ISIS in Central Asia: Past, Present & Future Paths
A 60-minute session, held on 17 August 2025, on why young people from Central Asia were pulled towards ISIS, how governments there responded, and what it means for the region and for India. Kept firmly on ordinary life: loneliness far from home, families who watch, children who came back, and the freedoms we trade for safety. Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
When you read about a young person who left home to join a violent group, what's the first thing you feel: anger, pity, fear or confusion?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Why Young People Join
A young man moves far away for work. He's tired, lonely, and nobody knows his name. Then someone online starts calling him brother.
- 2
Working Far From Home
You move to another country to earn for your family. You work long hours. People there look straight through you, or shout at you.
- 3
Blamed For What Others Did
Something terrible happens in the news. The person blamed comes from the same place as you. Suddenly, strangers look at you differently.
- 4
A Friend Who Is Changing
Your old friend has started posting angrier and angrier things. He's dropped the old group. When you meet, everything is about one subject.
- 5
Reporting Your Own Family
Your brother has been acting strange. New friends, new ideas, long hours on his phone. You're worried he's heading somewhere dangerous.
- 6
Why Nosy Families Protect You
Your aunt wants to know where you're going, who your friends are, and why you came home late. It's exhausting.
- 7
What Teenagers Find Online
Your fourteen-year-old spends hours in his room on his phone. He seems fine. You have no idea who he's talking to.
- 8
Bringing Them Back Home
A young woman from your state left years ago to join a violent group. Now she's in a foreign prison with a small child.
- 9
Children Who Came Back
A new boy joins your child's class. He spent his early years in a war zone, because his parents joined a violent group.
- 10
Banning Clothes For Security
The government says some clothes and beards are a sign of danger, so it bans them. People who dressed that way for years must change overnight.
- 11
Giving Up Freedom For Safety
The internet is switched off for a few days. Bags and phones get checked. Cameras go up on every corner.
- 12
India And Central Asia
Closer than most of us think.
The line to leave with
Think of the person in your own life who is loneliest right now: who would notice if someone else started filling that gap?
More boards,more ways in.
Every discussion we have run has a board behind it. Browse them by topic.