This document summarizes an interview with an Australian man named Abu Ousama who has joined an Islamist rebel group fighting in Syria. Some key points: - He was raised in Australia but now lives in Idlib, Syria and fights with Jund al Aqsa, an Islamist rebel battalion independent of ISIS. - He believes in beheadings and defends ISIS' use of violence as a means to establish an Islamic state, comparing it to violence used in establishing countries like Australia. - He initially went to Syria to provide humanitarian aid but felt he needed to do more, so he joined the rebel group where he now works as a combat medic. - He believes violence is necessary and just

1. 110 AGENDA thewest.com.au
October 11-12, 2014
certainly wasn’t fun. The tragedy
is that it takes something
life-threatening before we take
the warnings seriously. Why
don’t we think about the
devastating consequences our
experimentation and recreational
use can have? We all know the
risks, so why? I guess that’s the
ultimate question parents ask
too, and perhaps there is no
answer. I knew this time around,
I was never going to go back, and
it meant a complete change in my
thinking.
My sister said to me one day,
and I’ll never forget it: “It’s just
about self-respect, Clare.” For
years I had been treating my body
and brain with disrespect. I was
loading it up with chemical
highs, alcohol, cigarettes, bad
food and hardly sleeping. It was
no wonder my mind hit back and
said it had had enough. Three
years on, I’m happy, healthy and
I’ve never felt better. I have no
desire to return to the lifestyle.
On the surface it seemed fun
and carefree, but I look back now
and see a life filled with low
self-esteem, comedowns, bad
habits, bad boyfriends and an
empty bank account.
In the process of writing my
book, I found the confidence to go
out sober, and learnt how to have
fun drug-free. This meant I didn’t
have to say goodbye to the music
scene I love. Because I wasn’t out
partying or recovering all the
time I discovered a passion for
writing and journalism and now I
am about to graduate from
university.
My journey helped me to figure
out who I really was and the
happiness I feel every day
because of it is better than any
temporary chemical high. I have
my fairytale now, but I hope my
story serves as a warning. You
never know what seemingly
small decisions can lead to, what
a momentary lack of thought or
caution can result in. You might
not get your happy ending.
Your mental health should be
the single most important thing
to you. It’s your ability to be
creative, think clearly, speak,
laugh, and feel real happiness
and joy. Don’t wait before it’s too
late to start making smart
choices. Learn to respect yourself
and find healthy highs; your
mental health will love you for it.
I got on the right path because
of a support network. If you are
struggling with mental health
issues or drug addiction, reach
out to someone. Contact Head-
space or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
To get a copy of From a Nightclub to a
Straitjacket download via the kindle
app on Amazon.com or find the
Facebook page.
Author: Clare Kenyon.
.................................................................................
្FROM P109
Fairytale life
follows long,
hard journey
H
e speaks with the
same casual accent
familiar in
backyards and
barbecues across
Australia.
And he describes
himself as a “True Blue, born and
bred Aussie”.
But the new name he has
chosen, Abu Ousama, gives a hint
of the path his life has taken.
Raised and educated in
Australia, he now lives in the
Syrian city of Idlib.
For three years, the world has
watched as millions of refugees
stream out of a country torn
apart by civil war.
Abu Ousama was just one of
the mostly unseen Australians
who chose this moment to go in.
In an exclusive interview
filmed by British photojournalist
Tam Hussein, he explains his
support for beheadings of terror
group Islamic State.
“You have these beheadings —
some people might call them
barbaric,” he said.
“But what is the difference
between a missile that comes into
a house which kills 15 kids
compared to a man dying getting
cut by his throat?”
He is now a member of an
Islamist battalion of rebel
fighters called Jund al Aqsa that
is independent of IS.
But he has strong sympathy for
their ambitions for an Islamic
State and its barbaric methods.
It’s a complicated conflict.
He first went over to help
distribute aid.
Now he’s a valued member of a
rebel group of more than 1000
men fighting the Assad regime,
widely denounced as a cruel
dictatorship.
Abu Hussein is a combat medic
— but one who believes in
executing innocent men in public
beheadings.
Meanwhile, he spends most
days working at the hospital,
trains the fighters in fitness and
helps save the lives of comrades
on the front line who are
wounded by bullets and shrapnel.
Often he helps injured
children.
He told Tam Hussein he first
travelled to the region to provide
aid.
But handing out food to those
already in protected border
camps didn’t “satisfy” him.
Now he defends the push for an
Islamic State and compares their
murders to those killed while
establishing Australia and the
US. “A lot of me coming here was
for me to help the people,” he
said.
“Me having a beautiful lifestyle
and them getting blown up . . . I
said to myself am I better than
them?”
But he believes the only way
the world will run properly is
when everyone embraces Islam
and IS killings can be justified in
achieving that aim.
“You look at history,” he says.
“When Australia first started,
how much people did it have to
kill to be able to make its state? It
went through not just hundreds,
it went through hundreds of
thousands of innocent Aborigines
for it to be able to stand up and
say we’re a state — we want this
land, we’ve taken this land we’re
a state. No-one is really
standing next to the Syrians
in this state.
“ISIS has taken this role of
protecting the innocent
Muslims of this country, of
this land, so they need to do
what they have to do to make
their state.
“If they are blackmailing
America or anybody saying
don’t shoot a missile that is going
to kill 50 or 60 people for one
bloke, how can we say that’s even
equivalent to it being a wrong.
“Let America count how
many people it had to kill
before it could say we’re
the United States of
America.
“Once ISIS has
reached that limit, then
Young Aussie answers
Australian Muslims
joining the conflict in
Syria and Iraq have
prompted fears about
the risk they pose to our
own national security.
In an exclusive
interview, one young
Australian explains for
the first time why he
left safe shores for
the deadly region.
Mike Duffy reports
Rampage: Islamic State
fighters parade through
the city of Mosul in an
Iraqi security forces
armoured vehicle.
Picture: AP