This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/18/isis-islamic-state-mothers-for-life
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mothers of Isis recruits find healing and resolve through support network | Mothers of Isis recruits find healing and resolve through support network |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Christianne Boudreau learned her son was dead when a reporter showed up at her front door with a link to a tweet announcing that he had been killed in Syria, fighting for the Islamic State. | Christianne Boudreau learned her son was dead when a reporter showed up at her front door with a link to a tweet announcing that he had been killed in Syria, fighting for the Islamic State. |
| It had been more than a year since Damian Clairmont, 22, surreptitiously left his home in Canada and made his way to a jihadi training camp in Turkey. | It had been more than a year since Damian Clairmont, 22, surreptitiously left his home in Canada and made his way to a jihadi training camp in Turkey. |
| Boudreau spent the intervening months searching through militant videos online, scouring through often gruesome footage in the desperate hope of catching a glimpse of her eldest son. | Boudreau spent the intervening months searching through militant videos online, scouring through often gruesome footage in the desperate hope of catching a glimpse of her eldest son. |
| Eventually, Damian texted her from Syria, and Boudreau spoke to her son on the phone several times, pleading with him to come home, but she was unable to convince him. | Eventually, Damian texted her from Syria, and Boudreau spoke to her son on the phone several times, pleading with him to come home, but she was unable to convince him. |
| Then in January 2014, Isis supporters started sharing a tweet reporting Damian’s death. The link led to a statement attributed to Boudreau’s son, in which he rejected his family and “worldly life” in Canada, and dedicated himself to “an eternity in Paradise”. | Then in January 2014, Isis supporters started sharing a tweet reporting Damian’s death. The link led to a statement attributed to Boudreau’s son, in which he rejected his family and “worldly life” in Canada, and dedicated himself to “an eternity in Paradise”. |
| “I sat there, staring at the computer, reading it over and over,” Boudreau said. | “I sat there, staring at the computer, reading it over and over,” Boudreau said. |
| Boudreau was unable to help her son, but she was determined that no other mother should suffer the same experience. She founded a group to help counter extremist propaganda in Canada, and earlier this month, she helped launch Mothers for Life, a network of mothers from seven European and North American countries whose children have gone to fight with jihadi groups. | Boudreau was unable to help her son, but she was determined that no other mother should suffer the same experience. She founded a group to help counter extremist propaganda in Canada, and earlier this month, she helped launch Mothers for Life, a network of mothers from seven European and North American countries whose children have gone to fight with jihadi groups. |
| In an open letter, the mothers counseled youngsters contemplating joining the jihadi fight to think twice – and pleaded for their children to come home. | In an open letter, the mothers counseled youngsters contemplating joining the jihadi fight to think twice – and pleaded for their children to come home. |
| The group’s launch comes amid growing concerns that western countries at the forefront of the fight against Isis have failed to draw up effective strategies to stop their own young people from going to fight and die for the militant group. | The group’s launch comes amid growing concerns that western countries at the forefront of the fight against Isis have failed to draw up effective strategies to stop their own young people from going to fight and die for the militant group. |
| Over the past year, a steady stream of young Europeans and North Americans have made their way to the battlefields of Iraq and Syria. | Over the past year, a steady stream of young Europeans and North Americans have made their way to the battlefields of Iraq and Syria. |
| Conservative estimates put the numbers of westerners who have joined militant Islamist groups in the low thousands, with several hundred known to have emanated from Belgium and Denmark, 1,000 from France and “at least 150” from the US. | |
| Earlier this week, reports emerged that a 17-year-old boy had become the UK’s youngest suicide bomber, after detonating an explosives-laden car in Iraq in the name of the Islamic State. In March, 18-year-old Australian Isis fighter Jake Bilardi also died in an Iraqi suicide attack, as did two German twins last month. | Earlier this week, reports emerged that a 17-year-old boy had become the UK’s youngest suicide bomber, after detonating an explosives-laden car in Iraq in the name of the Islamic State. In March, 18-year-old Australian Isis fighter Jake Bilardi also died in an Iraqi suicide attack, as did two German twins last month. |
| Related: Thugs wanted – bring your own boots: how Isis attracts foreign fighters to its twisted utopia | Related: Thugs wanted – bring your own boots: how Isis attracts foreign fighters to its twisted utopia |
