Malaysian woman pines for sibling in Syria

The fear of losing her only sibling has left a woman anxious every time she watches the news on TV, especially when it is a story on the involvement of Malaysians in the militant group Islamic State (Isis), Singapore's Straits Times reported today. More than 60 Malaysian women have reportedly left for Isis battle zones in Syria and Iraq, and Selangor-resident Sofie's youngest sister, Yusophin, is one of them. The mother of two is worried over the fate of her sister who disappeared last September and was later found to have gone to Syria to join Isis. "She went missing in September. After two or three days, she WhatsApp-ed me a photo of herself in Raqqa in Syria. She said she wants to do jihad in Syria," Sofie was quoted as saying by The Straits Times, declining to give her full name. Sofie said Yusophin had worked at a popular supermarket chain, and her life was normal until she began attending religious classes in Damansara Damai, in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Aside from her behaviour, Yusophin’s dressing also took on a new look as she would put on a headscarf with her jeans and shirts. But this took on a radical change when she started wearing only baggy clothes and finally only black, Sofie said. "After she joined the religious class, she became extreme and distant from all of us. She started hanging out with the friends who introduced her to the religious classes," ST quoted Sofie as saying. Police previously said that Malaysians were taking personal loans to get to Syria, and Yusophin's case was no different. She had borrowed RM20,000 to fund her trip and reached Syria via Istanbul then Gaziantep, in Turkey. Gaziantep is the closest town to the Syrian border. Aside from Malaysians, hundreds of women from the West, including from Europe, the United States and Australia, have also made their way to join the militant group, with many leaving behind families, children and the comforts of life they would not get in Syria and Iraq. Part of the blame is laid on the use of slick videos to lure these woman, with Isis showing life in Raqqa as an idyllic paradise. Raqqa is the capital of the Isis caliphate where it runs its operations across Syria and Iraq. However, the realities on the ground are grim. Raqqa faces regular air strikes by the US-backed coalition, as well as the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Malaysia's counter-terrorism police have also been reported saying that 11 Malaysians have died fighting for Isis in Syria and Iraq. According to The Straits Times, Sofie said her sister realised her error and had wanted to leave shortly after reaching Syria, but stayed on, knowing Isis’s brutal treatment of deserters. It was previously reported that anyone caught trying to leave the militant group would face death. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in December that Isis executed at least 120 of its own militants, the majority of whom were foreign fighters trying to return home. "She sounded regretful, but it was very difficult for her to get out. She said there were many checkpoints," Sofie told The Straits Times, adding, "She cried on the phone. We spoke for about 30 minutes." There was no contact for another eight months, until May this year, when Yusophin called Sofie to say she was okay and had gotten married to another Malaysian. "She called to say she had married Ashraf, a Malaysian, who arrived in Syria shortly after her," The Straits Times quoted Sofie as saying. Sofie added that Yusophin had also told her that she was expecting a baby and hoped to stay on in Syria, as she now had someone to look after her. According to the Singapore daily, Ashraf had already met Yushophin last year in Shah Alam, where he ran a cleaning service business. Yusophin also told Sofie that hundreds of young men and women from around the world arrive in Raqqa every day. "The Asians are mostly from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. There are one or two from Singapore, according to Yusophin," Sofie told The Straits Times. – July 1, 2015.