Ten French women held in camps in Syria have started a hunger strike, protesting the ongoing refusal by French authorities to "organize their return with their children" to their home country, according to their lawyers.
In a statement, lawyers Marie Dosé and Ludovic Riviere, who advise some of these women, said, "After years of waiting and no prospect of a ruling, they feel they have no choice but to stop eating," expressing their desire to be judged in France for their actions. They added, "These women explained in voice messages sent to their relatives that they can no longer bear to see their children suffering, and they want to take responsibility and be judged in France for what they have done."
About 80 women who joined ISIS are being held in camps run by the Syrian Democratic Forces. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which operates in the al-Hol and Roj camps in northeastern Syria, reports that children suffer from malnutrition and severe respiratory illnesses during the winter. Additionally, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child warned last November about the "direct" danger to the lives of these children held in "inhumane health conditions," deprived of "the most basic food supplies."
For years, Paris has adopted a case-by-case policy regarding the repatriation of these children. So far, 35 have been returned, most of whom are orphans. Pascal Decamp, the mother of a 32-year-old woman with cancer who is imprisoned in a camp in Syria with her four children, began her hunger strike earlier in February, aiming to push for her daughter's repatriation. In December, the United Nations Human Rights Commission asked France to "take necessary measures" to ensure this woman receives medical care.