| Isis has been particularly adept at targeting their propaganda and recruitment efforts at foreigners. | Isis has been particularly adept at targeting their propaganda and recruitment efforts at foreigners. |
| But according to Daniel Koehler, a German expert on deradicalization – and the co-founder of Mothers for Life – families could play a unique role in preventing young people from signing up for violent jihad. | But according to Daniel Koehler, a German expert on deradicalization – and the co-founder of Mothers for Life – families could play a unique role in preventing young people from signing up for violent jihad. |
| The problem for many families is that they are simply unable to spot the warning signs. | The problem for many families is that they are simply unable to spot the warning signs. |
| “I didn’t even know what the word ‘radicalization’ was before I found out my son was dead,” said Karolina Dam, a Danish member of Mothers for Life. Like Boudreau, she heard the news from a stranger on her doorstep – this time, a man with ties to Isis recruiters. | “I didn’t even know what the word ‘radicalization’ was before I found out my son was dead,” said Karolina Dam, a Danish member of Mothers for Life. Like Boudreau, she heard the news from a stranger on her doorstep – this time, a man with ties to Isis recruiters. |
| Dam’s son Lukas was 18 when he was killed in a US-led coalition air strike in the Syrian border town of Kobani in December. Dam could only confirm reports of his death through social media posts. | |
| Lukas had been diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD before converting to Islam, and at first the religion appeared to give him the structure and motivation that he needed. | |
| “I saw him struggle his whole life, and he found a religion to give him what I couldn’t give him,” Dam said. “That was the first time I saw my son at ease.” But, unbeknown to his mother, Lukas soon embraced an extremist vision of Islam, and in the summer of 2014 he made his way to Syria. | |
| For Dam – who was a single mother – the pain of losing her only son was heightened by her feeling that nobody around her could understand what she was going through. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to,” she said via Skype from Copenhagen. | For Dam – who was a single mother – the pain of losing her only son was heightened by her feeling that nobody around her could understand what she was going through. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to,” she said via Skype from Copenhagen. |
| When she learned of Lukas’s death, Dam’s grief was compounded by Danish bureaucracy: without a body, she was unable to obtain a death certificate; without that, she was unable to close his bank account – even though she feared other Isis fighters were still using it. | |
| “I am fighting to get over this, but I want the [Danish] authorities to do the right thing and stop these bastards from hurting other people,” Dam said. | “I am fighting to get over this, but I want the [Danish] authorities to do the right thing and stop these bastards from hurting other people,” Dam said. |
| As the parents of Muslim converts, Dam and Boudreau may perhaps find it easier to speak openly of their experiences than others in similar situations. | As the parents of Muslim converts, Dam and Boudreau may perhaps find it easier to speak openly of their experiences than others in similar situations. |
| The families of western jihadis are often afraid to describe what they are going through to anyone outside their immediate circle, let alone to speak out in public. According to Dam, many parents – especially those from communities already under heavy scrutiny by the security services and the media – are ashamed or fearful that they could lose their remaining children or even face prosecution. | The families of western jihadis are often afraid to describe what they are going through to anyone outside their immediate circle, let alone to speak out in public. According to Dam, many parents – especially those from communities already under heavy scrutiny by the security services and the media – are ashamed or fearful that they could lose their remaining children or even face prosecution. |
| These parents experience a tragic catch-22, said Boudreau. “Parents are afraid to come forward, and they’re afraid their children are going to get arrested,” Boudreau said. “As a parent, you have that guilt complex if you turn them in. But if you don’t turn them in and they don’t get arrested, then they end up going overseas and dying.” | These parents experience a tragic catch-22, said Boudreau. “Parents are afraid to come forward, and they’re afraid their children are going to get arrested,” Boudreau said. “As a parent, you have that guilt complex if you turn them in. But if you don’t turn them in and they don’t get arrested, then they end up going overseas and dying.” |
| The relative novelty of the foreign-born jihadi phenomenon has made it difficult for these families to find support. Boudreau’s biggest fear was that Damian would in turn recruit her younger son, Luke, 11, who desperately missed his elder brother. But she initially found no support from Canada’s social services and was left to carry out her own research online. | The relative novelty of the foreign-born jihadi phenomenon has made it difficult for these families to find support. Boudreau’s biggest fear was that Damian would in turn recruit her younger son, Luke, 11, who desperately missed his elder brother. But she initially found no support from Canada’s social services and was left to carry out her own research online. |
