Indonesians may respond similarly in trying to protect themselves from these “ticking time bombs,” as one French official has described the children, instead of seeking how to best help those who have been exposed to cruelty to overcome their experiences.

Stigma is a major problem. Indonesian women whose husbands are serving or have served time as convicted terrorists have reported bullying and catcalls of “anak teroris”(terrorists’ offspring) against their young. A recent congress of female ulema raised the urgency of a non-security approach to terrorism to overcome long-lasting negative impacts on the children.

Integrating former terrorists and their families into society and removing the stigma against them remains a problem here — the same issue is faced by 75 children among 161 people who the Social Affairs Ministry says have completed the government’s rehabilitation and deradicalization program.

Compared to other countries, authorities report far fewer numbers of Indonesians returning from IS camps in Syria or heading there. Still, hundreds have been arrested or were imprisoned on terrorism charges in the country.

People cheer the police’s counterterrorism unit when suspected terrorists are killed, despite allegations of extra-judicial killings by activists. Imagine the trauma on children who have witnessed the arrest or shooting of their father; especially when they learn later that he was a mistaken target or played a minor role in an alleged terrorist act.

Terrorism expert Sidney Jones has long raised concerns over the unwanted impact of counterterrorism measures on the children of suspects and convicts. Some young suspects and perpetrators have been identified as relatives of older actors.

Dutch counterterrorism officials recently visited the country to learn from Indonesia’s efforts in counterterrorism. The visit included a trip to a pesantren(Islamic boarding school) in North Sumatra that provides free education for 20 children of former convicts.

Former convict Khairul Ghazali said the pesantren he runs aimed to eradicate the stigma attached to families of terror convicts. After graduating from such institutions or rehabilitation programs, the children and families of former convicts — not just those returning from IS territories — therefore still need much support in facing the formidable challenge of integrating in schools and neighborhoods. But attitudes from which terrorism emerges remain. In a video that has recently been circulating on social media, children, referring to former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, cry “death to Ahok.”

Indonesia faces the simultaneous challenge of embracing children of former terrorists, a gruelling process — while dealing with adults who openly and rapidly spread hatred against “infidels.”