“If you make your bed, you lie in it.”
— Albanese, on government’s refusal to provide support for Australians currently detained in the camps in Syria.
There are 11 women and 23 children from Australia detained in hellish camps in northern Syria. These camps are administered by Kurdish (SDF) militia and local authorities in the Northeast. A group of these Australians attempted to leave Al-Roj camp to travel to Damascus and then on to Australia but were turned back by the SDF.
BACKGROUND. The Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces conducted armed struggle against ISIS, as did the Assad government. However when when Assad fell, the central government was taken over by Ahmed al‑Sharaa who is currently interim president.
Ahmed al‑Sharaa is a Saudi born militant from Jabhat al‑Nusra — an al‑Qaeda affiliate in Syria — that with others over through Assad’s forces during the Civil War from 2012 till 2025.
Some of the women detained may have been child brides. ISIS still remains a threat in the region, particularly to the towns and villages over the border in Lebanon. Towns in the Bekka Valley, like Gaza and the West Bank, are under constant threat of bombardment by Israel.
The Australian government then deployed Tony Burke to mop up after Albanese’s cruel statement. Albanese’s his mother may have said that back in the day but would she endorse his governments refusal to help fellow Australians. This phrase was said by that generation two people in personal circumstances and was always recognised as being harsh. But in the hands of a government supplying weapons directly to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Albanese’s cruel quote becomes pure evil.
Ian Curr
22 February 2026