Contrasting views on irregular migration as arrival numbers to Europe decline

In its report ‘Desperate Journeys’, released in April 2018, UNHCR noted a significant decrease in migrant sea arrivals to Greece in the first 3 months of 2018, compared to the same period in the previous two years. In 2017, there were a total of 29,718 arrivals by sea to Greece, 5,800 of whom were from Iraq. In 2016, Greece saw 173,450 total arrivals.

But according to Saman, a potential migrant, as summer approaches, with its better weather and calmer seas, the number of migrants from Iraq and Kurdistan is expected to increase.

“Especially at this time of political and financial crisis in Kurdistan, more youth are considering migrating to Europe through smugglers, taking the route via Turkey to Greece, then on to Europe due to the complicated process of obtaining a visa for Iraqi nationals,” he continues.

On the other hand, Mohammed*,a Kurd returnee from Erbil, says that migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan are not sufficiently aware of the new laws and regulations regarding migration in European countries. They think that migrating to Europe and seeking asylum is still like the time of their grandparents migrating to Europe illegally and getting asylum due to the oppression they faced under Saddam’s regime.

“When I arrived to Germany, after going through many troubles in Turkey and being held in prison in Greece, I discovered that the process is very difficult, not at all as I was imagining when I took the decision to migrate using a smuggler. For those who arrive in an illegal way, the process is very long and exhausting. If I knew what seeking asylum in Europe would look like, I definitely wouldn’t have taken that decision, risked my life and spent my money on the journey,” says Mohammed regretfully.

UNHCR’s report ranks Iraqi migrants 3rd after Afghans and Syrians, and 18 percent of those apprehended in Bulgaria in 2017. However, many Iraqi potential migrants are abandoning the route via Bulgaria due to reports on social media of the brutal treatment of migrants who are caught entering the country illegally by the Bulgarian police.

According to UNHCR, in two separate incidents in September 2017, Romanian and Bulgarian authorities requested the Turkish coastguard to intercept vessels in Bulgaria’s search and rescue zone, resulting in over 200 Syrian and Iraqi nationals being returned to Turkey.

The EU-Turkey agreement allows EU countries to return migrants who do not qualify for asylum to Turkey.

In recent weeks many European countries have proposed or passed laws making it more difficult to claim asylum or stay in Europe once an asylum claim has been rejected, as well as curbing certain rights.
*Not his real name

Photo caption: Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive from Turkey to Skala Sykamias. Lesbos Island, Greece.

TMP – 21/05/2018