Saturday 29 October 2022 11:52 PM ISIS families return to Australia: Kamalle Dabboussy welcomes daughter Mariam ... trends now
A relieved dad has welcomed home his daughter and grandchildren as the first ISIS families to return to Australia in more than three years touched down in Sydney.
Four women and their 13 children arrived on a repatriation flight on Saturday after being taken from a camp for Islamic State families in Syria.
The group included former western Sydney childcare worker Mariam Daboussy - who was duped into travelling to Syria to become the wife of an ISIS fighter - and her three children.
'Today I want to take the opportunity to just enjoy the return of my daughter and grandchildren. It’s been an overwhelming day,' her emotional father Kamalle Dabboussy said.
'I’ve just come from seeing my daughter and grandchildren. They have had a long extensive journey getting home they are tired, they are well. The kids are opening presents and toys are the ones that are awake anyway.
'It’s hard to put in words exactly what was you feeling at that point in time, but intense joy.'
Kamalle Dabboussy pictured with his daughter Mariam and her daughters Aisha (left) and Fatema in al-Hawl camp in north-eastern Syria
The 17 Australians were driven 30km from the al-Hol and al-Roj camps, in the country's northeast, across the border to Iraq, where they were flown to Sydney International Airport.
The women, who are wives and widows of IS Militants, are now in a secret location as they continue to be interviewed by Australian authorities.
The operation to bring them back involved Australian officials and the Syrian Democratic Forces, with the last repatriation of Australians involving two groups of orphans in July 2019.
Mr Dabbousy had been calling on the government for years to bring his daughter and her kids back to Australia.
He said he hoped his family would come live with him but they were still waiting to hear what controls of the group authorities would implement, which could include ankle bracelets, curfews, or monitoring.
He said the four women were not a 'threat to Australia' and continued to co-operate with law enforcement and were aware they could potentially be charged if there were any alleged crimes.
'They have been thoroughly assessed and vetted by security agencies, and they’ve recommended they come home, they’re recommended they’re not a threat,' he said.
Mariam Dabboussy was not a devout Muslim but her life changed at 22 when she married Kaled Zahab (pictured). The woman who had been a childcare and migrant support worker went to the Middle East in mid-2015 with her husband and their 18-month-old child
Pictured: Mariam Dabboussy claims she was tricked into travelling to Syria by her husband
'The men went and took the women with them. The men are either dead or in jail and the woman were then left and caught behind.
'There‘s no evidence to say that my daughter joined any such organisation and that’s certainly my understanding. And in private conversations I had with law enforcement, it’s their understanding as well.'
In a statement, the women expressed gratitude for their safe return and apologised for the trouble their Islamic State links caused.
'We are deeply thankful to be back home in Australia with our children,' the women said in a statement.
'We want to express our regret for the trouble and hurt we have caused, especially to our families.
'We are excited to have the opportunity to rebuild our lives as a part of the Australian community.'
The women and children were removed from Syrian camps (one pictured) for ISIS
