Mothers in Syrian detention camps given 'cruel' choice to keep children or send them to Canada: advocates

More than two dozen women and children held in northeastern Syrian detention camps are due to arrive on Canadian soil any day, but the fate of 10 of those children is unknown after their mothers were given the "cruel" choice of giving them up or keeping them in "inhumane" conditions, according to advocates.

"Choice almost is not the right word If you're asking a mother to say goodbye to her children," says Faraz Bawa, a Calgary-based lawyer for one of the women.

In January, after years of efforts by lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, the federal government agreed to repatriate 19 Canadian women and children from northeastern Syria, where they have been held in Kurdish-run detention camps for suspected ISIS members and their families. 

An additional 10 children born to four non-Canadian mothers were identified as being Canadian citizens who qualify to be repatriated, according to Alexandra Bain, director of FAVE (Families Against Violent Extremism).

The children were either born in Canada or were fathered by Canadian men. The mothers are their sole caretakers.

If the children are brought to Canada without their mothers, some are at risk of being placed in provincial care, Bain says.

She noted that one boy has autism, is non-verbal and continues to suffer from injuries sustained in a bombing. 

Now Bain and two Calgary lawyers representing two of the women are lobbying to keep the children and their mothers together. 

Repatriation is expected to take place as soon as this week.

But on Jan. 27, the mothers were contacted by Global Affairs Canada officials who offered to repatriate only the children, according to a letter sent by FAVE to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"The mothers were asked to make a Solomonic decision: save your children but lose them forever — or condemn them with you to a life of hell," reads part of the letter.

The letter describes the conditions in the camps as "inhumane, where individuals are arbitrarily detained without trial, live in constant fear of violence, have inadequate access to medical care, and are at risk of severe disease."

Bawa says lawyers and organizations trying to help the women have largely been left in the dark as to the government's intentions.

He believes there are three potential scenarios the government could be planning.