But as a widow with four children living in a 4mx4m tent in a prison camp in northeast Syria, her future is precarious, and relies on the political will of the federal government

Ms Raad is the widow of Muhammad Zahab, the former Sydney maths teacher who became a prolific Islamic State recruiter and is responsible for luring dozens of his family members to Syria.

Five of the 16 Australian women remaining in al-Roj camp near the Iraqi border are his relatives and several dozen children, including the four he had with his teenage bride, sons Dujana, 11, and Haritha, 10, and daughters JuJu, 7, and Sumaya, 5.

The boys were born in Australia and the girls in Syria. Their father, who became a senior figure in Islamic State, was killed in a targeted air strike in 2018.

Ms Raad, now 31, has been detained in al-Hol and al-Roj camps for more than three years.

Little Sumaya appears to have developmental delays although has received no diagnosis or medical reason for why she didn’t crawl until she was 15 months old, and only took her first steps at three.

Both boys face the likelihood of being removed from their mother and placed in a harsh juvenile prison when they reach their teens, with no further contact with their family.

The Syria Question

‘Give them a childhood’: mum

Pressure is mounting on the Albanese government to deal with the problem it inherited from the Coalition and repatriate Australian citizens from Syria.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong. I want to come back’

An Australian member of Islamic State locked up in a Syrian prison is begging for forgiveness from his parents and wants to come home, saying he poses no threat.

ISIS families stranded by domestic laws

Government is not legally required to bring ISIS families home, but should do so to meet international obligations, law expert says

Aid chief proves Syria trip can be done

For years, the previous government said it was too dangerous to extract women and children. Save the Children’s Australian chief Mat Tinkler set out to dismiss that claim.

Roll call of the terror-linked prisoners

Australian men are among ISIS-linked prisoners in Syria.

Mystery over death of jailed Aussie teen

Officials and family seek answers over how Sydney teen Yusuf Zahab lost his life in the Syrian prison after an Islamic State attempted jailbreak.

Australian law does not require we bring Syria families home

Rather than safeguarding their rights, our legal system arms our government with extraordinary powers to prevent citizens from returning.

Aussie teen in Syrian prison feared killed

A 17-year-old Australian boy detained for three years without charge in a men’s prison in Syria is believed to have been killed after Islamic State attacked the jail trying to free their fighters.

Jihadi brides’ return ‘risky but ethical’

Repatriating Islamic State families undeniably brings security and legal challenges, but should be done for ethical and national security reasons, a leading counter-terrorism expert says.

Two of the saddest little girls you’ll meet

For the last seven years, Assya and Maysa Assaad have lived either under the rule of IS, or locked in a camp in the desert. All they want to do is go to school.

‘I go to sleep fearing they will be taken from me’

Mariam Raad wants stability and an education for her children, and a job for herself. But as a widow with four children living in a prison camp, her future is precarious.

Repatriated kids live quietly in community

The families of two dead IS fighters repatriated from Syria by the Australian government have been living in the community for several years.

Childhood lost: ‘Sometimes I feel like time has stopped’

Shayma Assaad had barely finished Year Nine in Sydney when she was taken to Syria, married off and impregnated. Hers is one of the most disturbing stories of all the Australian women trapped in al-Roj camp.

No exit and no hope in ‘torture’ camps

‘This is not a holiday camp, it’s not a refugee camp, it’s not a place where the basic needs of human beings are met in any way.’

Time to decide what becomes of those left behind

There’s little sympathy in Australia for fellow citizens trapped in Syrian camps. Instead, there’s a dangerous ignorance of the truth.

Jail swap sent Aussie mum, baby back to Islamic State

Sydney woman Nesrine Zahab has revealed how she fled ISIS while pregnant, only to be returned to the extremist group with her newborn baby in a prisoner swap.

Islamic fate: the lost heirs of Aussie terror

Pressure is mounting on the PM to repatriate Australian women and children held in camps for Islamic State families in Syria, amid fears their indefinite detention is leading to a national security disaster.

“I want to go back (to Australia),’’ Ms Raad said.

“I want my kids to have a chance at a real future. I want them to start their education and I want to know what’s wrong with my daughter.

“I’m stressed. It’s not easy being a single mother with four children in a camp. The boys are growing older and I go to sleep every night imagining they will be taken away from me.’’

Sumaya struggles with her balance, and Ms Raad spends her days on a fruitless campaign to get rid of the white rocks and gravel around their tents which make the ground unstable.

“The rocks are an issue for my youngest daughter because she still can’t walk properly, she keeps on falling and look, she always has bruises everywhere, even on her face. One time she was even bleeding,’’ she said.

Ms Raad said she has never had contact with Australian officials.

She said she was just focused on her routines at the camps.

“Wake up in the morning and if there’s water, we have to fill up with water. If it’s our shopping day we have to go and get everything we need,’’ she said, detailing the visit to the official supermarket within the camp walls.

“It is a long walk to bring bulk stuff back, like the water we have to bring. Also you have to make sure the tent is in good condition because the tent, from the weather conditions it’s ripping apart. I’m staying in the same tent for two years now. I’m supposed to get one every six months but it’s been two years.’’

The tents have electric wiring to power a small bar-sized fridge and kerosene heaters.

Fire is a big risk, and the women are too afraid to have heaters, fans or portable air conditioners if they are not in the tents to supervise their children.

“It is very dangerous. If it’s on you have to be in the tent 24/7, you can’t leave it. There has been fires from the kerosene.’’

Ms Raad was 23 or 24 when she moved from Australia to Syria with her husband.

She said she posed no threat to Australia.

“My goal if I go back to Australia, I want to be a working mother and I want my kids to have an education, I want to put my kids in schools, to be educated, and to be smart. I really do want my daughter to have a diagnosis because if there is something wrong with her, I want to catch it before it’s too late.’’