DINESH RAMBALLY

DEBATE AROUND repatriation of children from various conflict zones in the Middle East has focused mainly on the legal and security obstacles involved.

I wish to state that I remain respectful of all views held and or expressed thus far. However, I take this opportunity to respectfully express my own views, and remind participants these are innocents. Some were taken by parents without consent, some were born to Trinidadian parents, and I ask you to imagine the fear, anger, and pain these innocents suffer every day we leave them in the hellish situation.

Whether we are in agreement with repatriation of nationals and/or children born to nationals from conflict zones, the fact is they will be coming home at some point in time, if that is their desire. It is just a matter of time.

We should be concerned with what they will face when they do. Recently we had reports of an eight-year-old child unable to access schooling. He was born in Syria and repatriated with his mother and sister from Turkey.

There was also a recent news report of a Trinidadian woman who was jailed in Iraq for her affiliation to the Islamic State and was set to be deported back home with at least four children in her care.

What these two examples illustrate is that those who went to conflict zones, whether to take up arms in ISIS or not, are returning to TT and have been doing so for some time. We ought not to pretend that this is not happening.

For me there are more fundamental issues which we ought to focus upon, such as:

1. What are the needs and risks of the children and other individuals (who are not prosecuted for crimes that may have been committed while in the conflict zone or who are otherwise deemed not to pose a security risk to the community)?

2. What type of framework could be used to facilitate their healthy and safe reintegration?

3. Are we as a country equipped with the capacities to address the needs and build and implement such a framework?

4. Are there training or other programmes available, or that could be developed to help build those capacities?

With these issues in mind, I posed (22/03/2023) the following question before the Parliament as an urgent matter: 'In light of the imminent deportation of several citizens who previously travelled abroad to provide support to ISIS, could the Attorney General inform the House as to the immediate policy in place to treat with such persons in order to mitigate any potential threat to national security?'

When this did not qualify as an urgent matter before the Parliament, I posed (27/03/2023) the following questions in the Parliament for the AG's oral response:

1. In light of Trinidad and Tobago's adoption of the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 2178, could the AG inform the House what policy, if any, has the Government implemented to treat with detained nationals in Syria, Iraq and/or Turkey who are children and whose families are seekin