Residents of one of Australia's most Muslim suburbs - which Pauline Hanson sensationally claimed 'people can't go to' without feeling unsafe - are divided over the imminent return from Syria up to 34 ISIS brides and children.
The Daily Mail spoke to over two dozen people while on the bustling streets of Lakemba, in Sydney's south-west on Thursday, just hours after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed the families had been granted documents to travel to Australia.
Speculation has now grown that some of the brides could return within days, following reports some of the families' tents have already been dismantled in the Al Roj internment camp in Syria's northeast.
One of the major themes from locals was an echo of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's comments earlier this week that 'if you make your bed, you lie in it' - and the door should be shut.
A worker with Lakemba's Uniting Church slammed the women's impending return as a 'risk' to communities, so soon after the December 14 Bondi Beach terror attack where 15 people were killed.
'They shouldn't be allowed to return,' the man said. 'They made that choice in the first place to go overseas, and now because things aren't working out for them, they expect to be able to come back to Australia.
'I know we like to welcome people but we do have a sense of values and most of us have a high moral outlook on life.
'The Prime Minister has already prevented one lady from returning - although I'm sympathetic and feel sorry for the children - they've made their bed overseas.
The women and children (some above), formerly associated with ISIS, were issued temporary Australian passports and documents to allow them to travel
This woman told the Daily Mail that the ISIS brides should stay overseas
Salwa and Faryal believed the brides have a right to return as they are Australian citizens
'Considering we need a lot of healing to do in Australia at the moment, I don't think it's a good idea to increase that risk by allowing them back. It's the wrong time.'
Another local, Jeffrey, said the women shouldn't be allowed to return, but claimed they wouldn't necessarily pose a security risk for authorities if they did return.
'No, I don't think that, unless they strap a bomb suit on themselves and go into public and try and take out a dozen or so of us,' he said.
'I don't know if [agencies] should monitor them, then they're prying into their sort of lifestyles... being married to an Islamic State [fighter], they were really under the pump.'
When asked if he thought the women had travelled overseas to join Islamic State willingly, Jeffrey replied: 'Of course they did!'
Married couple Hasan and Syeda, who live in Lakemba, described the women as 'extremists' and that they should be 'always under surveillance' for the safety of the community.
Others said the families must be re-integrated back into their communities.
'Everywhere has some people that are good, and some people who are bad,' Campbelltown resident and mother Saba said.
'In Australia, we are a multicultural country so I believe everyone should [be given] a chance.
Local shop owner Atiqure said he didn't think the women posed a security threat
The majority of people the Daily Mail spoke to in Lakemba believed the ISIS brides should be allowed to return, but monitored
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed on Wednesday a 'temporary exclusion order' had been enforced on one of the brides following security advice
'They should still be allowed to come back - every woman has their own choices, their own rights, whoever they want to marry, and whichever religion [they want to follow].'
Another man said: 'They've already suffered. They lost their people, they lost their husbands, their children are without their fathers.
'It's the same thing that happened in Ukraine - those ladies came here.'
Salwa, who lives in Lakemba, told the Daily Mail she doesn't think the women will 'break the rules' upon their return because 'they're Australian citizens.'
'All of us citizens have the right to come back. They have the right to say whatever they want because it's their country,' Salwa said. 'They have given all of their commitment to the country.
'But the people coming here should have proper police checks - what is their background, have they been involved in any terrorist attacks? [Police] could have random check-ins if there are any doubts.'
A woman from Bankstown, who was visiting Lakemba with her mother, added: 'They were born here - just because they married someone, [it] doesn't change that. I think they just want to come home.'
Egyptian immigrant Tarek, who lives in Roselands, said the families could be put into a type of camp, with counsellors and secular scholars, to help be reintegrated back into society and 'understand what they did was wrong.'
'These people are misguided by others, they are very young and very easy to be brainwashed, so when they learn the right information, they can choose the right path and won't be a threat no more,' Tarek, a retired teacher, said.
Officials from Al Roj camp in Syria are so confident the brides will leave that they've already started demolishing their tents
Mother of four Faryal, who lives in Lakemba said the women deserve 'to live a good life as well.'
'They have no husband, no family over there, so if they bring them here, we will make them a better human,' Faryal said.
'The children are very little - if you give them love, they will be very lovely. Accept them.'
The group of ISIS brides are believed to have been joined by a number of Australian men in Syria, including prominent Sydney GP Dr Jamal Rifi, who is helping coordinate their return home.
The families had attempted to leave the Al Roj camp on Monday but were forced to turn around amid concerns they didn't have the correct paperwork.
Reports now suggest a delegate has been sent by the government to accompany them from the camp to Australia, despite the Prime Minister emphatically denying the government was providing the group with support.
On Thursday, Opposition attorney-general spokeswoman Michaelia Cash alleged the Albanese Government had deceived Australians - bluntly telling Sky News that the PM was 'bulls***ing' the country.
In a statement, she said: 'Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is being disingenuous and deceiving the Australian people by refusing to immediately impose Temporary Exclusion Orders on all the ISIS brides presently trying to return to Australia.
'Despite his repeated claims that he is "constantly receiving advice" from security agencies, the law is crystal clear: Minister Burke can make this decision himself, right now.
'Many Australians would be concerned that having the life-partner of an ISIS-terrorist in their suburb would help foster support for a terrorist act, like the Bondi attack. Minister Burke should explain why he disagrees.'
Lakemba is a Muslim majority suburb with 61.2 per cent of the population following the Islamic faith according to the 2021 Census, ahead of 10.1 per cent who did not disclose their religion and 8.8 per cent who are Catholic.
