"I was once a champion in school, but then I was forced to follow my parents to Syria. Now that I am back to Indonesia, I really want to be a school champion again,” said National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius.

In a discussion held by Tempo media group on Tuesday, he was quoting a child who is among the Indonesians who had returned from an Islamic State (IS) camp in Syria and are currently staying at the Bambu Apus shelter in East Jakarta. The child is among dozens of Indonesians who have returned from the terrorist group camp.

Suhardi said the IS sympathizers deserved a second chance in society so they could move on with their lives.

However, he added that he was well aware that those people should get proper rehabilitation to prevent them from causing harm in public spheres.

After the United States-backed Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) regained IS’ final territory in the town of Baghuz in March, more IS sympathizers are expected to return to Indonesia.

Dozens of Indonesians who are currently staying at the SDF-run Al-Hol camp in Al-Hasakah, Syria, remain stranded as they face food shortages and lack access to proper health care.

Most are women and children as the majority of male combatants were either killed in battles or jailed by US-backed forces. The government has taken steps to bring them home.

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