Posted on Mar 15, 2022
A life in limbo for the wives and children of ISIS fighters
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The camp for displaced persons sits in a dusty limbo in northern Iraq, in between security checkpoints that separate Iraq's Kurdistan region from the rest of the country.
Most of the residents of the Hassan Sham camp are the wives and children of ISIS fighters. And they sit in limbo, too.
"If this camp closes, where would we go?" Noora Majeed, a mother of 4 originally from the city of Mosul, asks. Her voice is just a few decibels short of a yell. "Nobody wants us," she says.
Majeed and the other residents say they are outcasts. They say they're no longer welcome in their hometowns. Police, militias and former neighbors harass them, they say.
"Nobody welcomes us," Majeed says. "Nobody takes us in. They don't like us. Even my family. None of them."
Standing outside her canvas tent surrounded by a group of children, including four of her own, Majeed says she can't return to her old neighborhood in Mosul.
"We are afraid to go back there," she says. "They say you are the wives of ISIS. They harass us."
The camp for displaced persons sits in a dusty limbo in northern Iraq, in between security checkpoints that separate Iraq's Kurdistan region from the rest of the country.
Most of the residents of the Hassan Sham camp are the wives and children of ISIS fighters. And they sit in limbo, too.
"If this camp closes, where would we go?" Noora Majeed, a mother of 4 originally from the city of Mosul, asks. Her voice is just a few decibels short of a yell. "Nobody wants us," she says.
Majeed and the other residents say they are outcasts. They say they're no longer welcome in their hometowns. Police, militias and former neighbors harass them, they say.
"Nobody welcomes us," Majeed says. "Nobody takes us in. They don't like us. Even my family. None of them."
Standing outside her canvas tent surrounded by a group of children, including four of her own, Majeed says she can't return to her old neighborhood in Mosul.
"We are afraid to go back there," she says. "They say you are the wives of ISIS. They harass us."
A life in limbo for the wives and children of ISIS fighters
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ISIS
Iraq
Kurds
Mosul
Posted 2 y ago
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Hassan Sham (pictured above) is one of 26 displaced persons camps in northern Iraq. Most of the residents are the wives
Hassan Sham (pictured above) is one of 26 displaced persons camps in northern Iraq. Most of the residents are the wives and children of ISIS fighters — who say they are considered outcasts because of the stigma and are no longer welcome in their hometowns.
Jason Beaubien/NPR
A life in limbo for the wives and children of ISIS fighters
By Jason Beaubien
Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 5:45pm
SHARE:
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The camp for displaced persons sits in a dusty limbo in northern Iraq, in between security checkpoints that separate Iraq's Kurdistan region from the rest of the country.
Most of the residents of the Hassan Sham camp are the wives and children of ISIS fighters. And they sit in limbo, too.
"If this camp closes, where would we go?" Noora Majeed, a mother of 4 originally from the city of Mosul, asks. Her voice is just a few decibels short of a yell. "Nobody wants us," she says.
Majeed and the other residents say they are outcasts. They say they're no longer welcome in their hometowns. Police, militias and former neighbors harass them, they say.
"Nobody welcomes us," Majeed says. "Nobody takes us in. They don't like us. Even my family. None of them."
Standing outside her canvas tent surrounded by a group of children, including four of her own, Majeed says she can't return to her old neighborhood in Mosul.
"We are afraid to go back there," she says. "They say you are the wives of ISIS. They harass us."
Her husband, she says, was an ISIS fighter who now is dead. And the stigma of his ISIS association is so great that even her own family — the bedrock social safety net in Iraq — refuse to have anything to do with Majeed or her children. So instead they live in one of the white, canvas tents provided by the U.N. and USAID.
Majeed and her kids have been in the Hassan Sham camp for five years. With nowhere to go, she has no idea when she'll be able to leave. And she and her family, like all the residents of the camp, face mounting health and education issues.
Left behind after the war to oust ISIS
To understand why the camps exist, you have to look back to 2014, when ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood in a mosque in Mosul and declared the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The so-called caliphate would come to control nearly a third of Iraq and much of northeastern Syria. The militant group and its extremist interpretation of Islam attracted followers from all over the world, including many disillusioned Sunni Muslims from Iraq.
