Unemployment drives Kurdish refugees back to Rojava

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region –  Unemployment exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic has driven many Syrians Kurds in the Kurdistan Region to return to northeast Syria.

Since October 2019, 2,500 Syrians have returned to northeast Syria, also known as Rojava, according to Rashid Hussein of the UNHCR office in Duhok.

Most of the returnees have decided to return due to a lack of job opportunities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kurdish refugee Mawlid Ali gave birth to a son two months ago. The pandemic and lack of work has eaten into her income, leaving her family unable to provide for the new arrival. 

"We are going back to Rojava because of the coronavirus [pandemic] that left us unemployed,” Ali said. “We don't have money to buy food, water or milk for the children.”

Naaman Abdul-Hamid will also return to Rojava this week. 

He told Rudaw on Saturday that he has lost his job in Kurdistan region, and is returning to his hometown to look for work. 

"When I saw that there are no job opportunities, I decided to go back to my hometown and find a job there,” Abdul-Hamid said.

The recent uptick in travel to Rojava has created jobs for bus drivers who ferry them across the border. 

Rahmatullah Nouri, a driver and resident of northern Syria told Rudaw on Sunday that they transport the refugees to their hometowns accompanied by security forces.

"We take 35,000 Iraqi dinars from each returnee. We will collect them early in the morning and then security will come with us and we will take them back to their hometowns," Nouri said.

The refugees who have returned to northern Syria are mostly residents of Bardarash camp.

Located in Duhok province, Bardarash camp is home to 6,528 Syrian refugees, mostly Kurds, who entered the Kurdistan Region in October of last year after Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring against Kurdish-led forces in Rojava. 

The facility is managed by the Barzani Charity Foundation.

According to the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC), 20,790 Syrian refugees have entered the Kurdistan Region since October.

Reporting by Yousif Moussa