some saw it as a utopia; others wanted revenge for mistreatment of Muslims, for example at Guantánamo; some tried to fight against Bashar al-Assad’s regime and ended up in the ranks of ISIS, while others tried to treat war wounded, even rescue children… she says.
“You have to keep in mind that there are victims among those who have joined ISIS. All children, regardless of age, are victims and some women say they have been tricked or coerced by their husbands into joining this extremist group. You could become a victim of human trafficking. »
– A quote from Letta Tayler, associate director of crisis and conflict at Human Rights Watch
The al-Roj camp in north-eastern Syria, where 2,660 people, including Canadians, are being held.
Photo: Julie Astoul
Ms Tayler also recalls that none of the Canadians detained in north-eastern Syria have been tried or convicted. The federal court also notes in its ruling that the government has not presented any evidence of these Canadians’ involvement in terrorist activities.
“Ready to serve a sentence”
Since the disappearance of the ISIS-created caliphate in 2019, the repatriation of the wives and children of jihadists who have joined ISIS has been a very sensitive issue in many countries.
According to the United Nations, around 56,000 relatives of jihadists who were captured or fled the offensives against IS live in the run-down and overcrowded Camp al-Hol, including 10,000 foreigners, displaced Syrians and Iraqi refugees.
“All the Canadians I spoke to in the al-Hol and al-Roj camps want only one thing: to return to Canada. They are willing to serve a prison sentence there if it facilitates their repatriation. »
– A quote from Letta Tayler, associate director of crisis and conflict at Human Rights Watch
Women tell me their children are devastated, they want to give them a better life, Ms. Tayler says. I don’t know if they committed any serious crimes while still living under ISIS rule, but they seemed sincere to me in their desire to return home for the sake of the children.
“Frightening” living conditions
The researcher claims to have seen sick Canadian children without medical care in the camps. I’ve seen children with asthma who couldn’t breathe, she says. These children are victims of collective punishment.
“It is morally important that Canada repatriates these children and does not let them suffer in a hellish desert that is all the more a war zone regularly attacked by Turkish bombardments. The living conditions there are so appalling that they can be viewed as torture. »
– A quote from Letta Tayler, associate director of crisis and conflict at Human Rights Watch
According to Ms Tayler, Canada has a duty to try these nationals individually to determine whether they are victims or perpetrators.
It is not clear whether the 23 Canadian nationals ordered to be repatriated by the federal court may face criminal prosecution if they return to Canadian territory. Three months ago, two Canadian women detained in Syria were returned with their children and one of them was arrested before being released on bail. In 2020, Ottawa allowed the return of a five-year-old orphan girl after her uncle sued the Canadian government.