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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The youth of the Kurdish-majority Agri province in eastern Turkey (Bakur) have been driven by high levels of unemployment and low income jobs to migrate to Western countries in pursuit of a better life.
Locals have called on the Turkish government to provide better paid jobs and employment opportunities in Agri to prevent a youth exodus from the province.
“They left because there were no job opportunities. If there were opportunities, they would not leave the country,” the mayor of Agadeve village, Dilawer Aslankilic, told Rudaw’s Shawkat Harki on Sunday. He added that around 145 people have left to the United States or Canada, without specifying the exact time frame.
Before, those who would migrate were mainly single locals, but recently, families with children have also started to leave in search for better opportunities.
Better pay and employment opportunities are not the only reasons behind people leaving the area.
Ramazan Daşdemir has tried to reach Europe several times but failed. He says the lack of freedom also forces people out. “If there was peace, no one would be leaving. There are human rights outside, no one violates the rights of anyone,” he said.
Residents of Agri protested in February against the spike in recent electricity and natural gas prices.
There is a long history of animosity and conflict over Kurdish issues and rights in Turkey. The state has at times denied the very existence of Kurds.
Locals have called on the Turkish government to provide better paid jobs and employment opportunities in Agri to prevent a youth exodus from the province.
“They left because there were no job opportunities. If there were opportunities, they would not leave the country,” the mayor of Agadeve village, Dilawer Aslankilic, told Rudaw’s Shawkat Harki on Sunday. He added that around 145 people have left to the United States or Canada, without specifying the exact time frame.
Before, those who would migrate were mainly single locals, but recently, families with children have also started to leave in search for better opportunities.
Better pay and employment opportunities are not the only reasons behind people leaving the area.
Ramazan Daşdemir has tried to reach Europe several times but failed. He says the lack of freedom also forces people out. “If there was peace, no one would be leaving. There are human rights outside, no one violates the rights of anyone,” he said.
Residents of Agri protested in February against the spike in recent electricity and natural gas prices.
There is a long history of animosity and conflict over Kurdish issues and rights in Turkey. The state has at times denied the very existence of Kurds.
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