Ashbal Al-Kilafa “the Cubs of the Caliphate” children of ISIS” after the rehabilitation period .. Everyone calls for the establishment of an international court to consider them.

 

 

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“My brother was killed in a coalition bombing, and then someone was arrested from the city of Hasakah and they told me that he was the one who had put the electronic chip in the car of ISIS’ members, and then the coalition bombed the convoy and killed your brother. So, Ahmed, you have to beheaded him …  “!

Ahmad says Sadly, he believed the story and beheaded that man in an amusement park in Deir Ezzor, which was emptied. One of the Emirs and some members were attended the operation. The video was filmed and posted on social media sites as well.

This was one of the stories is still filled with the imagination of one of the “Cubs of the Caliphate Soldiers” before they were transferred to the  “ HORI Center “  for Rehabilitation and Training the Children.

Before wandering around the courtyard, and during some conversations with the center’s residents , we heard some collective voices, it was a short word that we did not understand; later it was explained to us by Musab Khalaf, (the director of the ” HORI Center “ for Rehabilitation and Training of the Children), it was as a Kurdish word said by the 120 residents after finishing their food and meant “health and wellness.”

The center is self-service. There are children who have learnt how to cook; they are preparing the food for residents in a modern kitchen equipped with everything. The large numbers of sharp knives in the kitchen of the center don’t even pose the slightest risk to them and the residents, because the majority have been rehabilitated and are fully aware of the seriousness and effects of violence, The violence in their minds is no longer conceived, according to the center director.

In the restaurant, some are having lunch (a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup). A 10-year-old child was eating very quickly, unlike the rest who were calm and smiling. We talked to him, but after he finished his food. he was a shy child who may not come back to the table and eat again. Shaheen ” a nickname” The Tajik child came with his family of seven children when he was five years old. “We went out of Tajikistan, and we arrived in a big country. My mother told me when I asked her that it was Turkey, and from there we entered Syria then went to “Al-Mayadin” in  Deir Ezzor where my mother said happily: ” Praise be to God, we have entered the land of Islam, ISIS’ land.” shaheen told us about the trip according to his memory.

Shaheen keeps talking and he hardly remembers what happened, just that his family were killed by a bombing on ISIS positions. He was the only survivor of the family.

This child is lonely, who has no relatives in Syria. He  just remembers his grandfather and says: “I have a grandfather in Tajikistan, I remember his features when he was playing with me, I want to return to him, no one visits me here, unlike the majority of the residents who have relatives and be visited by them, or They talk to each other by phone or on social media. I sit alone in my room and think of my grandfather who I want to go back to live with. I hope my country will bring me back. I am still young.

The director of the center, Musab Khalaf, is familiar with all the details of the residents, who have become like his children, so that he wishes to be there during the holidays and leaves, too. So he is respected and loved by everyone. We noticed that during the break, we watched him from far while he was walking around among them in the big yard. He has even formed five-players teams of football and he was one of them in those teams.

The first stage:

 

” The most of the residents – especially the Syrians – have been forced by poverty, destitution and difficult conditions to join the ranks of the Islamic State (Daesh)”, The director of the center says. ” Of course, there are those who believed in the idea as well, according to the strict teachings and culture on which they were raised. Everyone is equal here, even those who were dangerous. In the first period, they were investigated and questioned by the competent authorities. If they are transferred to the center, our work is limited to training and rehabilitation, and we have no investigation or interrogation offices at all.” He adds.

 

Daily Program:

The daily program starts by getting up at 6 a.m, where personal hygiene starts (washing, bathing and tiding rooms) until 7 a.m. then the period of sports and then having breakfast at 8 a.m. At 9 a.m., the morning classes start, which are assigned to female teachers not the males. The lessons  continue until 1:00 p.m. The teaching level starts at the lowest level, because the majority of residents are illiterate and have not received an education before. The teachers are using an academic curriculum that includes  many subjects as (geography, mathematics, history, drawing, music, Arabic, as well as Kurdish). According to the meetings, we noticed that the majority of the foreign children and adolescents are fluent in Arabic, and now the children from the Arab component have the ability to speak Kurdish.

After lunch, there is a break from 3 to 6 p.m. The evening period is dedicated to entertainment, sports, chess and watching TV. There are some children who work on some handicrafts, such as making wallets and rosaries .

 

Handicrafts and professionals

The handicraft that draws the attention of the visitors is the red hearts made of wool and glue. Suleiman “Suli” – a teenager from South America at the age of sixteen years –  was dedicated to this craft.

“Suli” says with sorrow that he still remembers the girl he loved at school so he makes these hearts for her. “Suli” came with his stepfather – an ISIS member – who was killed later. His mother, was a veiled American, lives in Roj Camp in Derik city which is supervised by the self-Administration government.

