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The
process is risky and expensive, but many Iraqis are
willing to pay for fake documents to get them to the
West.
It took Siyamend Osman 48 hours to travel from Iraq
to Germany on a fake German passport.
When he arrived last year, he tore the passport up
and turned himself over to police. He was eventually
given refugee status and allowed to stay in the
country. He now works at a meat processing plant in
Germany, and has changed his name.
"I never believed that a fake passport would get me
to Europe," Osman told IWPR in a phone interview.
Buying fake passports has become a booming business
in Iraq, as people try to leave the country to
escape violence, unemployment and other problems.
Even in Sulaimaniyah, which is considered to be one
of the safest and economically stable places in
Iraq, residents are still looking to move abroad.
But escaping from Iraq by illegal means comes at a
high price, as the cost of fake travel documents is
around 8,500 US dollars - and there is always a
chance of getting caught.
One man who forges passports, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said that in his seven years in the
business he has sent nearly 500 people to different
European countries through Damascus airport in
neighbouring Syria.
He buys passports from Kurds returning to Iraq from
Europe and who have no plans to return.
"Though my job is risky, I make boundless economic
profit from it," he said.
He added that he often forges German passports
because the photo can be easily removed. Iraqi
passports containing visas for European countries
are "easy" because he can buy the required passport
stamps passports for ten dollars in Baghdad.
Authorities are trying to crack down on the trade in
illegal passports. In May 2005, a gang involved in
forging both passports and money was arrested,
according to a Sulaimaniyah security official who
wished to remain anonymous.
The men were found with counterfeit Iraqi currency
and forged travel documents, including British
residence papers.
"We are always alert so as to expose such people,"
said the security official. "They pose a big threat
to our country's national security and that of other
countries."
Some who try to illegally travel to Europe have not
been so lucky. Karzan Jalal paid 8,000 dollars for
an Iraqi passport with a fake Norwegian residency
visa. In April he got as far as Damascus airport,
where the authorities discovered his passport was
illegal.
"I was unlucky, as a lady who was travelling with me
reached Sweden on her fake passport," said Jalal.
He was not able to get his money back because he
signed a document pledging that if he was arrested
or was unable to reach his destination for another
reason, the person who sold him the forged passport
could not be held liable.
Despite the risks, 26-year-old Choman Izzaddin is
still hoping to go abroad.
"I'm a university graduate but I'm unsure about my
future, so I'm obliged to go to a European country,"
he said.
"No one here respects the talents and abilities of
youth."
Frman Abdul-Rahman is an IWPR trainee in
Sulaimaniyah.
www.iwpr.net
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