A British woman who joined Daesh (Islamic State group) in Syria and attempted to recruit other Western girls to become so-called jihadi brides wants to return to the UK to live a "normal life".
Tooba Gondal, who was born in France and grew up in the UK, has claimed that it was a "relief" to leave Daesh territory, where there had been food shortages and "constant bombing, sniping and bullets".
The 25-year-old, being held in Ayn Issa camp in Syria with her two children, was caught by US-backed Kurdish forces as she tried to flee Daesh's last stronghold of Baghuz.
"I feel British, but Britain refuses to take us. I know the British public are scared of us. They don't want to deal with us, but they must," she said in an interview from the camp with the Rojava Information Centre last week.
"We are not threat to their society, we just want a normal life again," she said.
Her London-based family broke their silence this weekend to urge the UK authorities to allow her and her children safe passage to the UK.
"For the past three years she tried to leave, but they [Daesh] threatened to kill her children," Gondal's younger sister Maryam told The Sunday Times.
"She tried to leave two or three times. But she had no money and no means of escaping. She was trapped," she said, adding that her two-year-old nephew Ibrahim and one-year-old daughter Asiya had been on the brink of starvation under Daesh.
Pleading for Gondal and her "innocent" children to be allowed back to the UK, her family also disclosed that Asiya had suffered a shrapnel wound in her leg after an airstrike.
They believe she travelled to Syria in 2015, when she was 21, after being "brainwashed" online.
Their plea comes in the wake of Bangladeshi-origin Daesh bride Shamima Begum having lost her newborn baby at one of the detainee camps in Syria after her British nationality was revoked.
Gondal's case mirrors that of Begum, who had fled to join Daesh as a schoolgirl in February 2015 until she resurfaced in a Syrian detainee camp pleading for her return to the UK.
Her lawyer Tasnime Akunjee is preparing for a potentially lengthy legal battle against the removal of her citizenship.
In Gondal's case, she has permanent residency of the UK on a French passport and the nationality of her two children by different husbands, both killed in fighting, remains unclear.
She was served with a UK Home Office exclusion order a year ago and has over time lost her right to appeal.
Soon after her arrival in Syria, Gondal said Britain was a "filthy" country and posted an image of herself wearing a burqa and holding an assault rifle.
She praised the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks and was accused of luring other British girls to marry jihadist fighters, earning her the nickname of "the Daesh Matchmaker".
Since US-backed forces cleared out the final Daesh stronghold in Syria last month, over 76,000 women and children are believed to be living in such detainee camps.
Of these, more than 10,000 are believed to have travelled from outside Syria and Iraq, while around 1,000 are unaccompanied children.
The UK government is under increasing pressure from international aid agencies to repatriate the children of so-called Daesh brides from Britain.
"We are ready to help any government that faces an issue. Children are first and foremost victims," said Elodie Schindler, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), after Germany and France both announced measures for such repatriation of children born to their nationals.
AN ASIAN writer has explained how his new book makes Britain’s imperial past “accessible, engaging and thought-provoking” for a younger audience.
Award-winning author and journalist Sathnam Sanghera’s new book, Journeys of Empire, explores empire through 10 journeys he described as being “extraordinary”. Sanghera said his book, published last month by Puffin UK, is “a way of helping children understand how Britain’s biggest story still shapes the world today.”
“We’re not taught this history very well,” he told Eastern Eye.
“The empire is morally complex – sometimes we were good, sometimes bad – so, how do you even begin talking about it? It’s also contentious. There are millions of us whose families were colonised, and millions whose families were the colonisers.”
Teachers cannot teach what they themselves were never taught, Sanghera pointed out.
“There are multiple layers to why British people are so bad at talking about this history. It touches on race, misogyny and geopolitics. It’s easier just not to talk about it.”
And , the cover of his book
Following the success of his bestselling children’s title Stolen History, Sanghera’s this latest work continues Sanghera’s mission to write for readers aged nine and above. With a focus on human experiences, Sanghera said he wanted show that history is not just a list of dates or conquests – it’s a tapestry of stories that connect people.
Born in Wolverhampton to Punjabi immigrant parents, he began school unable to speak English. Later he graduated with first-class honours in English language and literature from Christ’s College, Cambridge.
He has since built a career as a writer and journalist.
His memoir, The Boy with the Topknot, and his novel, Marriage Material, were both shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards. Empireland, Sanghera’s exploration of Britain’s colonial legacy, was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non- Fiction, named a Book of the Year at the 2022 National Book Awards, and inspired the Channel 4 documentary series Empire State of Mind.
His first children’s book, Stolen History, introduced young readers to the complex and often overlooked realities of empire. With Journeys of Empire, Sanghera aims to go further. “When I finally learned about the British empire, it changed how I saw myself, how I saw Britain, and how I saw India,” he said.
“It seemed obvious that you’d want to give this gift to young people – because your 40s is a bit late to be learning all this.”
Sanghera said the 10 journeys in the book take readers across continents and centuries, revealing both the ambition and the brutality of empire.
“The British empire covered a quarter of the world’s surface and a large portion of its population. It was seven times the size of the Roman empire,” he said.
Aiming to ensure diversity in both perspective and geography, Sanghera said he chose stories from various countries and different phases of the 400-year history.
Alongside India and Mahatma Gandhi, readers will learn about Guyana’s indentured labour system, Gertrude Bell’s adventures in Iraq, and the British invasion of Tibet led by Francis Younghusband.
“I wanted to highlight areas often left out of mainstream narratives,” the writer said. The stories are written with an accessible and honest tone, and with humour.
“Violence is a tricky area,” Sanghera said. “You can’t go into graphic detail, but you also shouldn’t whitewash it. The violence and racism of colonialism were intrinsic. “I tried to strike a balance - acknowledging the brutality without overwhelming young readers.”
Writing for children isn’t much different from writing for adults, Sanghera said.
“You still need engaging stories and to hold attention. The main thing is to avoid big words that might put them off.”
He pointed out how storytelling can counter the allure of digital screens.
“Kids are addicted to screens, and reading rates are falling globally. That’s disastrous for mental health, intellectual development, and politics,” he said.
“When you get news from screens, you’re in an echo chamber – you’re not being challenged or taught to think in a nuanced way.”
Sanghera’s hope is that stories of Journeys of Empire – from pirates to princes and explorers to rebels – will draw in young readers to a world of curiosity and reflection. He said, “The British empire is a complex story. Even the ‘good guys’ had flaws. That’s what makes it worth understanding.”
At the heart of his book is a message about complexity and contradiction. “The empire involved slavery and the abolition of slavery. It caused environmental destruction and inspired environmentalism. We live in a world that struggles with nuance, but that’s what makes us human,” Sanghera said.
“My hope is that readers – kids and adults – learn that opposite things can be true at the same time.”
After six years of writing about empire, Sanghera said he’s ready for a change. His next book will focus on the late pop star George Michael, due out in June next year.
“I thought George Michael would be a nice break from empire. But then I learned that his father came from Cyprus - which was under British rule. The reason he left Cyprus was because of the British. So, even George Michael’s story connects back to empire. You can’t escape it, wherever you go.”
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