The recent return of several ISIS-linked women and children from detention camps in northern Syria to Australia has caused deep concern among Ezidis who survived the 2014 genocide and later resettled in the country.
According to reports, four women and nine children arrived in Australia after years in Al-Roj Camp. Australian authorities confirmed that three of the women were arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences, including alleged crimes against humanity connected to the enslavement of Ezidi women under ISIS.
For many Ezidis in Australia, the news is not a distant political issue. It has reopened memories of the genocide committed by ISIS in 2014, when thousands of Ezidis were killed, women and girls were abducted and enslaved, and entire families were torn apart in Shengal. Many survivors who rebuilt their lives in Australia continue to carry the trauma of captivity, displacement and the loss of relatives.
S.K, an Ezidi worker in Wagga Wagga, told SBS News that many survivors now feel unsafe and distressed. Some have reportedly sought further counselling and medical support after learning that ISIS-linked individuals had returned to Australia.
The issue has also raised wider questions about consultation, justice and accountability. Survivors and affected families have a right to know that those suspected of participating in ISIS crimes will not simply return to ordinary life without investigation. Repatriation may be a legal matter for states, but justice for victims must never be treated as secondary.
For Ezidis, this is not only about security. It is about recognition of the genocide, protection of survivors, and the continuing search for missing Ezidi women and children. Any government receiving ISIS-linked individuals must ensure that investigations are serious, survivors are heard, and crimes against Ezidis are treated with the gravity they deserve.
The pain carried by Ezidis in Australia is part of a larger unresolved wound. Until every perpetrator is held accountable and every missing Ezidi is searched for, the genocide cannot be treated as history. It remains a living injustice.
