Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Should the Australian women and children with alleged ties to self-proclaimed Islamic State group fighters be allowed back into the country? Yazidi community leader Sami says no.
Sami survived the 2014 attack by the self-proclaimed IS group on Yazidis in Sinjar in northern Iraq, which killed and enslaved thousands.
The atrocities perpetrated against the Yazidi community included mass executions, forced conversions, abduction, enslavement and systematic sexual violence.
“Many of the Yazidi survivors, the ISIS brides deprived them of food and water. Imagine a Yazidi survivor encountering ISIS brides [here.] … She will be retraumatised, reopen deep wounds. She may even leave Australia if she’s not feeling safe,” Sami told Insight.
However, Deputy CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Jana Favero argues that stripping Australians of the right to return home sets a dangerous precedent.
“I am a strong believer in the criminal justice system, that… citizens come home and they can have the full force of accountability and responsibility ... and in saying that Australian citizens have the right to return home does not mean that I support ISIS at all." Jana told Insight.
To learn more about the difficult ethical decisions Australians are facing, watch Insight episode Moral Dilemmas on Tuesday 5 May at 8.30pm on SBS or SBS On Demand.
Should the Australian women and children with alleged ties to self-proclaimed Islamic State group fighters be allowed back into the country? Yazidi community leader Sami says no.
Sami survived the 2014 attack by the self-proclaimed IS group on Yazidis in Sinjar in northern Iraq, which killed and enslaved thousands.
The atrocities perpetrated against the Yazidi community included mass executions, forced conversions, abduction, enslavement and systematic sexual violence.
“Many of the Yazidi survivors, the ISIS brides deprived them of food and water. Imagine a Yazidi survivor encountering ISIS brides [here.] … She will be retraumatised, reopen deep wounds. She may even leave Australia if she’s not feeling safe,” Sami told Insight.
However, Deputy CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Jana Favero argues that stripping Australians of the right to return home sets a dangerous precedent.
“I am a strong believer in the criminal justice system, that… citizens come home and they can have the full force of accountability and responsibility ... and in saying that Australian citizens have the right to return home does not mean that I support ISIS at all." Jana told Insight.
To learn more about the difficult ethical decisions Australians are facing, watch Insight episode Moral Dilemmas on Tuesday 5 May at 8.30pm on SBS or SBS On Demand.
