More than two dozen Australian women and children trapped in dire conditions in Syria could die if they don’t get the help they so desperately, a humanitarian group says.
The 17 children and nine women demanded to be expatriated in legal documents filed in the Federal Court on Monday after being subjected to inhumane living conditions in detention camps for more than four years.
The case was filed by Save the Children Australia on behalf of the women and children and experts fear the worst will happen unless the federal government intervenes.
“There are children dying in these camps in Syria all the time,” Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler told reporters on Monday.
“We had one Australian child die last year, so unfortunately we believe it’s a matter of time if Australia doesn’t act that we will have another death of a child on our hands.”
Many of the women involved are either wives or widows of jailed or slain Islamic State terrorists.
Their lawyers say some of the women were coerced into going to Syria while others travelled there voluntarily.
Their children, some of whom were born in Syria, are not receiving the appropriate care and medical attention.
During a visit to Roj camp in the northeast last year, Mr Tinkler said he saw children with untreated shrapnel wounds living with crippling and unmedicated pain.
Many are suffering from poor nutrition, dental decay, traumatic injuries sustained from conflict and poor mental health.
Their families said pursuing legal action was a last resort and they likened their living conditions to "torture".
"Pursuing legal action to bring about their repatriation was never a first choice, but we feel like we have now exhausted all our options to get our family members to safety," the families said through lawyers.
"United Nations experts have found the camp conditions that the Australian children live in to meet the standard of ‘torture'."
The government repatriated 13 children and four women in October following the repatriation of eight children in 2019.
Mr Tinkler said this showed Australia was capable of providing its citizens help when needed.
“The repatriations last October raised the remaining children’s hopes that they too would soon be out of harm’s way," he said.
"Instead, they feel they have been abandoned by their country and are losing hope for the future."
Save the Children Australia is acting as litigation guardian in the case, which occurs when a litigant does not have the capacity to conduct their own litigation.
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