Probably a stupid question RE Shamima Begum.....

[PasstheBucket89]

If Syria is such a forbidden place, how did so many people get there? especially young girls, women with children, was no one at airports actively preventing people? did noone question how young some of the girls were? Why did they allow children there? Or did they travel covertly by sea? ive always been curious about this aspect. Ill never forget the Danish woman on Stacey Dooleys programme took her 5 year old son, over itll haunt me forever, poor boy .

Iirc a lot of them flew to Turkey and then traveled by bus or car to the border.

oh right that makes sense, i wonder if anyone on rhe Turkish border was keeping an eye out.

The border is 900km long.

and FWIW yes, you're being unreasonable. "Keep an eye out" fgs.

I think she used her sister’s passport to fly to Turkey

Where there's a will, there's a way-- especially when the people involved aren't bothered by silly little things like "laws" in the first place.

As others have said, she went to Turkey then her groomers took her by car to Syria.

But, I was a bit shocked to learn how easy it is for children to leave the country without parents’ knowledge or consent. The rules allowing unaccompanied minors seem very lax to me. Once she was in Turkey nothing could have stopped her getting to Syria, but she was a British child in Britain, I do think more could have been done to stop her flying from her home country to overseas without parental consent.

(If someone had given me the cash for a plane ticket at age fifteen I would definitely have flown off somewhere stupid just for the hell of it! As would many teenagers.)

I do think more could have been done to stop her flying from her home country to overseas without parental consent.

I know the UK immigration policy now prevents unaccompanied minors coming into the UK without parental consent, don't have the year that happened to hand but I think it was within the last 5-10 years. I wonder if it has also changed for those leaving since 2015 when she left. I agree that should be the case --- especially as this is considered important one way it should also be seen as important for kids leaving the country too.

If you have a valid UK passport and are 16+ (or is it 18?) then only the police can stop you leaving. Airport security obviously didn't pick up she was using someone else's passport.

It's a shame they would not allow her to return when she was first found and while she was pregnant. Her baby may not have died then.

she stole her older sister's passport.
i don't think anyone here is to blame for her going...

i wasn't aware she had stole her sisters passport, Im in agreement with @Skysblue, i think irs true where theres a will theres a way, but if they were aware girls were being trafficked over, its such a sad situation all round.

I’m not in the UK so apologies if I’ve missed something but I feel sorry for her - she was a child of 15 when she went. Does her young age at that time not warrant more sympathy from the home office?

As above, she flew to Turkey on her older sister's passport which she stole. The only possible fault could be that it wasn't picked up that it wasn't her photo on the passport, but presumably they look quite similar.

I am very cynical but I think she didnt just run away...if she was as vulnerable and as plain stupid yes plain stupid as people suggest then she wouldnt have had any idea or knowledge what so ever on how to undertake such a trip.It was a calculated move on someones part to get her there.I spoke with a friend who suggested to me that in her community it was often sanctioned by the parents for the girls to proceed.I believe all is not how it seems.Now as to who is to blame for this is up for debate..would she as a minor have been able to follow through on her own initiative or was she told to go? I dont know.It is a terrible thing thats happened either way..but should she be allowed to return is another matter.The government dont want her to ..the public don;t seem to want her to so where do you go? What would her life be like here if she did..welll significantly better than where she is now I guess but as a country we cannot allow her to be turned into some kind of hero figure amongst the very people who set out to try to destroy our country..thats the danger I suspect.It is political top and bottom of it and with good reason.She could be anyone it isnt personal, its the tone it sets....I do not see her as a danger I see what she represents as a danger to society,not normal society but the mad faction who would stick her on a pedistal and make her the poster girl for every mad thinking ,britain hating,,west hating zealot there is,and sadly thats a very real danger....She wont get home without a fight and for harmony the Government willl send a message and fight hard to stop her....its all just a game sadly with alot at stake.shes just a pawn in the bigger picture.

I spoke with a friend who suggested to me that in her community it was often sanctioned by the parents

The family were devastated. One of the families have had to live with the knowledge that their daughter was killed in a bomb attack and that the girls were desperate to come back. But yes, let’s believe what your ‘friend’ says.

I do think it's very sad, not sure that I want her back though.

I obviously don't know her full story - I suspect she's not neurotypical and that she was more easily influenced and able to be set to "fixate" on "the cause". Is she an ongoing risk? Yeah, probably. I do think though that there's an element of international responsibility which applies re: you baked 'em, you take 'em. And we baked this one.

@cadent...you don;t have to believe anything either myself or my friend said.I was simply stating that from my friends point of view and her background it is not unheard of for it to happen. I would have no clue as to why she stated this view but she did.