Updated ,first published
The daughter of the last remaining Australian woman linked to Islamic State and attempting to leave Syria has a series of debilitating medical conditions caused by shrapnel that has been lodged in her body for most of her life.
Medical records seen by this masthead show Hodan Abby’s nine-year-old daughter is suffering from chronic headaches, reduced mobility, developmental challenges and potentially permanent paralysis if the shrapnel is not removed soon.
The records are expected to form part of Abby’s bid to return home, with the rest of the cohort having already arrived in Australia. Nineteen women and children arrived in Melbourne and Sydney on Tuesday night and were released via side exits, while on May 7, four women and nine children arrived in more chaotic fashion amid three arrests.
None of the women who landed this week faced any immediate charges, and it was revealed in Senate estimates on Wednesday the NSW government sought federal assistance for “the reintegration of the cohort” at the beginning of April.
While the request is still under review, Department of Home Affairs counter-terrorism co-ordinator Brendan Dowling told a Senate committee the Commonwealth does not provide specific support in relation to “any individual”.
Department head Stephanie Foster said the funding provided to the state for relevant programs was “not insignificant”.
Abby’s daughter’s medical records show shrapnel is lodged in her pelvis, foot and head, including in three different places in her forehead, and was caused by a bomb going off near her when she was 11 months old.
She has lived most of her life in camps in north-eastern Syria, after her mother travelled to Islamic State-controlled territory in 2015. Since the fall of the so-called caliphate, Abby and her daughter have been stuck in camps in the region, with limited medical assistance provided.
The pieces of shrapnel lodged in her pelvis and skull are getting dangerously close to her spine and brain, the medical records show, and both pieces are moving as she grows. The piece lodged in her foot has prevented her growth and heavily affected her mobility, with the girl relying on her mother to carry her.
The shrapnel has led to developmental complications, including delayed speech, as well as chronic headaches.
Abby and her daughter were unable to leave due to a temporary exclusion order issued by the government that extends for two years unless a court strikes it down or the minister issues a return permit.
Sources close to the repatriation efforts say Abby and her daughter were in the worst condition out of the cohort, but remain in Syria.
There was an attempt to remove the shrapnel from the daughter’s body after her condition deteriorated when she was three, but the medical services in the Al Roj camp did not have the facilities to handle such a complex operation.
Abby herself also has shrapnel lodged close to her lungs, and struggles to breathe. The records also indicate she suffers from panic attacks and chronic pain due to her condition.
Both Abby and her daughter’s medical condition form a major part of the reason they are seeking a return to Australia, with both requiring urgent medical care should they return.
It comes after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed that the investigations into the cohort were ongoing.
“No one should presume that at any point in time the work of the Australian Federal Police, in terms of investigating and gathering evidence, is over,” he said in question time on Wednesday.
Burke also reminded the opposition that while they were in government, “45 people who had gone there to fight had self-managed their return”.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor had earlier accused the government of supporting the return of the cohort, claiming without evidence that the “welcome mat” was rolled out for the group.
“The government’s rolled out the welcome mat to people who have turned their backs on our country and our values to support ISIS,” Taylor told reporters. “This is not an act of strength, this is an act of surrender by this weak prime minister and this weak immigration minister. We need a government that gets control of our borders.”
Speaking alongside Taylor, Nationals leader Matt Canavan accused the government of “turning a blind eye” to “those that are spreading terror and violence.”
Assistant Citizenship Minister Julian Hill said exclusion orders were not a “magic wand” and accused the opposition of politicising the issue by spreading misinformation.
The government has repeatedly argued it does not support the women’s return and has not provided the group any assistance.
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Mostafa Rachwani is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously the Community Affairs reporter at Guardian Australia.Connect via email.
Nick Newling is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.