Queensland teenager Oliver Bridgeman has denied any links to an al-Qaida affiliated militia in Syria, claiming he crossed into the war-ravaged country to “do what I can to help people”.



Speaking to Guardian Australia from an undisclosed location in Syria, the 18-year-old, who left Toowoomba in March, said he hoped to return to Australia one day, maintaining “I haven’t done anything wrong”.

Bridgeman deferred university in March to work for a Balinese charity, where he spent a month before departing for Turkey. In April, he was smuggled over the Syrian border.



The UK-born teenager, who converted to Islam two years ago, told the Guardian he was motivated by the plight of Syrian civilians. “Islam teaches us to help the needy, so this is my Islamic obligation. I must help these people, we need to do something,” he said.

The border where he crossed was packed with displaced Syrians leaving the country. He said he was alone, with no one waiting on the other side.

“Before I left I tried to do a lot of research about what it’s like, what to do when I get there. But I didn’t have anyone from an organisation come take me,” he said.



He said he made his way to a refugee camp, where he spent the first weeks hanging around, trying to earn the trust of aid workers and locals. “You have to play it cool, you don’t want to look too suspicious,” he said.

His biggest fear was being accused of spying. “That’s a big problem here, when a young foreigner comes in, doesn’t speak the language, people get suspicious ... Getting kidnapped, that was always a possibility.”

It remains a risk. Bridgeman would not reveal his location, nor give his views on the array of rebel groups around Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and the site of more than three years of intense fighting.

When I feel like my job’s done here, I want to return home. Australia’s my country Oliver Bridgeman

“The first month,” he said, “I wasn’t really doing much, little bits here and there. I was new to Syria. People were keeping an eye on me.”

He says he travelled between refugee camps, taking on whatever jobs he could. “There’s work in every place. If a place gets bombed by the regime, we have to go there and sort out who needs help,” he said.

The threat of bombing by the Syrian regime was always present, he said, “but if you take precautions, it’s simple to live a safe life”.



Those precautions included “staying away from the front line, not putting yourself out there too much, not trying to start political problems, avoiding dealings with armed groups”, he said.

He said he had recently joined an aid group called Live Updates From Syria, which specialised in running schools inside refugee camps. “We do swimming, horse-riding, soccer, we do school. The day gets filled quite quickly,” he said.

Oliver Bridgeman features in a video produced by the group Live Updates From Syria.

Bridgeman is in touch with his parents back in Queensland. “They’re very sad that I’m here, that I’m in Syria,” he said.



“I try to convince them, ‘Look, Mum, I’m in a safe place, I’m doing good stuff. I’m helping a lot of different people. The kids, they love me. The people are grateful for my presence’,” he said.

Bridgeman said he hoped to remain in Syria for a few more years, “but when I feel like my job’s done here, I want to return home. Australia’s my country.”

If he does, he is likely to be met by the federal police, who in May accused him of “align[ing] himself with a proscribed group” – likely to mean Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida’s proxy militia in Syria.

But he maintained: “I haven’t done anything wrong. I haven’t done anything incriminating. I haven’t been to any declared zones, or picked up arms.”

He said there was no evidence “which specifically says I’m with Jabhat al-Nusra”.

But Bridgeman admitted to having “interaction” with different rebel factions in the war-torn country.

“They’re the ones who control the area, so I have to have neutral relationships with them,” he said. “I have to build a relationship with people who say, we trust you, we help you out, we know your intentions.”

This was especially true when moving between areas, he said. “I don’t carry a gun – that’s a bad thing, it can get you into trouble ... If you don’t have anyone to vouch for you or trust you it’s very, very dangerous.”

Bridgeman said he had never fought, nor been pressured to do so.

“None of [the rebel groups] have said I have to take up arms. They’ve been happy with me doing my thing,” he said. “I have done nothing hostile to any of them. If I do my thing and don’t bother them, or raise any suspicions, then I’m OK.”

He was scathing about Australians who had taken up arms with Islamic State.

“All the people who are going to Isis, I condemn them. To be honest, I hate Isis,” he said. “The things they’ve done to the people of Syria, they’ve very destructive, they’re making peoples’ lives harder.

“I tell [people in Australia], listen to the Islamic scholars saying don’t trust Isis. It’s not khilafah [caliphate],” he said.

Those looking to join other militia in the conflict – some of whom are fighting one another – should also be wary, he said.

“Right now, because of the situation, it’s very difficult politically. Stay away from the infighting and stuff like this.”

Bridgeman said he missed his family, but had few regrets. “I’m having a wonderful time, a wonderful experience. Not many people get to have this experience.”

This week he started a Facebook fan page, in order, he said, to keep his friends back home updated. “Alhamdulillah, it’s got 1,000 likes ... I could be Facebook famous.”