three French children, orphaned since the death of their jihadist parents, were found in Damascus

In the courtyard of an orphanage in the Damascus region, a little girl, dressed all in pink, throws herself into the arms of Sarah, the director of an orphanage in Damascus. The 6-year-old girl is a miracle. Born in 2019 in Syria, in the heart of the Islamic State, she almost died of starvation when she was just an infant, after the death of her mother in an international coalition bombing.

She and two other children turned out to be little French children, aged 6 to 12, and taken in by the establishment, as RFI and Radio France learned exclusively. Their parents, members of Daesh, died in the last days of “caliphate“self-proclaimed member of the terrorist organization in 2019. Entrusted to other female jihadists, who were arrested by the Assad regime, the siblings have since been waiting to be repatriated to France.

For five years, Sarah's orphanage has taken care of her and her 11-year-old big sister. Without this director, the girls would have forgotten their true identity. “The children arrived here with a document from the regime's intelligence services. Their names and that of their mother were false. They forbade us to give their real identity”, relate-t-elle.

“They told me that if I spoke out I would be sent to prison in Saydnaya.”

Sarah*, director of an orphanage in Damascus

at franceinfo

But one day, the aunt of the two sisters came into contact with the orphanage. Despite the risk of being arrested, Sarah sets up regular phone calls between the girls and their families in France. Zeinab*, another manager of the establishment, was also in the know: “These children need to be with their families. France must not leave them in a country that is not theirs“.

Zeinab specifies, however, that in this orphanage, the children were able to grow up.in a good environment, far from terrorism“. She also indicates that they have a very good academic level: “They are even learning English, so when they return home to France, they will be like all children, perhaps even at a better level.“.

The girls' brother, aged 12, is in an establishment for boys. According to our information, the family of these French orphans contacted the Quai d'Orsay on numerous occasions to request their repatriation, but their emails went unanswered. The aunt of the three children therefore sees them growing up through the screen of a telephone, an essential link maintained thanks to the immense courage of two Syrian women.

Asked by our journalists, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to our requests.

*The first names of our interlocutors have been changed to protect them.