- 18 hours ago
In camps across parts of the Middle East, women and children with Caribbean ties remain detained—many for years—after their husbands and fathers were linked to the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
While the men - suspected fighters, have died, their families—many of them children—are living in uncertain and often harsh conditions.
Back home, relatives say these women and children are not combatants—but victims of circumstance—and they are now pleading with the Government for repatriation.
But the question remains—should they be brought home, and if so, how?
While the men - suspected fighters, have died, their families—many of them children—are living in uncertain and often harsh conditions.
Back home, relatives say these women and children are not combatants—but victims of circumstance—and they are now pleading with the Government for repatriation.
But the question remains—should they be brought home, and if so, how?
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NewsTranscript
00:24Tonight we turn to a deeply complex and emotional issue.
00:28One that sits at the intersection of national security, human rights and responsibility.
00:34In camps across parts of the Middle East, women and children with Caribbean ties remain detained many for years.
00:42That's after their husbands and fathers were linked to the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
00:49While the men, suspected fighters, have died, their families, many of them children, are living in uncertain and often harsh
00:57conditions.
00:59Back home, relatives say these women and children are not combatants, but victims of circumstance.
01:05And they are now pleading with the government for repatriation.
01:09But the question remains, should they be brought home?
01:12And if so, how?
01:14Tonight we hear directly from families caught in the middle of this difficult and deeply human dilemma.
01:22Sauda Ali and Rahima Khan, thank you so much for joining us.
01:27Thank you for having us.
01:28With that introduction, we're going to take a quick break.
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03:45And welcome back to Beyond the Headlines.
03:48I'm Urvashi Tawari Rupnarain.
03:49We're joined by Sauda Ali and Rahima Khan.
03:53Sauda is closest to me, and this is, of course, Rahima.
03:56I'd like to start with finding out a bit about your relatives stuck in the Middle East.
04:04Rahima, you have your sister and her five kids.
04:08Yes, that is correct.
04:10My sister is there.
04:12She has three girls and two boys.
04:16The youngest is about seven, and the second to last, she'll be ten.
04:26Both of them were born over there.
04:27So the first three were born in Trinidad, and the last two were born in Syria.
04:32How long have they been in detention camps?
04:35Since 2019.
04:37So that's seven years.
04:40And that would have been your sister, her husband, would have died in battle.
04:45Yeah.
04:45Would you care to tell us a little bit about how you all learned of that and what exactly happened?
04:53Well, we did not know that he had died because we had lost contact with her for a while, for
05:02a few months.
05:02So we did not know what was going on.
05:05We were seeing things on the news about this village called Baguz and that it was being bombed by the
05:11coalition.
05:12And we were seeing all these things in the news about what was going on with the people who were
05:20over there.
05:22And we contacted, first I contacted the lawyer, Mrs. Nafisa Mohammed, to ask her if there's any way that we
05:32can find out what is going on over there.
05:35And she told us to contact ICRC.
05:37And it so happened that ICRC was in Trinidad at that time, the Red Cross.
05:41We got to meet them.
05:43They asked us to fill out a form to search for our relatives.
05:46We did that.
05:48After that, an officer from National Security visited our home and he was asking about our relatives.
05:56We told them we didn't hear anything about them.
05:58He asked if we knew if they were alive or dead.
06:01We said we don't know.
06:02We have no information.
06:04The other month, he came again and asked us if we have any updates.
06:09We said we heard from ICRC that they had found my sister and her five kids at Al Hall Camp,
06:18but they didn't find my brother-in-law.
06:21So, he stayed quiet and I asked him if he knew anything.
06:26And then he told us that he heard that my brother-in-law had died.
06:32So, he said he didn't want to tell my mother anything because he knew how emotional she was over this
06:37whole situation and he didn't want to cause her more stress.
06:40But he said that he knew my brother-in-law was dead for a few months now.
06:45Sauda, your nieces, nephews, how many of them are there?
