Franz Kafka and Ex-ISIS Members

A lot can change in 100 years. Technology changes; trends change; culture changes. However, many things don’t change; that’s what my observations taught me.
I have been patrolling this world for the past 100 years. At the time of my death, I wasn’t sure about the afterlife; however, it turns out that even a monstrous vermin has a spirit that can haunt the earth for eternity. In this afterlife, I’ve had time to think about my transformation and the impact it had on my family. Hindsight is 20/20, and I can see how my family alienated me and even each other. It appears that my reduction reduced everyone else; making us all a little less human.

ISIS Bride

The most recent story I’ve come across that really captures the idea of reduction is the reintegration of ISIS members into society. I’ve long observed the struggle with IS and the reduction its members have undergone. Now they are trying to re-enter their old cultures and the world has concerns about them.
One of the many similarities I see is how the IS brides are being treated. Many of the women who left their countries to join IS did so because they wanted families. At least, that is Shamima Begum’s story. At 15 years old, Shamima left her family in Britain and transformed into an IS bride. Between ages 15 and 19, she gave birth to 3 children; all of whom died.
The war against IS is finished and Shamima is wanting to go back home to Britain. However, Britain has revoked her British citizenship because of they fear what she might do. But at the same time, Shamima did not participate in the IS war crimes and her purpose in Syria was to have babies and perform wifely duties to an IS fighter. There are many similarities between this story and my family’s story. First off, even though Shamima didn’t commit any war crimes, she is being treated like criminal. Her transformation from being a school girl to an IS wife worries the British government. They are afraid that her, supposed, extremist ways will cause Britain harm; so they have stripped away her identity leaving her stateless and treat her as an inconvenience.

She had the same ideals while she lived in Britain; her transformation was mainly a location change. While in the UK, she still thought it was okay to beheaded people because the Koran states so. Whether in Britain or Syria, her inner person was the same.
This is exactly what happened to me. Even though I was the same person inside, the physical transformation I went caused my family to turn on me and strip away my identity. My family feared I would destroy the house because I didn’t look like myself. They treated me as an inconvenience and wanted nothing to do with me.

Secondly, Shamima’s desire for control and marriage alienated her family. It was Shamima’s choice to leave her family because she wanted to get married. Even after she left, her family tried to contact her multiple times urging her to come home; however, Shamima didn’t budge. There was no communication between them for four years. Shamima wanted to control her life and alienated her family to achieve it.

Shamima’s marriage also caused alienation from her dreams; such as raising her children in a safe place, pursuing a career, and living in Britain. This is exactly what happened to my sister Grete.

The desire for control also reduced my family members. Father wanted to be the most powerful one in the family and alienated Grete by trying to marry her at such a young age. Being in her teens, Grete would have lost out on many opportunities to develop herself, gain knowledge, and develop her talents; Father’s lust for control alienated Grete from her dreams.

Grete was also reduced because of her new found authority over me. She lost her compassion towards me and treated me with indignation. Her actions parallel the British government; it has no compassion on Shamima and only deals with her in frustration.

In addition to all this alienation, I noticed another similarity. Shamima bore a child in February 2019. The child was considered a British citizen and Shamima hoped she would be allowed to return to Britain because her baby needed medical help. However, her child died a month later because he didn’t have access to the medicine he needed, and her hope of returning home died along with him. A similar thing happened to me. I had a hope of growing wings and flying away from my family, but that hope was killed when my father threw an apple at me and damaged my wings. That injury led me to my death and I believe the hope in Shamima has died too.

The Others

Not only was alienation found in Shamima’s story, alienation is found in IS fighters. Those who fought as an IS solider went through a radical change, like myself. For both of us it was a gradual reduction. I was reduced from a son and brother to a slave whose life revolved around work. I had no friends, and life lost its luster. I was constantly working against my self-interest and didn’t properly care for myself. Eventually, the inner reduction I felt physically manifested itself, and I was turned into a horrid creature.

IS soldiers experienced similar reductions. The once free men became slaves to the caliphate and its biding. Once they joined IS, there was no way for them to escape. The soldiers thought they were working in their self-interest by joining ISIS, but in reality they became slaves. They were reduced to soldiers, killers and expendable bodies. Now that the war is over, people look at them just as that, killers. Their humanity has been stripped away. Even though, inside there is still a human being who needs compassion and help.

Currently, many ex-ISIS members reside in Kurdish refugee camps or Kurdish prisons. However, the Kurds cannot afford to keep feeding them, and their home countries do not want them or know what to do with them. Like the British government, every other country has undergone a reduction and lost its compassion.

I believe the ex-IS soldiers have been reduced to pesky bugs, just like me; they are the sacrificial animal.

I know it sounds harsh, but I’ve been there too.

If they were no longer alive, there wouldn’t be confusion over how to integrate them into society, and the fear around their integration would dissolve. Life would be much simpler if they were dead; just like life was much simpler once I died. There is little hope of a good life for these soldiers and their families unless the governments, unlike my family, have compassion on them and seek to rehabilitate the human inside. Then, and only then, can the reduction of the ex-ISIS members, Shamima, and the government be reversed.

Works Cited

Becausemyfriendssaidyoudlikeit. The Metamorphosis. Imgur, imgur.com/gallery/ZZYFz.

Bug with a man’s shadow. Amy’s Archive,
amyrosemary.com/2013/05/03/the-metamorphosis-by-frank-kafka-political-agenda-or-utter-fantasy/.

Cockroach in therapy. Pintrest, www.pinterest.ca/pin/57913545178306093/?lp=true.

Garfield and kafka. The Devil Made Me Do It, tdmmdimagazine.com/the-dark-side-of-garfield/

“IS Bride Shamima Begumm Full Transcript: ‘It Was Nice at First, Like in the Videos.’” Sky News,
news.sky.com/story/is-bride-shamima-begum-full-transcript-i-did-have-a-good-time-there-11640278.

Kafka The Metamorphosis 1. Meme Maker, www.mememaker.net/meme/kafka-the-metamorphosis-1-82910.

PonderStibbons. ISIS Teen Shamima Begum Stripped of UK Citzenship. Imgur, imgur.com/gallery/dk494YA.

“U.S. Urging Allies to Bring Home Foreign ISIS Fighters.” Global News,
globalnews.ca/video/4928905/u-s-urging-allies-to-bring-home-foreign-isis-fighters.