德国人被年轻的圣战者震惊

Germans Shocked by Young Jihadists

"Put on a thick jacket,” the 18-year-old son of Albanian immigrants told the 12-year-old German-Iraqi boy over the Internet.

The young man was explaining how to bomb a Christmas market last year in the Rhineland town of Ludwigshafen. He told the boy to hide, light the explosive device and run.

Luckily, the bomb failed to explode. Police arrested the 12-year-old in December 2017. They say it was the second time he tried to carry out a bomb attack.

The step-by-step guidance by the 18-year-old was described in court papers last month. He communicated online with the boy from his home in Austria.

Now, a top German official is calling for cancellation¹ of laws restricting security surveillance of children under the age of 14. Hans-Georg Maassen is the head of the country’s domestic intelligence agency. He argues that Germany is facing serious risks from what the media calls “kindergarten jihadists.”

The intelligence chief told a reporter that the Islamic State (IS) group and its followers² target children in Germany. He added that IS agents search the internet for children who can be reached and try to persuade them to carry out terrorist attacks.

Maassen said he was worried about the risks from women and children who once lived in areas controlled by the militant³ group. He described the children of jihadist parents as “ticking…bombs.”

“We see that children who grew up with Islamic State were brainwashed in the schools and the kindergartens of the Islamic State,” Maasen said. He noted⁴ that some boys and girls heard IS teachings at an early age, learned to fight, and may have abused or even killed prisoners.

Only a few of the 290 children who left Germany with jihadist parents — or who were born in Syria or Iraq — have returned to Germany. Some rights activists⁵ have warned that Germany should not quickly change civil rights protections, questioning whether the danger is being overstated.

The threat from children exposed to militancy⁶ has become a major political issue in Germany. Three out of five Islamist attacks in the country in 2016 were carried out by youngsters.

This is the second time Maassen has publicly expressed his concerns about children working for militants⁷. He also said it in October when he told Germans to “take a serious look at the threat” and to call the police if they saw anything.

Last year, experts warned that Western governments were not giving enough thought about what to do with the children raised under IS rule or of Syrian and Iraqi children enlisted⁸ by militants.

IS leaders were clear about their plan to teach children to be “the generation that will conquer Baghdad, Jerusalem, Mecca and Rome.” As the group’s territory shrank, the militants released videos explaining what would happen to their enemies in the future.

German officials aren't the only ones worried about the children of IS foreign fighters or the continuing efforts by the group to get new members.

Last week, the head of London police’s anti-terrorism command, Dean Haydon, warned of children taught by Islamic State coming back to Britain to carry out attacks.

“Some terror groups are training children to commit atrocities,” Haydon said. “We need to not just understand the risk the mother poses but the risk that any child poses as well,” he told a London newspaper.

Last month, a 27-year-old British woman returning from Syria was arrested at Heathrow airport under terrorism laws. She had a two-year-old with her.

Haydon said that police are testing children who have been brought to Britain by ‘jihadist’ parents after being born in Syria or Iraq to be sure they are really British.

“If a mother turns up with a stateless child, born in Syria, we need to be satisfied that that child actually belongs to that mother,” Haydon said. He added that some returnees have brought children that were not really theirs.

Experts say jihadi children can be reformed, and their thinking changed. But the experts warn they are battling a belief among Western officials that these children are different than child soldiers from other conflicts.

Canadian researcher Mia Bloom is writing a book about jihadist child soldiers. Last year, she told VOA last year that jihadi children can be rehabilitated⁹. She pointed¹⁰ to a program in Pakistan that has proved highly successful.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

jacket – n. a piece of clothing that is worn on your upper body over another piece of clothing

surveillance – n. the act of carefully watching someone or something especially in order to prevent or detect a crime

kindergarten – n. a school or class for very young children

jihadist – n. one who engages in a struggle or fight against the enemies of Islam

brainwash – v. to cause (someone) to think or believe something by using methods that make a person unable to think normally

expose – v. to make known

conquer – v. to defeat

atrocity¹¹ – n. a very cruel or terrible act

pose – v. to ask; to be or create

rehabilitated – v. to bring (someone or something) back to a normal, healthy condition after an illness, injury, drug problem

1 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

2 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

3 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 militancy   

n.warlike behavior or tendency

参考例句：

• Full of militancy and revolutionary ardour, the people of all nationalities in the country are working hard for the realization of the four modernizations. 全国各族人民意气风发， 斗志昂扬，为实现四个现代化而奋战。
• The seniority system is another factor that leads to union militancy. 排资论辈制度也是导致工会好斗争的另一因素。

7 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

8 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 atrocity   

n.残暴，暴行

参考例句：

• These people are guilty of acts of great atrocity.这些人犯有令人发指的暴行。
• I am shocked by the atrocity of this man's crimes.这个人行凶手段残忍狠毒使我震惊。