Repatriate The Children - Denmark is an organization that aims to help get Danish children and their families residing in detention camps in Syria or other similar situations in neighboring areas home and to ensure they receive the necessary support when they return to Denmark.
Our organization offers counseling to the children and their families, shares our experiences, and provides expertise and information to relevant authorities and organizations working on the subject nationally and internationally.
After visiting the Syrian detention camps al-Hol and al-Roj, journalist Natascha Rée Mikkelsen and lawyer Knud Foldschack took the initiative to found the organization in September 2020. Knud has worked with some of the cases both voluntarily and as an appointed lawyer, and Natascha has, throughout the years, had contact with many of the families of the children and has visited the detention camps and neighboring areas on many occasions.
RTC - Denmark works for the children and their interests. Therefore, we believe it is necessary always to research what is best for the child in any given case and per Danish legislation after the child and its parents have been repatriated to Denmark.
We do not wish to separate children from their parents. The Kurdish forces have also made it clear that they do not want to separate the children from their mothers unless the child is threatened by life. We have faith that the Danish authorities are capable of determining what is best for the children when they are in Denmark so they have the opportunity to grow up in a safe environment, away from war and extremist communities.
It is essential to insist on prosecution and rehabilitation to break the cycle of violence and prevent more children from ending up in a warzone. It is also crucial to ensure that the victims of Islamic State get justice for the crimes they have suffered. Therefore, Denmark should repatriate all the Danish children and their families as soon as possible.
We collaborate with Danish and international children's- and human rights organizations, networks, activists, and RTC - Denmark's sister organizations in Sweden and the US to find the best solutions for the children and their families. Along with Save the Children and UNICEF Denmark, RTC - Denmark is a part of the government's interministerial "Task Force Evacuation" reference group that contributes with knowledge on the conditions in the detention camps and counsels the government on how to repatriate the Danish children in the detention camps in northeastern Syria in a proper manner.
Repatriate The Children - Denmark disassociates strongly from the Islamic State's ideology, actions and everything associated with violent extremism. We work towards protecting the children from indoctrination and radicalization from violent extremist movements and environments. We don't believe that children should grow up under the influence of the Islamic State or other extreme organizations and are worried about the conditions the children live under in the detention camps and the neighbouring areas.
