“So far, 11 members of my family have migrated abroad. Two of my sons and two of my nephews are among them. The only reason is unemployment. Shiladze is under an embargo, movement is really restricted. We can’t go to our mountainous areas because of the Turkish planes and the PKK,” said Noraddin Haji.
His 16-year-old son Abdulwahid went missing for five days in Belarus before he made it to Germany. And his son Hussein, 19, is now in France, waiting to migrate to the UK.
Since April, Turkey has carried out two intense campaigns against the PKK in northern Duhok province. Several civilians have been killed and scores of villages emptied. Located in northern Duhok province, Shiladze has been on the frontlines of the Turkey-PKK conflict for years. In 2019, residents of Shiladze stormed a nearby Turkish base after six civilians were killed in airstrikes. Residents of Shiladze also say they have been neglected by the government.
Lack of jobs is also a primary reason why thousands of Kurdish youth are choosing to look for a better life in Europe. Unemployment in Iraq has steadily risen since 2012, reaching 13.74 percent in 2020, according to World Bank figures. Iraqis are the largest group of migrants trying to enter western Europe from Belarus. Lithuania, Poland, and Germany have beefed up security on their borders to try and stem the flow of people.
According to the mayors of Shiladze and nearby Deralok, more than 500 people have left from their towns.
“The main reason behind some people of Shiladze migrating abroad is due to unemployment. The second reason is that the people have not returned to their villages due to the presence of the PKK guerrillas and the Turkish forces in these areas. These are the main reasons that people don't profit from their villages and will become the main reasons for people to migrate abroad,” said Shiladze Mayor Rizgar Ubaid.
According to Lutka organization that works with refugees, roughly 37,000 people have migrated abroad from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq in 2021. Among them, at least 10 have died on the way and 12 are missing.
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