| That led her to Koehler, an academic and counsellor, who founded the pioneering German Institute on Radicalization and DeRadicalization in Berlin. | That led her to Koehler, an academic and counsellor, who founded the pioneering German Institute on Radicalization and DeRadicalization in Berlin. |
| Six months after Damian’s death, Boudreau flew to Berlin to meet the mothers of other jihadi fighters. “It was quite intense emotionally,” she said. But “it felt like we could start some kind of healing process”. The seed for what would eventually become Mothers for Life was planted at that first meeting. | Six months after Damian’s death, Boudreau flew to Berlin to meet the mothers of other jihadi fighters. “It was quite intense emotionally,” she said. But “it felt like we could start some kind of healing process”. The seed for what would eventually become Mothers for Life was planted at that first meeting. |
| The group aims to help mothers find a stronger voice to counter those intent on radicalizing young westerners. | The group aims to help mothers find a stronger voice to counter those intent on radicalizing young westerners. |
| Mothers hold a particularly important role in jihadi ideology, he said, presumably because Islamic theology holds them in such high regard: the prophet Muhammad is thought to have said that “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother.” | |
| But jihadi recruiters systematically work to separate children from their families, he said. “They need to build a wall within families to distance [would-be jihadis] from their mothers,” Koehler said. “They know these voices are important.” | But jihadi recruiters systematically work to separate children from their families, he said. “They need to build a wall within families to distance [would-be jihadis] from their mothers,” Koehler said. “They know these voices are important.” |
| Some members of Mothers for Life still have children fighting in Syria and Iraq and hope the group will help their efforts to get their children back home. But there are almost insurmountable practical and legal obstacles to doing so. | Some members of Mothers for Life still have children fighting in Syria and Iraq and hope the group will help their efforts to get their children back home. But there are almost insurmountable practical and legal obstacles to doing so. |
| Home countries often refuse to accept returning jihadis – or allow them in only to arrest them. Just a few countries have established deradicalization programs to help reintegrate former fighters or repentent jihadis. | Home countries often refuse to accept returning jihadis – or allow them in only to arrest them. Just a few countries have established deradicalization programs to help reintegrate former fighters or repentent jihadis. |
| Related: How do you deradicalise returning Isis fighters? | Related: How do you deradicalise returning Isis fighters? |
| Koehler says that former militants should be given the chance to answer for their actions before the law – but also offered psychological support to help them reconnect with their former lives. | Koehler says that former militants should be given the chance to answer for their actions before the law – but also offered psychological support to help them reconnect with their former lives. |
| In almost every country in western Europe there are scores or even hundreds of former militants who have returned home, either because they are injured, traumatized or disillusioned with the brutal reality of life under Isis rule, Koehler said. Most of them have returned illegally and remain off the radar of the security services. | |
| That’s why Koehler argues that deradicalization programs are an essential component of national security policy. “Deradicalization programs like Mothers for Life help the authorities to be more effective, [and] they help communities be more resilient.” | That’s why Koehler argues that deradicalization programs are an essential component of national security policy. “Deradicalization programs like Mothers for Life help the authorities to be more effective, [and] they help communities be more resilient.” |
| For parents of westerners who have already joined the ranks of Islamic State, and for those who fear their children may yet be recruited, programs like Mothers for Life can offer an “emotional safe place”, said Boudreau. | For parents of westerners who have already joined the ranks of Islamic State, and for those who fear their children may yet be recruited, programs like Mothers for Life can offer an “emotional safe place”, said Boudreau. |
| She hopes the group can ensure that no parent will have to suffer alone while their child turns to violent jihad. | She hopes the group can ensure that no parent will have to suffer alone while their child turns to violent jihad. |
| “If I had known then what I know now,” Boudreau said, “my son might still be alive.” | “If I had known then what I know now,” Boudreau said, “my son might still be alive.” |