” Suli’s” mother occasionally visits “ HORI Center “ to see her son under the supervision of the camp administration after submitting her visit request. “My mother came to see me a while ago. She took off the niqab and wore women’s dresses like the one they wear in the West” ” Suli” said. “She told me to forgive her because she destroyed my future when she brought me here” “Suli” added.   He says he will not hate his mother and both have made a mistake and now they are back to their senses and they will try to return and live in their homeland. ” So I ask my country to be compassionate and receive us , we deeply regret about what happened and what we did.” “Suli” told us.

“”Suli” – the good young man and the most respected  by all – ends his speech: ” My parents are separate. My father lives in Canada. I want to see him, visit him, and complete my education there. I want to be a doctor and help people as they help me here at the “HORI Center“.“

Ahmed “a nickname” brought us coffee and water and walked away quietly. His silence and quiet did not indicate to any danger or violence. However, the director of the center said he is the most dangerous one here. so he asked him to meet us and he agreed.

 

From beheading to the best behavior..!

Ahmed, a 16-year-old Syrian teenager from Hasakah. He joined ISIS at the age of 14 when IS took over his town. “When they entered my town, we had fear and panic, my family fled but my brother joined them and then I joined later.” “when the town was liberated by YPG, I went with IS and I joined Ashbal Al-Khilafa ( the Cubs of the Caliphate) officially. We were trained on weapons, booby traps and slaughter “beheading”. Ahmad illustrates to us how was his conditions when he joined ISIS.

 “My brother was killed in a coalition bombing, and then someone was arrested from the city of Hasakah and they told me that “he was the one who had put the electronic chip in the car of ISIS’ members, and then the coalition bombed the convoy and your brother was killed in. So, Ahmed, you have to behead him ..!” Ahmad completes.

“I believed the story and beheaded him in an amusement park in Deir Ezzor, which was emptied. One of the Emirs and some fighters were attended the operation. The video was filmed and posted on social media sites.” Ahmad says sadly.

After the expulsion of ISIS from the city of Hasakah, Ahmad returned to his town and was received by his father. He stayed one day at home then was handed to the Asayish Forces by his father. The paradox lies in Ahmed’s story is that one of his brothers is  a member of YPG and fighting IS.

After Ahmad was investigated and questioned,   he was transferred to the “HORI Center” because he was young and adolescent. He spent a period of two years here during which he received all the training, and the management of the center helped him a lot to get out of that situation and forget the dark period of his life. According to the co-chair of the “HORI Center”, Mrs. Khadija, “Ahmed has changed very much for the better and has benefited a lot during the training and qualification period. We report on the status of residents continuously. So Ahmad is one of among those whose behavior are significantly improved with absolute positive, and the evidence of that improvement is his presence in the office at all times. That period of his life has ended..!”.  

 

The Mechanism of the Rehabilitation Work of the Center Staff

 

Mrs. Khadija, The co-chair of the center’s management – she is a social worker – explains how to receive children and says: ” At the outset, we would like to say that the period of punishment of children or adolescents is not enough to rehabilitate and integrate them in the community and family. Therefore, we reiterate that we are dealing with them in the manner of rehabilitation and training in order for them to recover from the past period, especially the children of ISIS,  Ashbal Al- khilafa “the Cubs of the Caliphate”. We reject the idea of ​​teaching them any other special ideology because we want them to forget ISIS ideology, so our teaching materials are purely academic”.

” Despite the modest potential of the center but we have succeeded in rehabilitation of more than 400 children and adolescents, there are about 300 children and adolescents have left the center and integrated into society”, she adds.

Regarding the follow-up of the residents who finish the training period, the co-chair of the center’s management says: “We thought about this and it is necessary, but we have few possibilities and we need a large number of staffs and specialists, but we will follow up despite the lack of resources.”

 

Multiple Western and Arab nationalities .. and calling for the establishment of a fair international court

 

Mrs. Khadija reveals to us the nationalities of the residents at the center. They are from: (France, South America, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Morocco, Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tunis, Egypt, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Chechnya). At the same time, she expressed her resentment at the position of these countries that refuse to receive their nationals especially the children.

The co-chair of the center affirms that they have repeatedly sent messages to the majority of those States to resolve the situation of these children and adolescents either by establishing a fair international court to enable them to be tried and overseeing the period of the sentence prescribed by the Court, or by cooperating and preparing to take their nationals formally.

Ziad, the 16-year-old, an Indonesian teenager came from Jakarta with his family to Turkey and   entered Syria. Then went to Homs, where ISIS was active in 2014. He says: We were arrested in 2017, my father was a fighter in IS, and he is now imprisoned in Derik ” Almalikiya”. The director of the center allows me to speak by phone to my father in his prison to reassure me, my mother and my brother and sisters are living in Roj Camp in Derik, but my mother comes here and visits me to reassure me as well.

