Western countries still resistant to rescue ISIS children from Syria

BRUSSELS — Years after their parents left Belgium and France to join the Islamic State, 18 children were taken from squalid refugee camps in Syria and flown recently to new lives in Belgium and France, drawing widespread attention in those countries as examples of Europe grudgingly accepting the children of its jihadis.

But they were the exceptions, not the rule; estimates vary, but 1,300 or more children of European fighters and followers of the self-professed caliphate remain trapped in Syria and Iraq. While some European governments have softened their stands on repatriation, marginally, it is still unclear when — or even whether — the children might be able to leave.

The recent airlifts, which took place only after months of negotiation and vetting of the children, illustrate how resistant Western countries still are. On those flights in June, France and Belgium received only children whose extremist parents were dead; most are orphans, and some were taken to ISIS lands by their fathers while their mothers remained in Europe.

With few exceptions, European countries have refused to take back the adults. Kurdish authorities who run the major camps have made it plain that they do not want to separate families, and do not want to be left holding stateless parents.

The issue is politically charged across Europe. ISIS survivors are seen as a threat, no matter how reformed they appear.

Theo Francken, a former secretary of state for asylum and migration in Belgium, denounced the recent repatriation, warning that it might signal the return of all Islamic State children. “Their parents are no longer fellow citizens,” he tweeted.

Belgian authorities have promised to repatriate all Belgian children under the age of 10, and those over 10 on a case-by-case basis. Officially, the policy on children is one of the most welcoming on the continent. In reality, it has been slow going.

Belgium has allowed about 25 children to return from Syria since 2012, but 162 Belgian children are still in former ISIS lands, according to Thomas Renard, a senior research fellow for the Brussels-based Egmont Institute.

“It is something that has to be extremely frustrating for families, but also for youth workers, social workers,” Renard said.