I HAVE great respect for teenagers. They are funny, raw, naive, quite committed and dedicated to all manner of causes, which always impresses me.
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They will risk their lives chasing Japanese whale boats; help in countries protecting endangered species; assist in third world countries rebuilding communities; and work in overseas orphanages.
Idealism is their second name. They are proud of that title.
What I find more difficult to understand is why some have been drawn into a vortex of twisted, simplistic religious fanaticism.
These young adults have lived comfortable lives in Australia with free education, a safe childhood, something which their relatives in Iraq, Syria and Libya have not been privy to; it makes a mockery of their choice to flee Australia and fight for such a brutal cause in the Middle East.
Some Australians believe these teenagers have trashed the right to return home, but as adults we need to understand they are at an age where idealism can outweigh common sense and maturity in decision making. They deserve a second chance if they wish to return home.
Once home, let them become a propaganda force for good, educating their peer group, describing life under IS in real terms. Hopefully their peer group will listen.
My concern would focus around whether they were so brutalised by their experiences that they could never settle easily into Australian life. Would they be considered religious warriors, heroes of a righteous war, by other young impressionable men and women? That is the risk we take when allowing them to return.
The same, however, cannot be said for older Muslims who leave Australia to join IS. They deserve no such sympathy. If they hold dual citizenship the Australian government is threatening to refuse them re-entry to Australia. That would lessen the terrorist threat to Australians. These men have abrogated all rights. If they hold Australian citizenship they are legally entitled to return to Australia but if convicted will spend many years, I suspect, incarcerated in jail in Australia. I doubt anyone will weep for them.
These men have seen and knowingly taken part in the brutality of the IS forces overseas, the beheadings, the crucifixions, the killing of innocent civilians. They would almost certainly have observed this inhumanity on television prior to leaving. They chose to leave Australia to join forces with this horrific, fanatical organisation. They would certainly not have left Australia without understanding the brutality they were about to immerse themselves in – a war of unparalleled cruelty.
There is certainly an argument for refusing these older terrorists who have dual citizenship the right to return to Australia, but please consider the plight of those naive, foolish teenagers... they deserve a second chance, Prime Minister.