Migration of the Kurdistan Region’s youth: in Duhok, at least 25 people leave each day

26-04-2021 11:25

PEREGRAF- Masoud Hadi

Karzan Samir is looking for the smallest opportunity to leave his homeland once and for all.

Samir’s desire is shared by many other young people in the Kurdistan Region. There is no one to prevent them. At a licensed office, they can easily complete all the arrangements and then leave through the border crossings or airports without interrogation.

According to an investigation by PEREFRAF, migration by the Kurdistan Region’s young people takes place year-round, but peaks in the summer. In Duhok governorate alone, 25 people per day leave during the warmer months in search of a better life elsewhere.

"I tried to leave more than once, but migration by the smuggling routes requires a lot of money. If the price was lower, I think young people like me would not stay in Duhok," Samir said.

A university student, he is one year away from graduating, but worries about the high likelihood of unemployment once he leaves school, a concern that is only compounded by the Region’s financial crisis.

"They do not give youth any worth. There is no justice in life and they always live in a bad way. If there is an opportunity to leave, I will not stay in Kurdistan. Not even one day," he said.

According to statistics from the Ibrahim Khalil international border crossing between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region provided to PEREGRAF, more than 10,000 people left through the border gate near Duhok governorate’s Zakho town last year and did not return.

Types of Smuggling

There are many different ways to reach Europe from the Kurdistan Region and Turkey, each for a different price.

A smuggler working in Zakho, who spoke to PEREGRAF on condition of anonymity, said that there are two types of smugglers: one person who is the main organizer of the group and his partners who actually guide the migrants along the way.

From the Kurdistan Region, most people seeking to emigrate are encouraged to travel first to Turkey, where smuggling is organized by groups run either by Kurds or Afghans.

Most people who first go to Turkey do so legally on a tourist visa and enter the country through the Ibrahim Khalil crossing.

Before the trip, the potential migrant will reach an agreement with the smuggler detailing price and conditions. For instance, for a high price, the smuggler will take a migrant to an exact location or negotiate how much is to be paid in advance.

Smugglers charge different prices based on the country where the migrant wants to end up. For example, it may cost €10,500 to be smuggled to Germany, €8,00 to Italy, or €5,000 to Serbia.

The most common route is to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, where the migrant then moves on to other European countries over dangerous land roads through the Balkans, or by sea from North Africa to Italy.

The travel is sometimes facilitated by tourism companies in the Kurdistan Region, which obtain visas for those seeking to travel.

"They will get a group together of between twelve and 40 people, then the smuggler will send them to Europe," the Zakho smuggler told PEREGRAF.

"For each of the twelve people, one pays for the main smuggler and the others pay his partners, including the guides," he added.

The smuggler said that during the summer peak, at least 25 people per day leave Duhok governorate along with another 100 from other cities in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The numbers are lower in winter when travel conditions are more difficult.

Apart from the information and services that migrants can obtain through official travel offices, there are many pages, accounts, and groups on social media that provide encouragement and advice to young people looking to emigrate.

The Dangerous Way

Many of those who set off for Europe never make it, dying beneath the waves and on the overland smuggling routes.

Hakar Zweer, a teacher in Duhok governorate’s Shiladze town, told PEREGRAF that his cousin Nayef Ibrahim died after he was left behind by his smuggler because he was suffering from kidney problems.

Ibrahim was a 32-year-old graduate of a technical institute but was unable to find work in the Kurdistan Region, so decided to emigrate.

The Turkish police chased and attacked Ibrahim’s group of migrants, which aggravated his kidney condition. As his health deteriorated, another cousin stayed behind with Ibrahim while the rest of the migrants in the group fled with the smuggler.

"He died of kidney failure on the border between Greece and Turkey," Zweer said, adding that his cousin’s body was repatriated only through great effort.

Afterwards, he contacted the smuggler, who was a Kurd, and asked him why he had left Ibrahim behind. The smuggler said that he was dealing with a group of 50 people and they would have all been captured by the police if they had attempted to take him with them in his condition.

Reasons for Youth Migration

According to a survey conducted at the end of 2020 by Sherzad Muhammad, head of the Aland Organization for Youth Democratization in Duhok, a majority of youth in the Kurdistan Region are looking for an opportunity to emigrate, with lack of job opportunities, political disillusionment, and poverty as the main motivators.

In the survey, 1,000 forms were distributed to young people in Duhok governorate to fill out. Of those, 750 were returned, with a resulting dataset of 613 men and 137 women.

Seventy-four percent of those who filled in the questionnaire said that they would emigrate if the opportunity arose.

Hersh Muhammad, head of the Mand Organization, which closely tracks issues affecting young people, told PEREGRAF that they expect another wave of migration this summer as the weather improves.

"The continuing political and financial crisis in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq has caused a large number of people to become disillusioned, especially young people. In Duhok governorate, more people are going abroad each day than elsewhere [in the Region]," Muhammad said.

He believes that poverty is the main reason for people deciding to emigrate from the governorate, which has fewer opportunities than other parts of the Region.

"We have gathered information that many young people are looking to emigrate. It is the only dream they have," Muhammad said.

"Unfortunately, those who emigrate, most of them have certificates and organizations cannot do anything because they understand well that there is no way that the situation will improve," he added.

What is the Government Doing?

Head of the Human Rights Commission office in Duhok Dler Abdullah told PEREGRAF that his organization is not doing much regarding the migration issue.

"To be honest, we have not conducted any investigations," Abdullah said, but added that commission representatives have participated in several conferences on youth migration.

There is no single reason for migration he said, but identified the financial crisis, the bankruptcy of several local companies, unemployment, and the war against Islamic State (ISIS) as contributing factors.

Karzan Samir, the university student, said that money is the only thing preventing him from making another attempt to reach Europe.

"Whenever I collect enough money for my migration, I will leave, but I cannot get that amount of money. I tried to emigrate without money and failed too many times," he said.