Family Matters

Let's talk about what it is like for parents, family and friends when they have a loved one involved in extremism.

We cannot begin to imagine the fear, guilt, sadness and responsibility that they must feel. Not to mention the absolute horror of watching the one they love change in the most unimaginable way possible. To see hatred and anger take over and control someone so close and they are powerless to stop it.

Now imagine on top of that, the constant fear that everyone blames them, believing that people genuinely think that they are responsible for that person's radical opinions.

Yet nobody can blame them any more than they blame themselves.

They feel like a complete failure. They reflect and wonder if they have failed to raise their child to have the very basics that matter in life. 

They spend night after night into the early hours revisiting the past trying to figure out where they went so wrong. The guilt they feel overcomes the tiredness making sleep almost impossible.

Everything they try to do to stop their loved one only results in making things worse and they feel like they are just pushing them further away, further into the negative and hateful world in which they now reside.

They cannot do right for doing wrong and all around them, they feel judgement. 

They don’t stop trying to make things right, and all they just want is their loved one back.

I can tell you first hand as someone whose own son was radicalised, as can anyone who has been in a similar position.

This is exactly how most parents feel and it doesn't just knock your confidence, it destroys it.

Here at Exit Hate Family Support, we offer parents, family and loved ones a non-judgmental safe space, where they can learn more about radicalisation and extremism, and seek practical advice and support from a lived experience perspective. We are family members who have had a loved one involved and formers who have left, so we understand the heartache involvement has on families. 

To get help and advice, please search Act Early.

You are not alone. We are here to help.

Sarah

Exit Hate Support