Ziad, who had spent two years at the center and had joined “the Cubs of the caliphate”, says they were trained to fight and learnt about all kinds of weapons. He confirms that he did not participate in the fighting and did not kill anyone.

His simple Asian features and good Arabic, which he has mastered at the center, is evidence  that he has made great strides in training and rehabilitation, and he is now demanding from his government to bring him back with all his family members.

 

The Atheists Kurds are melting nylon bags on the eyes of their detainees

 

Regarding the calm, order and manner of treatment and respect they have gained at the center, “When they came, signs of fear and anxiety about their fate were noticed on their faces. They expected that we will imprison them or torture them”. Mrs. Khadija says.

“Some of the leader of the ” The Caliphate Cubs” told them and cast horror into their hearts by saying, “When you are arrested by the atheists  Kurds – according to the description of ISIS – they will burn and melt nylon bags on your eyes”. So they were very afraid”. Mrs. Adds.

She completes “But as time goes by and trying to get closer to the residents few days after being in the center, the situation changes completely and begins to respond with us in matters of staying in the center. There were those who refused to reveal his real name or speak, but after a while we noticed that they were talking to us about all the details of their lives since childhood”. Khadija says, and always the smile doesn’t leave her face when she educates and rehabilitates these children.

Ahmad Alrousi, – his nickname, an indication that he is from RUSSIA – a 16-year-old. “My father came from Russia, we arrived in Turkey and entered Syria. First we stayed in Jarablus, then we went to Raqqa and then Deir Ezzor. I didn’t know why we came here”. He says some details of his trip with his father.

“When we arrived in Jarablus, Syria, I got a little bit of a picture that we are in ISIS territory as they call it.” He adds. “In 2017, we arrested. My father is in Derik prison of SDF, and I make voice calls to reassure him. Sometimes I ask him to help himself  to change his life and forget the last period. My mother, sisters and brothers ( who are living in Roj Camp) also visit him.

Like his other comrades, Ahmad is unaware of his fate, he demands an international court to hear their case, and asks the Russian state to pity them and send them back to Russia to continue their normal lives. Ahmed is thinking of completing his studies at all costs. The past period of his life is a forgotten dream.

 

As for Asadullah “a nickname”, he is a French, entered with his father through Turkey to Syria, they stayed first in the city of Idlib and then Manbij, Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, and finally Mayadeen. His father was killed in coalition bombing, and when the SDF raided the place, he was close to the site. “At first I thought they were ISIS fighters, but when they came closer I saw them not bearded, then they told ” don’t be afraid and come with us”. “I have been living in the center for a year. My mother speaks to me from France by phone. She asks me about my situation, sends me some expenses, and works to bring me back to France. I ask my country, France, to bring me back to start a new life with my mother and family, which I do not know much about.” Asadullah says.

 

“HORI” is the only center in Northern and Eastern Syria. Why was it founded?

 

On 31st March 2017, the Self-Administration  established the “HORI Center” for the Education and rehabilitation of Children in the village of Tel Marouf, in Tirbaspiya countryside. It is a village known for its religious institutes and takias. which was supervised by the well-known Khaznawi family.

when the Islamic State attacked the village in 2014, the mosques and its minarets (which are known for its unique architectural style in the region) were  burned and destroyed, as well as the destruction and bombing of the shrines of Islamic sheikhs in the village cemetery in addition to this center, too. This center was an institute for the memorization of the Quran, and owned by the family of Khaznawi . But after the liberation of the village by YPG and YPJ, the institutions of Self-Administration called on the people of the village to come back, build what could be built and bringing life to that quiet and tranquil village.

The center has been renovated and rebuilt and furnished. It was initially dedicated as a “juvenile rehabilitation and training center”, and later a large section was dedicated to receive ISIS children for training and rehabilitation.

According to Musab Mohammed Khalaf, the director of the “HORI Center”, the total number of ISIS children who reached the center exceeded 450 children and adolescents, and about 350 of them have graduated through special rehabilitation and training programs. They are now living their normal lives within their families.

The “HORI Center” is the only one in the North and East of Syria to train and rehabilitate children. According to Khalaf, there is no truth in what is being said that there are secret places for the children of ISIS.

 

 

Unknown Future

 

“There must be a complete and comprehensive solution to this thorny issue, especially in the Hol Camp. The numbers of children are large and very frightening. And because of the rejection of ISIS families, the center is unable to rehabilitate and train children and adolescents. ” Khalaf says.

Mrs. Khadija, the co-chair of the “HORI Center”  says “many residents have reached the age of sixteen and seventeen and when they reach the legal age, we have to transfer them to the prison. There are also special places for them there.”

Khadija calls on the world and all international organizations to help these children and adolescents. She ensures to everyone that they have recovered and forgotten the dark phase of their lives. States should work to establish an international court  to consider the fate of them. These children are also should be taken to their countries because they are now ready to integrate into their societies.