People in area where schoolgirl lived before she joined Isis say she should be allowed to return

In Bethnal Green, the east London area where Shamima Begum and two other schoolgirls lived before they travelled to Syria to join Islamic State, there was a widespread feeling that she should be allowed to return to the UK.

Begum, along with Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, aged between 15 and 16 at the time, from Bethnal Green Academy, now Mulberry Academy Shoreditch, left the UK in February 2015 and joined Islamic State. They took the same route as Sharmeena Begum, also from the same school, three months earlier.

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Shamima Begum was tracked down by the Times to a refugee camp in Syria, where she said she had no regrets about joining Isis but that she is keen to come home because she is nine months pregnant.

Play Video 4:00 Shamima Begum talks to Anthony Loyd of the Times about her life in Raqqa – video

Shakil, 18, a student who didn’t want to give his last name, on Thursday said Begum should be welcomed home. “She should feel safe to live here. She should get protection from the police from people who might not want her back.”

The dozen people who spoke to Guardian in Bethnal Green all said Begum should be allowed to return home.

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Amina Mohamed, 52, a housewife, who has lived in the area for 16 years, said: “I was so shocked when I heard she went to Syria. She’s quite young and she’s a girl. I was so worried about her. She was a baby, she didn’t know what was going on there. People played a game with her and brainwashed her. She was a child.”

She added the government should do all it could to bring Begum back to east London. “It wasn’t just her decision to go, they tricked her. It’s not her fault. No one can make such a decision when they’re 15.”

Salaga, 49, also a housewife, said the government could not ignore the fact Begum was just 15 when she left to join the Isis in Syria.

“When she went to Syria, she was underage. She didn’t know what was right or what was wrong. The government should help her come back. If she was over the age of 18 when she initially went, I wouldn’t be calling for her to come back. But she was a child.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Shamima Begum, pictured at Gatwick airport in 2015. Photograph: Met police/EPA

While 59-year-old Stuart, who has worked in IT in Bethnal Green for five years, agreed Begum should be allowed to return to the country, he added: “I don’t think we should risk any British forces or lives in collecting her or bringing her back.

“As soon as we know that the child is safe, and she is safe, then I think yes she should be interviewed, not interrogated, and certainly find out why it happened so we can prevent it from happening again.”

The security minister, Ben Wallace, said he would not put lives at risk to rescue UK citizens who went to Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State, insisting “actions have consequences”.

Stuart said it was startling that young, English Muslim girls would travel to join Isis. “Maybe life in Bethnal Green was just not that attractive and this is simply something they had to do,” he said.

Mulberry Academy Shoreditch is tucked around the corner of a busy road in Bethnal Green. A sign with a purple background reads: “Delivering excellence in partnership with our community.”

The school did not respond to requests for comment.

Mohamed said she was worried for other young people in the area. “The government should protect these kids. They should fund social clubs otherwise these kids will be lost. Some will go to Isis or some will join gangs.”