美国国家公共电台 NPR Europe Wakes Up To Prospect Of Female Terrorists

Europe Wakes Up To Prospect 1 Of Female Terrorists

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Let's turn to another topic that has come up in this campaign, and that's terrorism. The terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels over the past two years were carried out by men who were citizens of France and Belgium and who had been radicalized by ISIS. In the most recent attempted attacks, several women, including a teenager, tried to blow up a car filled with gas canisters in central Paris. Europe is now waking up to the prospect of female terrorists. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley met a woman who ISIS radicalized. She has now returned to Belgium. And we should warn you, there are parts of this story that could be disturbing to some listeners.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE 3: I met 34-year-old Laura Passoni in a Brussels hotel. She grew up in a Catholic family in the Belgian town of Charleroi. She converted to Islam at the age of 16 because she liked the religion and her best friend was Muslim. Later, Passoni married a Muslim man and everything was fine, until her marriage collapsed 4.

LAURA PASSONI: (Through interpreter) My husband met another woman and left me and abandoned his little boy. I went into a deep depression, and that's when I met the recruiter. I was vulnerable, and he played on that. He told me I could be a nurse and help the Syrian people. He told me I could start my life all over again. He made me believe in dreams.

BEARDSLEY: Behind these heavy locked doors at an unpublished address in the French city of Bordeaux, a team of psychologists and counselors 5 tries to get through to young people seduced 6 by ISIS propaganda. The staff imam, Fouad Saanadi, says half of the 33 people they're counseling are women, many radicalized after a personal trauma 7.

FOUAD SAANADI: (Through interpreter) They've been a victim of violence or have been raped 8 or have been marginalized in some way. And this makes them more vulnerable to ISIS's message of a better world and revenge against society.

BEARDSLEY: The ISIS agent recruited Passoni online through a Facebook profile that she created. At the same time, she met the new man in her life - also online. The couple went to Syria along with her 4-year-old-son. Passoni says, while her partner was fighting, she was housed with dozens of other women from the West.

PASSONI: (Through interpreter) Some were there to try to help them. Some were there for love; they had followed a fighter. But there were plenty of women who were full of hatred 9, and all they wanted to do was get a Kalashnikov and launch attacks. And they didn't try to shield their kids from horrible things, like the crucifixions every Friday in the town square. Some even let them touch the dead bodies.

BEARDSLEY: It wasn't long before she'd seen enough. And after nine months, Passoni and her partner escaped and returned to Belgium.

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FRANCOIS MOLINS: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: Last month, Paris prosecutor 10 Francois Molins said it was clear ISIS intends to turn women into attackers. Speaking after the arrest of the women linked to the attempted car bombing, Molins said the group had received guidance directly from Syria. Police had bugged 11 one of the women's cell phones and heard them planning other attacks at Paris train stations before they were caught. Two of the women stabbed police officers as they were being arrested. French journalist Mattieu Suc, who's written a book about female jihadists, says ISIS has changed the nature of terrorism.

MATTIEU SUC: (Through interpreter) Under al-Qaida, men left their families and went to Afghanistan alone. But in Syria, it's become a sort of family jihad. Couples go together, sharing a common project. It's almost like buying a house together. And the role women play is as strong as that of men.

PASSONI: (Speaking French).

BEARDSLEY: Now, back in Belgium, Laura Passoni Tony has written a book about her experience, hoping to stop others from making the same mistake she did. She was given a suspended sentence. Her partner is still in jail. Still, Passoni says she's lucky. Her son is back in school and doesn't appear to remember much about what happened in Syria. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.