And Beyond
The influx of millions of Syrian refugees to Europe is more than likely to become another source of radicalisation that could increase the number of violent extremists among the refugees and lead to further acts of terror. Depending on length of their stay in camps and their treatment, terror attacks will either be reduced, or made increasingly acute after permanent resettlement. Host countries must employ special methods to thwart any infiltration attempts by violent extremists under the guise of being refugees, and develop counter-plans that encompass all aspects of de-radicalisation.
Host countries have little choice but to do just that because a single attack would come at an enormous cost; the attacks in Paris and Brussels speak for themselves.
To achieve their objective, host countries must consider every aspect of the refugees’ psychological and physical experiences, and carefully assess short and long-term impact of each measure on their mindsets to reduce anxiety and allow them to adjust.
The focus on internal security in the camps and the gathering of intelligence must receive top consideration. It should be emphasised, however, that no amount of policing or sophisticated intelligence gathering will suffice unless such activities are taken in conjunction with a host of other preventive measures.
First, host countries must judiciously reflect on the refugees’ trauma from being abruptly and often forcibly removed from their homes, leaving behind their possessions, family, and friends, and the torturous emotional ordeal of not knowing what is in store for them.
To ease this individual and group trauma, local authorities need to provide psychological counselling with a special focus on youth (15-25 year olds), who’re most susceptible to radicalisation and may otherwise become easy prey for violent extremist groups.
In addition, they need to be occupied with positive activities, e.g.: helping in the camps’ relief efforts and other administrative duties, to feel useful and relevant, helping them regain their self-esteem.
They should also be provided outlets for communal engagement, including professional training, sports activities, and education, not only to allay the trauma they are experiencing but also to begin the process of adjustment to new lives.
Education shouldn’t be limited to the youth. Teachers should also receive counter-radicalisation training and develop curricula that underscore the horrible downside of violent extremism. In addition, the families of young boys and girls should be included in the education process, as parents could hold extremist views because of their past experiences.
Indeed, idleness and boredom breed contempt, resentment, and impatience. The young need to be kept informed as to when their trials may end, what to expect once they leave the camps, and what means they will be provided with to live with their families in dignity.
It is well-documented that the longer refugees stay in camps, the greater the risks are for radicalisation, which is further aggravated when the camps are overcrowded, unsanitary, and isolated with little or no access to the outside world.
In years past, many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan and Afghan refugees in Pakistan became radicalised, and today we’re witnessing the emergence of a similar phenomenon among Syrian refugees.
Law enforcement is critical for preventing outbreaks of violence and criminal activity but police officers must not treat young offenders harshly. Taking punitive action disproportionate to the severity of the crime can breed deep resentment and leads to new violent crimes and radicalisation.
To substantially reduce crime level, authorities should conduct field studies, initiate outreach programs, and engage the refugees in dialogue – listening to and acknowledging their grievances, and making every effort to address their legitimate complaints.
This is important because the refugees must believe through day-to-day encounters that the host country is doing all it can to support them and alleviate their pain and concerns. Outreach efforts also become an important public source to gather information and detect radical activity, terror plots, and recruitment by extremist organisations like Daesh.
Host countries need to utilise social media to provide a counter-narrative to these extremists’ voices. This counter-narrative should not come exclusively from government officials of the host country but also from respected religious scholars, imams, and other revered individuals from within the refugee community.
Using a religious counter-narrative is critical because radical Islamist organisations resort to extreme religious precepts to persuade the young. Indeed, zealous believers do not feel the need to produce evidence to support their convictions which is why violent religious narratives can be effectively countered only with moderate Islamic teachings, emphasising on non-violent traditions and the virtue and morals of Islam.
There are two other important factors to consider in the effort to minimise radicalisation in the refugee camps. First is the proximity of the camps to the country of origin, which allows for the smuggling of weapons and drugs, and the infiltration of violent extremists who remain inactive till they’re ready to commit acts of terror in the host country or bordering states.
This requires greater resources for police to monitor various crossing points and conduct careful screening and registration. While the need for such measures is extremely important, the procedures must not be arbitrary and abusive. For this voluntarily reporting suspicious activity along the line of ‘if you see something, say something,’ should be encouraged.
Since vast majority of refugees are victims of circumstance, they should be treated humanely and with sensitivity. Indeed, even some violent extremists can be disarmed by demonstrating compassion and understanding towards the whole refugee community.
Second, the need to provide refugees with their daily necessities may prompt tension with surrounding indigenous communities, especially if they are poor and lack access to services being provided to the refugees, such as healthcare and education. For this reason, host countries must ensure that the surrounding communities are not neglected.
Ignoring surrounding communities could instigate violent conflicts between the two sides and lead to the radicalisation of young refugees; these incidents have been cited in Jordan, Turkey, and Germany. The host country must carefully consider the camp’s potential location and its impact.
These measures could substantially reduce, but not eliminate, the chances of a determined violent extremist infiltrating through waves of refugees, or radicalisation of refugees. Thus, host countries should continue the process of de-radicalisation after resettlement.
How and where to resettle refugees is critical, with long-term effects on absorption and integration and it’s only natural that people of similar background and experiences would gravitate to one another, but that should be avoided to allow integration with mainstream society.
Previous waves of Muslim immigrants who settled in London, Brussels, Paris, and other European cities provide stark examples of such insular communities. Whereas families should stay together, the host countries must not create a situation where they prevent the integration process, which is central to de-radicalisation.
Learning from past, host countries should focus on the youth by integrating them into the local communities through activities in which their indigenous counterparts are involved.
Most important is teaching the language of the host country to enable them to enrolment in school, provision of counselling, and offering professional training opportunities.
In addition, instead of indoctrination, the youth should be provided with holistic educational experiences drawing on cognitive, affective, and performative learning to help them restore their self-worth.
Another important activity is to familiarise them with the rest of the country via trips with native peers, allowing a sense of belonging.
Non-governmental organizations should also play a constructive role in accelerating the process of absorption and integration by offering internships and other office work that utilises their talents youth while aiding adaptation to a new work environment.
Host countries must ensure that prisons do not become incubators for radicalisation. The authorities should develop a comprehensive rehabilitation program, as reformed prisoners would best serve as role models to de-radicalise other individuals.
Finally, it’s of utmost importance to engage communities of refugees in sustainable development projects of their choice, initially funded by the government. These projects allow the refugees to develop a sense of pride and achievement, provide jobs, and allow for self-sufficiency and productivity.
Participatory projects require trainers, facilitators, and organizers, which host countries can initially appoint, but will ultimately be run by members of the community itself, empowered by their own creative resources.
Needless to say, it’s easier said than done to adopt these measures, but given that violent extremism will otherwise only fester, host countries have little choice but to invest time and resources to mitigate the plight of the refugees, starting with the refugee camps and continuing throughout their resettlement process.
Host countries cannot be long on talking and short on funding. Any government or donor committed to de-radicalising young men and women must invest what’s needed to address this.
There won’t be decisive victories over de-radicalisation as the root causes behind violent extremism are deeply rooted in Arab and Muslim states, where millions of youth are despairing with no prospect of a better future, and blame Western powers in part for their plight.
Moreover, whereas violent extremism can be contained or even defeated by Western countries by taking the measures briefly outlined above, the ideology of groups such as Daesh cannot be defeated any time soon.
We must bear in mind, however, that as we address the radicalisation phenomenon, we cannot allow ourselves to be possessed by it or permit it to undermine our social and political values, which are the strongest weapons we have to defeat violent extremism.