06:49And your cousin-in-law?
06:50Yeah, my two cousin-in-laws and they have children.
06:53One of them has two boys and a girl.
06:55They both actually have two boys and a girl, so it's four boys and all and two girls.
07:00If I'm not mistaken now, I would have met Tamjid Ali, who is your uncle.
07:06That's correct. He's their grandfather.
07:08Right. And he told me one of his grandkids would have died during the battle.
07:13Yes, it wasn't, I wouldn't say a battle.
07:15She was in the place where Rahima mentioned, called Baghuz, and a bomb dropped on her.
07:21How old was she?
07:22She was seven and she didn't die instantly.
07:26She lay there for three days without any medical help at all.
07:30And after three days, she succumbed to her injuries at just seven years old.
07:35And this was witnessed by her brother?
07:38It was witnessed by her brother.
07:39Her mother was at her side.
07:41However, it happened where the bomb dropped.
07:43It was right outside their tent, so it didn't hit them directly.
07:46Her mother got hit on her arm, where she no longer has use of her arm.
07:50But the rest of them were okay.
07:52And that incident still troubles your family?
07:55Oh, yes, definitely.
07:57I don't think that's something you can recover from seeing your child not only die,
08:02but die in such a state where for three days you couldn't do anything to help them.
08:06And she was born in Trinidad?
08:08Yes, she was born in Trinidad.
08:09So you all would have known her interactively.
08:10Yes, yes, we would have known her.
08:13When was the last time each of you would have had contact with your relatives there?
08:19I spoke to my sister, I believe, on Monday.
08:22This Monday went there.
08:23I spoke to her briefly.
08:25And she was just asking me if there's any update from the government.
08:29She said she doesn't want to spend another winter there.
08:34And right now it's raining and her tent is flooding.
08:37Her mattress is on the ground, so it's soaking wet.
08:40So she was asking if we heard anything, would they be coming home soon?
08:45And she said she's just stressed out over this, you know, with the flooding and everything.
08:50And she's just worried.
08:52And that particular cousin, as you said, is paralyzed on?
08:55Her arm is, yes.
08:57And every time that they do message or they can send a message out, the one thing they
09:02always ask is, are there any updates?
09:04Is the government doing anything to help us come back?
09:06Especially for the children, you know, because they are no fault of their own.
09:10What about the conditions at the camps?
09:12Well, they don't, they have, they live in tents, right?
09:15Imagine being in tents in a cold winter.
09:18It's raining, like she said, it's flooding.
09:19So they have to sleep on wet mattresses.
09:22You know, the conditions aren't good at all.
09:24It's, as the UN had mentioned, it's actually subhumane.
09:29It's not a place befitting human beings, far more for little children.
09:34And what do you feel or what worries you the most when you think about those conditions,
09:38particularly of the children?
09:40Well, everything there, their well-being.
09:42You know, my nieces and nephews in particular, they're really eager to learn.
09:47And they have no opportunity there.
09:49And, for example, all our nation's children, you know, a great number of them are going to
09:53ride the SEA exam tomorrow.
09:55They are deprived of that milestone, important educational milestone in their lives, and no
10:00fault of their own.
10:01And the hardest part about it is that something can be done to help them have those opportunities,
10:07you know.
10:07Rahima, what about access to food?
10:10They do get food from the UN.
10:12That's what my sister told me.
10:14She said that, I believe it's like safety children and the UN, they bring food for them.
10:21So it's mainly grains and beans.
10:24That's what they get, grains and beans.
10:26And she said, she mentioned something called, she said, vouchers.
10:29She said they are given vouchers and they can go, there's like a small marketplace and
10:33they use their vouchers.
10:34Within the camp.
10:35Yeah, within the camp to get goods.
10:38I would have met your mom when I came to interview you.
10:41That would have been three years ago.
10:42You will have been lobbying since three years ago.
10:45Before that, actually.
10:47But I met you three years ago.
