Gina Vale - The Days After. Countering the recurrence of IS extremism

Speech by Ms. Gina Vale - Workshop: The Days After. Countering the recurrence of IS extremism, 14.06.2019 Sheraton Hotel, Berlin

Gina Vale, IS-Expert, Kings College in London starts her contribution by explaining that the calling of the terror organization as “Daesh” makes it seem as if it is a homogenous group. To overcome the challenges which IS brings one must understand that the IS is not just a group of men with weapons, which means that the solution of this is not to punish the members on an individual level. She explains that the IS aims to build a nation of their own in which on should not underestimate the role of women and children since the IS uses them to legitimate their nation.

Children are being viewed as premature, which allows the IS to force young boys to be soldiers and young girls to marry at a very young age. One must understand the role of gender within the IS to defeat the system of Caliphate of the IS. The children which come out of this System must be rehabilitated and educated on a general and an interfaith level.

Moreover, Gina Vale says that hope is a critical factor when dealing with this problem. She shows that hope for improvement is crucial for the next generations but at the same time hope can be very dangerous when it does not carry any fruits. She explains how the IS has used hope to attract men, women and children towards them by showing them tangible solutions to their problems.

Next, she talks about the problem of betrayal among the different cultures and communities in Iraq which has been built up in the past years. She explains that eyelevel discussions and meetings must take place between the different groups to achieve any improvement.

She ends by mentioning that the Human Rights have to be re-established in Iraq in the post-IS times on a basis of real footing and a harmonic coexistence rather than on vengeance.