From left: Kadiza Sultana, Amira Abase and Shamima Begum
Three teenage girls from London flew to Syria to join the militant group ISIS.
What they told their parents was a bus ride to do schoolwork turned out to be a trip to the airport, a trip they may never come back from.
The girls took a flight from Gatwick Airport in London to Turkey, where it is assumed they will cross into Syria and join with ISIS, to become wives of the fighters.
The families of the girls have made videos pleading with their daughters to return and emphasized that no matter what they are feeling the parents want to help. “We understand that you have strong feelings and want to help those you believe are suffering in Syria,” one family said in the statement. “You can help from home; you don’t have to put yourself in danger.”
The Prime Minister of Britain, James Cameron, spoke on how troubling it is that many Westerners are trying to join the radical jihadists in Syria. “It does make a broader point, which is the fight against Islamist extremist terror is not just one that we can wage by the police and border control,” Mr. Cameron said, referring to the disappearance of the three girls. “We all have a role to play in stopping people from having their minds poisoned by this appalling death cult.”
Women from other countries, including the United States, have seen women leave to join ISIS. More than 3,000 Westerners have traveled to Syria to join ISIS, according to this report and statistics by the 'Assyrian International New Agency.'
The terrorist organization uses many methods to persuade recruits to come fight for its cause. Aggressive grooming goes on in the social media sphere, and the group's propaganda portrays that it is a religious duty to join ISIS and that life is bliss as a wife of a fighter.