Three years later, after a brutal war to oust ISIS, Iraq declared victory over the group. Many of its fighters fled to Syria. Others ended up dead or in Iraqi prisoners. The wives and children of ISIS were left behind. Hundreds of thousands of them ended up essentially in refugee camps in the country where they'd been born.
In 2020, Iraq shut down all of the camps for so-called "internally displaced persons" in portions of the country controlled by Baghdad. But authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have said they won't force any of the camp residents to leave if they don't want to.
Currently there are 26 camps in northern Iraq, housing nearly 200,000 people. Hassan Sham holds nearly 6,000.
While some of the camp residents like Majeed and her children have lived there for years, others arrived just this year from the massive al-Hol camp in Syria. Al-Hol holds about 60,000 people who'd been affiliated with ISIS. Early in 2022, it saw deadly attacks by ISIS sleeper cells, targeting workers and those in the camp they have disputes with."...
..."
Listen Live
The Ideas Network
Program ScheduleProgram Notes
NPR News & Music Network
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Program ScheduleMusic Playlists
NPR NEWS
Hassan Sham (pictured above) is one of 26 displaced persons camps in northern Iraq. Most of the residents are the wives
Hassan Sham (pictured above) is one of 26 displaced persons camps in northern Iraq. Most of the residents are the wives and children of ISIS fighters — who say they are considered outcasts because of the stigma and are no longer welcome in their hometowns.
Jason Beaubien/NPR
A life in limbo for the wives and children of ISIS fighters
By Jason Beaubien
Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 5:45pm
SHARE:
Forward logo Print HTML logo Facebook logo Twitter logo
The camp for displaced persons sits in a dusty limbo in northern Iraq, in between security checkpoints that separate Iraq's Kurdistan region from the rest of the country.
Most of the residents of the Hassan Sham camp are the wives and children of ISIS fighters. And they sit in limbo, too.
"If this camp closes, where would we go?" Noora Majeed, a mother of 4 originally from the city of Mosul, asks. Her voice is just a few decibels short of a yell. "Nobody wants us," she says.
Majeed and the other residents say they are outcasts. They say they're no longer welcome in their hometowns. Police, militias and former neighbors harass them, they say.
"Nobody welcomes us," Majeed says. "Nobody takes us in. They don't like us. Even my family. None of them."
Standing outside her canvas tent surrounded by a group of children, including four of her own, Majeed says she can't return to her old neighborhood in Mosul.
"We are afraid to go back there," she says. "They say you are the wives of ISIS. They harass us."
Her husband, she says, was an ISIS fighter who now is dead. And the stigma of his ISIS association is so great that even her own family — the bedrock social safety net in Iraq — refuse to have anything to do with Majeed or her children. So instead they live in one of the white, canvas tents provided by the U.N. and USAID.
Majeed and her kids have been in the Hassan Sham camp for five years. With nowhere to go, she has no idea when she'll be able to leave. And she and her family, like all the residents of the camp, face mounting health and education issues.
Left behind after the war to oust ISIS
To understand why the camps exist, you have to look back to 2014, when ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stood in a mosque in Mosul and declared the creation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The so-called caliphate would come to control nearly a third of Iraq and much of northeastern Syria. The militant group and its extremist interpretation of Islam attracted followers from all over the world, including many disillusioned Sunni Muslims from Iraq.
Three years later, after a brutal war to oust ISIS, Iraq declared victory over the group. Many of its fighters fled to Syria. Others ended up dead or in Iraqi prisoners. The wives and children of ISIS were left behind. Hundreds of thousands of them ended up essentially in refugee camps in the country where they'd been born.
In 2020, Iraq shut down all of the camps for so-called "internally displaced persons" in portions of the country controlled by Baghdad. But authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have said they won't force any of the camp residents to leave if they don't want to.
Currently there are 26 camps in northern Iraq, housing nearly 200,000 people. Hassan Sham holds nearly 6,000.
While some of the camp residents like Majeed and her children have lived there for years, others arrived just this year from the massive al-Hol camp in Syria. Al-Hol holds about 60,000 people who'd been affiliated with ISIS. Early in 2022, it saw deadly attacks by ISIS sleeper cells, targeting workers and those in the camp they have disputes with."...
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