Families of 3 missing UK girls urge 'Please come home!'

[webfact]

Families of 3 missing UK girls urge 'Please come home!'
By SYLVIA HUI

LONDON (AP) — Turkish police searched Monday for three missing British schoolgirls believed to be headed to Syria to join the Islamic State extremist group as their frightened families issued urgent pleas begging the girls to return home.

The girls, said to be "straight-A students" from the same east London school, disappeared last Tuesday without leaving any messages. Authorities said they boarded a Turkish Airlines plane to Istanbul.

The relatives of Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16, broke down in tears as they spoke of their fears in televised interviews on British TV.

"We miss you. We cannot stop crying," said Abase Hussen, Amira's father, clutching a teddy bear Amira gave to her mother on Mother's Day. "Please think twice. Don't go to Syria."

The case has captured wide attention in Britain, where authorities say at least 500 people have left for Syria to join extremists and fear they pose a terrorism threat when they return.

Authorities have been criticized after it emerged that, before the girls disappeared, Begum had online contact with a fourth girl, Aqsa Mahmood, who left for Syria in 2013 to become a "jihadi bride."

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer for Mahmood's family, argued that the police failed to engage with communities.

"I cannot see why this isn't considered a child protection issue," he said. "These young girls have been groomed online. They have been trafficked."

The girls took advantage of lax regulations governing international air travel for unaccompanied minors, which makes it relatively easy for teens to travel without parental permission.

Many major airlines place no restrictions on children over 12. The Turkish Airlines website states written permission is needed for children between seven and 12 to travel unaccompanied, but does not mention rules for children over 12.

European Union officials have discussed tightening these rules in recent months.

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said Monday that Turkish and British authorities were working diligently to locate the girls.

"They are working closely to find them ... and to find out what motivated them," spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said, calling for closer cooperation to prevent foreign fighters from using Turkish territory to join the Islamic State group.

"Turkey cannot struggle against foreign fighters on its own," Kalin said. "Why aren't they being stopped at the border? If there was information on the possibility that they may be joining terrorist activities, you should be conducting your efforts to prevent it at your border gates."

The families said there were no signs that the girls were interested in extremism or had planned to go abroad.

The police said the girls were interviewed in 2014 in connection with the disappearance of another friend, but said there was nothing to suggest they were at risk.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-02-24

[Mosha]

Where did they get the money for the flight?

[zaphod reborn]

Better that they get beheaded or abused by IS than to return home as radicalized terrorists. The UK will discover that 2nd generation Muslims are a threat to their national security. Good riddance.

[johna]

Let them go, just don't let them come back.

[canman]

Good girls from a moderate muslim family. How many good boys from moderate muslim familys are waiting in the wings to take up the ISIS call to Jihad?

[daveAustin]

Why blame the authorities? It's all on the girls for being so dumb. They're old enough to know right from wrong. Feel for the parents but for everyone else it is safer they go there. Just don't let them back in.

Similar with the French stopping those kids from leaving. Let them go then ban their passports, surely. Do you really want them to remain and create problems? So bleedin PC!

[Mosha]

Parents blaming everyone but themselves.

[DiamondKing]

These girls are NOT VICTIMS they are straight A students so they are intelligent and know exactly what they are doing, their Parents bought them up to follow this religion and now they get what they wanted.

The authorities should not be looking for them LET THEM GO just cancel their passports and never let them back again

Time to bring back a TREASON LAW in the UK

[Skygod2000]

'Families of 3 missing UK girls urge 'Please come home!'

The government is going to cut our child support

[pedro01]

I dont agree with the posts above.

If these girls have been groomed, they are victims of a sort.

They are going to end up as sex slaves, not warriors.

I wonder who is doing the grooming? The local mosque?

[IamNoone88]

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer for Mahmood's family, argued that the police failed to engage with communities.
"I cannot see why this isn't considered a child protection issue," he said. "These young girls have been groomed online. They have been trafficked."

​Parents are to blame first and the rest of the family second. Anwar's approach is typical - any-one else's fault other than those responsible. In the Middle-East, my car was hit from behind by a second car at a red traffic light. I was to blame because if I hadn't been there, there would not have been an accident! True story.

[monkeycountry]

Obviously islam is the reason the girls left for Syria. The parents are likely the ones who raised the children to believe in islam, so the parents are solely at fault.

Maybe future muslim parents should consider this when raising their children to believe in islam.

I think I speak for many people in Britain, when I say that I hope the girls do not come back, assuming they are already in Syria. I have no problem with muslims going to fight in Syria, but the modern world does not need these people back once they have been radicalised and weapons trained, thank you.

[deecee10]

When parents say that they had no idea what was going on, I wonder how much interest they really took and what level of relationship did they have with their daughter.

Somewhere, between the three families there must have been signs if anyone had bothered to look.

[steven100]

kill all muslim radicals, block muslims from entering any country ..... governments need to do a hard line check on all registered muslims citizens in their country and deport any suspect families.

[klauskunkel]

Fed up of gender equality? Western food? Soft living? Men without beards? Deodorants? Health care?

Come to Syria. ISIS understands you. ISIS wants you. And ISIS knows what you want:

Bearded, stinky men with halitosis, more than you can handle. Goats, rocks, sand, camels. Air strikes, drone strikes, train strikes.

Come to us, we fulfill your dream of becoming a living slave to Muslim psychos until you're dead. And then you're not going to Paradise, because you are not a virgin anymore...guess where you will be going according to the Koran...

