The son of a police accountant murdered by a Muslim terrorist has said that Australian children who escaped ISIS should be allowed back into the country.
Alpha Cheng's father Curtis was shot in the back of the head by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar outside New South Wales Police Headquarters in Parramatta in 2015.
But despite his loss at the hands of radical Islam, Mr Cheng insists Australia must not give in to hate and fear and must show compassion to those fleeing terror and war.
Australian Khaled Sharrouf (right) was killed alongside his two eldest sons, Abdullah and Zarqawi (pictured) in a US air strike near Raqqa in 2017. Now his two daughter and third son (pictured) want to come home to Australia
Alpha Cheng's father Curtis (left) was shot in the back of the head by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar outside New South Wales Police Headquarters in Parramatta in 2015. Right: Alpha and his mother in 2018
There are around 40 Australians stuck in refugee camps in Syria after escaping ISIS when it was defeated last year.
Most are women and children, many taken from Australia without any choice, and Mr Cheng says they must now be rehabilitated back into society.
'We cannot hold the children responsible for their parent's terrible decisions,' he told SBS News.
'I know for one what a young person who has been radicalised could do - there is every possibility that they can be a threat to Australia.
'But there is every possibility that they can be rehabilitated and reintegrated successfully in Australia.'
He said that politicians must not give in to hate and fear and must show compassion.
'The measure of us as a country is what do we do to uphold our values as Australians,' he said.
Referencing his own struggle, he added: 'If I let what's happened create more hate and anger in myself, it's only going to be self-destructive.
Emotional reunion: Sydney grandmother Karen Nettleton (pictured right) reunited with her grandchildren last month, five years after they were taken to an ISIS stronghold. Granddaughter Hoda Sharrouf, 16, is seen wearing a black niqab
'It's only serving what the extremists want us to feel which is fear, hate and anger, and we can't give in to that.'
Mr Cheng went on to say that politicians must not neglect the children who were either taken from their Australian homes with no choice or born in ISIS territory.
'The most important thing for young people is to feel that they belong and that they are cared for,' he said.
'I think the longer we show that we don't care or that we make them feel like they are "the other", the more negative impact that can have.'
Talking about how they must be cared for when they return from ISIS, he added: 'It's negligent for us to leave children in a war zone but it will be even more negligent if we choose to bring them back and don't have the necessary support for them as well.'
Mr Cheng, a high school teacher in Canberra who volunteers to help rehabilitate radicalised Muslims, said she has seen first hand that rehabilitation works.
He said rehabiliated Muslims are very useful in helping to stop radicalisation because many become strong advocates against terrorism.
Zaynab (top left), Hoda (top right), and Humzeh (bottom, middle) are in the Al-Howl camp. Their two brothers (also pictured) are believed to have died in airstrikes
Mr Cheng's comments come after an Australian grandmother was on Monday
