“His life is threatened. The undersigned urge the government to proceed with the urgent repatriation of this child and his family.“, they write. According to them, a French cardiologist seized of the file estimated that”an emergency repatriation is necessary, his condition indeed requires that specialized care be carried out“.
“Correspondence addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains unanswered today. The undersigned are flabbergasted by this silence that nothing explains in view of the very great gravity of the situation. They therefore publicly challenge the authorities to request the repatriation of this child and his family.“, they also write.
“It is absolutely necessary to repatriate it”
With AFP, Me Marie Dosé alerted on the situation of a woman, mother of two children, also detained in Roj, “recent stroke victim, paralyzed, and hospitalized Wednesday for respiratory failure“.”It is absolutely necessary to repatriate it“, she indicated. She said she addressed during the summer “tens” alerts and requests for repatriation to the French authorities concerning mothers and their children.
The later the children return to France, the more difficult their medical and psychological care will be.
Me Marie Dosé
“These children spent three, four or five years in open-air prisons, breathing in the smell of oil wells and receiving no proper care. Many suffer from respiratory failure and bear the scars of their wounds that have never been treated.”, according to her. “France keeps them there knowingly. The later the children return to France, the more difficult their medical and psychological care will be.“, she argued.
Possible repatriation “whenever conditions permit”
During his first five-year term, President Emmanuel Macron was very reluctant to bring back French nationals who had left to do jihad in Syria, aware that a large majority of French people were resolutely hostile there. Only a few children have been repatriated, according to the doctrine of “case by case“. But while other countries have recovered their nationals in recent months, the position of Paris has changed.
On July 5, 16 women and 35 minors, some of whom had been living since the fall of the Islamic State group in 2019 in camps in northeastern Syria held by Kurdish forces, were brought back to France. All the repatriated women were indicted for criminal terrorist association and imprisoned. The children were cared for by Child Welfare.
“As you know, since 2019, as soon as the situation allows, we have been repatriating minors in distress.“, indicated the Quai d’Orsay, requested by AFP. “This position has led us to carry out successive operations to repatriate French children detained in northeast Syria. Renewal of this type of repatriation operations is planned whenever conditions permit.“, added the ministry.
