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Kurdistan: Young Kurds Escape Economic
Gloom
25.11.2006
By Frman abdul-Rahman in Sulaimaniyah (ICR No. 203,
24-Nov-06) |
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Fed up with corruption and poverty, they yearn
for a new life in Western Europe.
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan Region (Iraq)
For Diyar Abdullah, a 28-year-old taxi driver,
getting to Europe has become something of an
obsession - it’s all he ever talks about with his
friends.
He came one step closer to realising his dream
recently when he sold his new Nissan car for 11,000
US dollars and bought a Swedish visa with the
proceeds.
Abdullah is now encouraging his friends to follow
him because, he says, they don’t have much of a
future where they are. “There’s no respect for human
beings in this country,” he said.
Abdullah is among a growing number of people in this
region who are paying huge sums of money for visas
to western countries. But those who leave Iraqi
Kurdistan are not escaping the violence engulfing
the country, as their town and cities have been
spared the bloodshed. They’re emigrating because,
they say, they’ve had enough of corruption and
poverty.
Shkar Abdullah, 23, an agriculture graduate, said
he’s lost hope of ever having a decent life in
Kurdistan and is making plans to go abroad. He’s
struggled to find a job, but he says they don’t pay
enough anyway. "When you get employed you only earn
157,000 Iraqi dinars monthly (around 105 dollars) to
build your life and make a living," he said.
Kurds wanting to leave approach local tourism
companies who are able to negotiate visas for
western countries, with customers having to shell
out anything between 8-12,000 dollars.
Haji Bestoon, the owner of the Lebanon for Tourism
Company in Sulaimaniyah, said he’s provided 900
visas for Turkey. “ Most of our customers are young
people,” he said.
Young Kurds have been amongst the fiercest critics
of the local authorities for not doing enough to
clamp down on corruption, raise living standards and
improve basic services.
Three months ago, Nariman Muhammed, 35, a technician
from Sulaimaniyah, got a visa from Bestoon, and flew
to Sweden, leaving behind his wife and five kids.
"I'm trying to get the rest of family over here," he
said in a ‘phone interview. "We will never go back
to Kurdistan."
Many people who returned after the fall of the
Saddam regime in 2003 say they regret their decision
and are planning to head off again. Dler Omer, 30,
who emigrated to Britain in 1998,
said he made a big mistake coming back to Kurdistan.
"What is important for me is (in Britain) there is
no shortage of fuel, electricity and water," he
said.
In an effort to counter the emigration of the
region’s youngsters, the authorities appear to be
issuing new passports only to people over 27 -
although they don’t admit that this is official
policy, claiming that shortages mean that priority
cases take precedence.
"Because we have a limited number of passports, we
are forced to give them to people who need them
urgently, such as patients and government
delegations," said Muhsin Osman, head of
Sulaimaniyah Passport and Residence Directorate.
Some of those unable to get new passports turn to
forgers - but risk being found out by customs
officials. That’s the fate that befell one young man
IWPR spoke to. But although he was deported back to
Iraq, he’s not going to give up on his dream of a
new life in Western Europe. "Even if I’m deported a
hundred more times, I will still keep trying," he
said. “I will either reach Europe or die trying."
By Frman abdul-Rahman is an IWPR contributor in
Sulaimaniyah.
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