Hamilton-born woman who joined ISIS wants to come home

A Hamilton-born woman wants to come back to Canada after joining ISIL fighters in Syria four years ago.

Kimberly Polman says she doesn’t have words for how much regret she has.

The 46-year-old left Canada in 2015 after meeting a member of the Islamic State online. Polman says she didn’t fully understand what she was getting herself into.

According to the New York Times, Polman was born in Hamilton and lived in British Columbia before taking off overseas to marry an ISIS fighter.

A France 24 documentary says Polman, along with many other Jihadi brides are now prisoners at a camp in Syria, their husbands dead, imprisoned or still fighting.

“I didn’t know a lot about the organization itself. I just knew that they were big and as an Islamic organization at the time, they were doing some really good things. I don’t think that negates the negatives,” Polman said in the interview.

Polman told the New York Times that she had burned her Canadian passport, but now cries herself to sleep at night with deep regret.

Hamilton immigration lawyer Howard Eisenberg says Polman’s journey back to Canada could be a very lengthy one and it would begin by the Canadian government either revoking her Canadian passport or denying her application for a new one.

He says she could also be charged with terrorism related offences under the criminal code. It would depend on the investigation and what she actually did.

Polman’s siblings are believed to be living in B.C. Before converting to Islam, Polman was part of a reformed Mennonite community here in Hamilton.