CHAGUANAS West MP Dinesh Rambally hopes to travel to Syria in late June or early July towards helping bring back TT nationals stuck in camps after the collapse of the radical Islamic State group. He said among these 100 TT nationals were 72 children, aged four-17.
Rambally told Newsday he preferred to work alongside the Government. "I'd prefer a joint approach not a singular situation." He said he was awaiting communication from Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne, who had otherwise recently cautioned over individuals heading into conflict zones.
Asked what reaction he got from the general public over his efforts in this controversial matter, the MP replied people were glad that his statements have helped them to understand the situation.
Rambally urged TT to be proactive in the matter, saying that one or two individuals were filtering back into TT, who should be catered for. He cited a woman recently jailed in Iraq whose six children were set to be deported to TT. However, Rambally also told Newsday that helping people back to TT was not about chartering a plane and bringing back all of them en masse, but rather ensuring each one first complied with a cross-border identification policy before repatriation.
"I really want a structured plan," he said.
He said his main advocacy was to bring back children among the stranded nationals, warning that delays could result in "an ISIS generation in waiting", probably resentful to TT for not helping them. Rambally recalled the return of a mother and her four year old child who had since turned eight, regrettably without since ever accessing schooling in TT. "Families are successfully repatriating through different agencies."
He said many of the stranded TT nationals were housed in camps run by Kurdish forces who may lack the wherewithal and/or inclination to hold them for much longer.
Saying comments made in 2020 that work to bring back nationals was at "an advanced state", he grumbled, "How is it in 2023 we are hearing of a revising?"
Meanwhile a new law - the Returnee Bill 2022- is being drafted ahead of the possible return of TT nationals from conflict zones, said the Anti Terrorism Unit Annual Report 2021-2022 recently laid in the House of Representatives (January 23.)
Last month Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne said a multi-ministry, multi-disciplinary team was hard at work on repatriations.
"The public is well aware there is ongoing work, preparatory work; that the Government is committed to treating with this issue in a serious matter.
"But the public is also well aware that the Government is also treating with the very serious national security implications of persons of any category who would be returning or potentially returning from conflict zones. “So that is not going to be an overnight development.”
The anti terrorism report said, "The Returnee Bill 2022 is in the process of being finalised. The matter is being given priority as the Government recognises the potential impact of persons returni
