The case of a boy born in Syria more than eight years ago, who has been unable to get into school here, highlights the uncertainties and delays still hampering the process for repatriation and reintegration of scores of T&T women and children caught in a post-ISIS limbo.
While the boy, along with his mother and sister, were repatriated from Turkey over seven years ago and he has lived most of his life in this country, his immigration status is still unclear and as a result, schools have refused to enrol him.
The matter, which has been simmering for some time, was thrust back into the spotlight this week in the Senate when Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly sought to defend the decision by school authorities not to accept the boy.
But that situation is just a small part of a much bigger issue involving women and children who accompanied men from this country to the Middle East between 2013 and 2016 to join ISIS, in their fight to establish an Islamic State.
T&T had the highest per capita ratio of foreign fighters from the western hemisphere in Iraq and Syria but most of those men were killed in battle, leaving behind dozens of women and children.
Approximately 40 children and 16 women have been detained at the al-Hol refugee camp in northeastern Syria since the collapse of the last remnant of the caliphate. A few others are detained elsewhere in Syria and Iraq.
Their families have been appealing to Government to return them to T&T but to date, repatriation and reintegration of nationals from those conflict areas have been almost at a standstill.
There is little to show since the establishment of a Repatriation and Reintegration Committee, also known as The Nightingale Committee, more than six years ago, and a Returnees Bill that should have kickstarted legislative aspects of the process is still at the drafting stage.
Although Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said his administration is committed to bringing back the women and children, there haven’t been any significant developments with the three-man committee he appointed almost a year ago to oversee the process.
Meanwhile, at least 36 countries, including nearby Barbados, have repatriated many of their nationals and the children among those returnees are attending school, participating in a wide range of activities and appear to be adjusting well.
Unlike many other repatriating nations, the authorities here may not have to prosecute former ISIS fighters, as had to be done in some jurisdictions in line with international due process requirements.
Still, there has been little progress here, apart from occasional assurances that the repatriations are being diligently pursued. This is of no comfort to families who have been campaigning for so long for the return of their loved ones.
While it is understood that post-ISIS repatriation and reintegration is a complex and detailed undertaking and there are some national security issues involved, there is a growing perception that little is being done in this matter, even after persistent lobbying by international body Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other agencies on behalf of the detainees and their families.
Making matters worse is the paucity of information from those who claim to be actively working to bring these citizens home.
Surely, this matter could have been handled much better.