10:49Since 2019.
10:49How has that situation affected your family here at home, particularly your mom?
10:55My mother has always been stressed out over this whole thing.
11:00In the beginning, she went through depression and she was suffering from anxiety.
11:06She did not want to leave her house.
11:09She was afraid to leave her home and she was afraid of, you know, national security coming
11:16and bothering her all the time.
11:19We had to carry her to the doctor all the time because she was getting chest pains.
11:23She couldn't breathe and they told her it was anxiety.
11:25It was in her heart.
11:27Eventually, I had to keep talking to her to calm her down, you know, and she calmed down
11:33with it, but she's still stressed out.
11:36She still has her moments where she can't sleep at night.
11:40And this new situation, what's going on in the Middle East, you know, it's bringing back
11:47stress and fears.
11:49And when this new government came into power, she had a lot of hopes that my sister and
11:56her children would have been here to celebrate Eid with us.
11:59We all had that hope.
12:00And she was so excited, you know.
12:02She was like fixing up the house and fixing up rooms and painting up and buying clothes
12:08and everything, toys, all kinds of things, to prepare for them for Eid.
12:14And then months just went by and now she's back in that state where she's asking me all
12:20the time, is there any update?
12:22What's going on?
12:23Are we hearing anything?
12:24When are they coming home?
12:26Sauda, I think when I did visit Uncle Tomji three years ago as well, he was also buying
12:31stuff in preparation of the grandkids coming back home.
12:35Yeah, they were preparing and, you know, one of the hardest things about it is their other
12:38grandfather who was also very much, you know, a lobby and from the very beginning, he was
12:44here.
12:44He's no longer with us.
12:45He passed away.
12:46That is from St. Helena, Uncle Amral.
12:47Yes, Uncle Amral.
12:49He was never able to see his grandchildren, you know, and we believe it's because of this
12:54issue, you know.
12:55Some people, now we have to talk about it.
12:58Some people believe that those connected to fighters shouldn't be allowed back home.
13:04How do you respond to that?
13:06My response is the children, right?
13:08Did they have any choice in where they are?
13:11Did they make that choice to go there?
13:12No.
13:13So it is not any fault of their own.
13:14Everyone can see the UN, the USA, everyone who has encouraged our government as well as
13:22the other governments who have citizens there to repatriate their children will tell you
13:25that the children are victims.
13:28And their mothers, likewise, as far as we know from all of them, what they have said
13:32is that they were at home.
13:34They were not fighters.
13:35You know, they were not in any way.
13:37As you can see, they have children, right?
13:38So they were basically bringing up their children.
13:40Do you believe your relatives should face legal scrutiny if they do come back home?
13:48I don't believe so, like my sister and her kids.
13:51Well, the kids definitely not because two of them were born in the camp, right?
13:58As far as I know.
14:00Someone did ask me, as you mentioned, those born in the Middle East, what would their nationality
14:06be?
14:08Or is that something being debated because of this particular situation, not just with
14:13your relatives, but with other people who have gone to the Middle East?
14:18Well, seeing that both of their parents were Trinidadians, I would assume they will be
14:24Trinidadians, right?
14:25By descent.
14:26By descent.
14:26Because one of the ways of being Trinidadian is by descent.
14:29You're both parents are Trinidadian.
14:30Yeah.
14:30You are Trinidadian by descent.
14:31Both parents are Trinidadians.
14:34At the moment, live in any camp, they are basically stateless because they are neither Syrian
14:39nor Trinidadian in the camps, you know?
14:42Many people ask about the Syrian, and Syria doesn't have birthright citizenship, so they
14:47are not Syrians.
14:48You know, the only nationality, and it is against international law for them to remain stateless,
14:52so the only nationality they have, really, is being a Trinidadian.
14:55What are you asking specifically for government to do at this point?
14:58We basically laid out the steps.
