What to do with the children of Indonesia's ISIS fighters

Stranded in camps in Syria, they are viewed with suspicion back home. Reintegrating them into society is not easy but it is the only way forward.

- Noor Huda Ismail

In the dusty, overcrowded confines of camps like Al-Hol and Ar Roj in Syria, hundreds of Indonesian children - born under the black flag of ISIS - wait. They are the forgotten casualties of a war their parents waged, trapped in a limbo between radicalization and rehabilitation.

As the world turns its attention once more to the war in Syria, the smoldering embers of an earlier chapter of violence remain unresolved: what to do with the thousands of family members of foreign fighters who headed to the Middle East to join the ranks of ISIS a decade ago. Most of the wives and children were detained in early 2019, when ISIS' self-styled "caliphate" was defeated.

In the years since, over 30 countries have repatriated their nationals but thousands remain in the two camps, where conditions are harsh and the shadow of extremist ideology lingers, reinforcing fears that they are incubators of a new ISIS generation. It did not help that in its heyday, ISIS would display child fighters, Indonesians included, as part of its propaganda drive. For Jakarta, this concern presents a dilemma. In 2020, the Joko Widodo administration decided against the return of Indonesians who chose to join ISIS in the Middle East. But what about the children who had no say in their parents' decision?

These children are more than mere victims of extremism; they are potential threats, if left abandoned. For Indonesia, the task is clear yet daunting: how to bring them home amid the new convulsions in Syria and ensure they don't carry the shadows of war into the future. The answer lies in a comprehensive, multifaceted approach that addresses their psychological trauma, provides education and fosters community acceptance. Only then can it hope to transform them from the "lost generation" into a generation of peacebuilders.

CHILDREN OF EXTREMISM