‘I just want to be free’: Australian children held in Syrian camp reveal their hopes and dreams
Exclusive: As debate rages over their return, children of Australian women with Islamic State links dream of ice-cream, Bluey and not living in a tent
Full Story podcast: the Australian children of IS families speak to the Guardian
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The first thing Laila did when she left al-Roj camp was stick her head out the car window. The six-year-old gulped in the “sweet, sweet air” and clutched her cousins close as they saw the outside world for the first time in their lives.
Laila saw “a drink shop, a donkey, a baby horse” as she feasted on candy brought by her relatives from Australia. She peppered her mother and aunts with questions about what Australia was like – “do we have to live in a tent there too?” – as the camp disappeared behind them.
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