15:00They need to acknowledge the presence of their citizens there, reach out to the authorities,
15:06let them know, yes, we want to know who are our citizens, and express that desire to repatriate.
15:11On July 2nd, last year, 2025, they formed the committee.
15:16They stated the mandate of the committee was to expedite the repatriation of the women and
15:22children.
15:23Here we are, nine months later, nothing substantial.
15:26Rehima, how does your response from this UNC government compare to the previous government?
15:35Sadly, I am thinking it's the same, because there hasn't been any dialogue between the government
15:45and us personally, the families, to let us know what's going on.
15:49You know, so we are not hearing anything.
15:52And even when anything is put out into the media, there's no response from any of them,
15:58especially those who form the committee.
16:00There's no response.
16:01And it's disheartening to know that we are going through this a second time with another
16:08government.
16:10What have authorities, have you received any formal communication from authorities at all?
16:15Because there was Team Nightingale, then there is this new committee.
16:20Any formal communication?
16:23I personally haven't spoken to anybody in government, but I believe Sauda.
16:31You said formal communication, so I would say no in that sense.
16:34We would not, they did not reach out to us.
16:36However, I did go to my MP from where I am.
16:39Saddam?
16:39Yes, Minister Saddam Hussein.
16:41I waited for about five hours to meet him.
16:43I sat with him.
16:44I spoke to him.
16:45I gave him everything, like, you know, that we have been lobbying for.
16:49Like, all the documents, the repatriation plan, everything that we had, all the support from
16:53the Muslim community, from the different organizations, everything.
16:56We had a nice conversation, yes.
16:58He said, yeah, acknowledged that we would bring them back.
17:01But that was on 7th or 8th of October last year.
17:04And up to now, we still haven't heard anything.
17:06And he is, of course, an Islamist as well.
17:09Well, a Muslim, yes.
17:11So you felt that he would have some familiarity with the cause.
17:17Yes, that's, and also he's from, he's the MP4 area, you know, and my relatives, our nieces
17:22and nephews are from the area.
17:24So these are his constituents, you know, they would be his constituents.
17:27So, yes.
17:31I'm being told that I have to take a break.
17:33We will be right back.
17:36There's so much more that we'd like to hear from these two very brave relatives.
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20:14Welcome back to the Beyond the Headlines.
20:17We're talking about the repatriation of T&T citizens in the Middle East.
20:21Unfortunately, our time has run out.
20:22We have to wrap this program.
20:24But I have two important questions to each of you ladies.
20:28Rahima, you first.
20:29If your relatives could hear you tonight, what would you say to them?
20:34I would tell them, do not give up hope.
20:37I am trying my best.
20:39Me and Sauda, the rest of the family members, we are trying our best.
20:43We are doing everything within our ability to help bring them back.
20:48And to please have faith, and you will come home soon, inshallah.
20:55And Sauda, of course, you.
20:56If those in authority were listening tonight, what would you say to them?
21:02Reach out to us.
21:03And apart from that, take concrete steps, not empty promises.
21:07Promises made, promises kept, right?
21:10Please keep those promises.
21:11Repatriate them.
21:12Take concrete steps to bring them home.
21:15Reach out to the necessary authorities.
21:17And, you know, make movements.
21:19That's what we want to see.
21:20And as we close, just to confirm from the both of you, the U.S. is willing to assist.
21:25Yes, we have spoken to it.
21:27I had reached out to the U.S. Department of State.
21:29And we had meetings with them, with SENTCOM officials who were on the ground military, U.S. military.
21:35And they said that they will give an entire plane, if need be, and help with the logistics of bringing
21:41them back home.
21:42They would help verify them.
21:43And they would help do everything if our government would just reach out to them.
21:47Thank you, two ladies, very much for joining us on Beyond the Headlines.
21:51To our viewers, we've taken you Beyond the Headlines.
21:53I'm Irvashy Tawari Ruknarain.
21:54We now go to our quick break.
21:56The show will be right back.
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