00:00Following the ousting of the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, humanitarian
00:06group Concerned Muslims of TNT is once again calling on the government to repatriate TNT
00:12citizens from Syria.
00:14Whatever has happened in the past with the citizens, for whatever reason they end up
00:20in this situation, I think that it's time to, you know, you know, forgive them.
00:28You know, they have wronged, yes, but, you know, they are human beings just like ourselves
00:33and, you know, we do feel for them and we would like them to return home.
00:41With the situation ongoing for more than a decade, Marvin is questioning why the government
00:46is taking so long to repatriate its citizens.
00:49I know that the family members, you know, they have shown a willingness to accept certain
00:56arrangements, whatever it is, and so it's not like, you know, you're saying to the government,
01:05well, just bring them and let them just be, go back to their families and let them just
01:13do what they want to do.
01:14You know, it has all these psychological issues, physical issues, mental issues and so on.
01:22So all of that has to be managed.
01:25Back in February of 2023, Human Rights Watch had reported that more than 90 TNT nationals,
01:32among them 21 women and 56 children, were unlawfully detained in life-threatening conditions
01:38in refugee camps and detention centers in northeast Syria.
01:43If you don't bring them home, then in other words, you're leaving them there to withstand
01:50again all the dangers and, you know, eventually, you know, they can die under the situation
01:56that I know that they are under.
02:00Every now and then there are violence in these camps, right, and they are exposed to all
02:07of that.
02:08So I think that we have to act as human beings as well.
02:13In 2018, the Ministry of National Security formed the Nightingale Team to treat with
02:18this and other related issues.
02:21At least two children were returned home through their intervention.
02:25On Wednesday, TV6 News asked National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hines for an update, but
02:31he said he would speak to the issue at a later date.
02:35Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