[Gillyflower]

Heard on the French news last night that the authorities have confiscated passports. The UK is thinking of even stronger methods. ie not letting them back in.

[Friendly Stranger]

So it's the fault of the government and police? How about pointing the finger at their own communities. I love how it's never their fault...

[Friendly Stranger]

Obviously islam is the reason the girls left for Syria. The parents are likely the ones who raised the children to believe in islam, so the parents are solely at fault.

Maybe future muslim parents should consider this when raising their children to believe in islam.

I think I speak for many people in Britain, when I say that I hope the girls do not come back, assuming they are already in Syria. I have no problem with muslims going to fight in Syria, but the modern world does not need these people back once they have been radicalised and weapons trained, thank you.

Edited February 24, 2015 by Friendly Stranger

[Friendly Stranger]

3 young girls going there to do what?

They may get a rude awakening, as they may end up being the nitely entertainment.

[Borzandy]

Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana,......... perfect English names.

[phrodan]

Better that they get beheaded or abused by IS than to return home as radicalized terrorists. The UK will discover that 2nd generation Muslims are a threat to their national security. Good riddance.

That's a genuinely sick post - and the worst of it is, you genuinely believe it.

Oh, no - there's worse.

You will read that post a hundred times and you'll never suss out why it's so sick.

It's people like you that are the problem, not the solution.

[phrodan]

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer for Mahmood's family, argued that the police failed to engage with communities.

"I cannot see why this isn't considered a child protection issue," he said. "These young girls have been groomed online. They have been trafficked."

​Parents are to blame first and the rest of the family second. Anwar's approach is typical - any-one else's fault other than those responsible. In the Middle-East, my car was hit from behind by a second car at a red traffic light. I was to blame because if I hadn't been there, there would not have been an accident! True story.

Aamer Anwar is a notorious mouth - and he has been since he broke into the public eye. He lives in a twilight zone where he adores the celebrity and notoriety. He will go ambulance chasing when stories like this break - as long as he's front and centre he's happy.

I know him - how he is still a lawyer is completely beyond me. He has been called down by judges in the past for being unreliable - and in the cases where he was called down, there should have been a referral to the Law Society. By this point, the guy should be barred.

In my opinion, he's getting away with his drivel and poison because he's a high-profile human rights lawyer.

[Mosha]

Better that they get beheaded or abused by IS than to return home as radicalized terrorists. The UK will discover that 2nd generation Muslims are a threat to their national security. Good riddance.

That's a genuinely sick post - and the worst of it is, you genuinely believe it.

Oh, no - there's worse.

You will read that post a hundred times and you'll never suss out why it's so sick.

It's people like you that are the problem, not the solution.

So what do you want to happen with them?

[Seastallion]

I dont agree with the posts above.

If these girls have been groomed, they are victims of a sort.

They are going to end up as sex slaves, not warriors.

I wonder who is doing the grooming? The local mosque?

Yes.

It's the groomers.

Back in my day, and maybe still today, Catholic girls were the prime targets for sex because we all knew that their repressed family/religious background made them readily amenable to sweet-talk.

These girls are easily groomed, and they are victims.

The authorities need to act to counter the grooming. So do the families.

It's harder for the families because (just as in Thailand) sex education and all the peripheral subjects (such as grooming) are taboo.

Don't blame the girls, don't blame the parents...and to an extent, don't blame the authorities. Blame the groomers.

I feel very sad for these girls.

[HooHaa]

one wonders how 3 minors can just hop on a plane to syria.

cant drink, just of legal driving age, but international air travel, no problem.

parents, it would be wise to hold on to your childrens passports

Edited February 24, 2015 by HooHaa

[kinmaew]

Bit bloody late for that isn't it? How about what steps did you as a family take to ensure that your children are not exposed to Islamic extremism? None, we want to live the Islamic way in the UK with all our Halal butcher shops and one day it will be an Islamic country is how a lot of them feel. Hope they enjoy the Islamic way now.

[Choctastic]

'The families said there were no signs that the girls were interested in extremism or had planned to go abroad.'

But the media wave 'Jihad' at the public anyway.

Hmm...

I could write this stuff...

'There were no signs the girls were participating in beheadings but a member of the Syrian ISIS Beheading Think Tank have been informed, by an anonymous source, in the heart of Al-Shifty, that radicalized women have been present'.

"Oh, no!" Thinks the spellbound reader.

"Sean! Nip upstairs and check your sister is still in the bedroom, will ya."

Keep hiding under the bed folks.

[JockPieandBeans]

The fact that 3 of them decided to go together, makes it plain as day that they knew exactly what they were doing. It was obviously pre-planned.

How original that the blame has been lain at the door of everyone, except where the blame actually lies.

[bangon04]

These girls are NOT VICTIMS they are straight A students so they are intelligent and know exactly what they are doing, their Parents bought them up to follow this religion and now they get what they wanted.

The authorities should not be looking for them LET THEM GO just cancel their passports and never let them back again

Time to bring back a TREASON LAW in the UK

If they are so smart why do they imagine that becoming "comfort women" for IS fighters is a good career choice?

[farangmick]

On reflection deleted my first rant. I will content myself with saying that some people move to a foreign country and refuse to intigrate. But at least TV members support themselves and their families. No one comes to Thailand for the benefit culture and a passport dished out as freely as a flyer for a new takeaway. First time up country, had to change buses at Saraburi. Just like Bradford, I was the only white face and I could not understand what anyone said. More smiles though.