Irregular migration to Europe: the real cost for Iraqi Kurds

Irregular migration to Europe: the real cost for Iraqi Kurds

Many Iraqi Kurdish migrants lose time, money and risk their lives on the irregular migration journey to Europe. What is the real cost of the irregular journey to Europe for Iraqi Kurds ? Is it worth losing money, time and risking one’s life? Find out below from first-hand testimonies.

Every month, migrants who have already spent large amounts on the journey are choosing to return to Iraq. In 2016 alone, nearly 13,000 people returned to Iraq from Europe, many of them poorer than when they left home. Why is this? Smugglers often lie about the cost of the journey, which ends up being longer, riskier and less profitable than expected. Below are the main reasons why.

Irregular migration is a risky financial decision

Choosing to migrate, particularly irregularly, is a huge financial investment and it involves being unemployed and not earning a living for a long time, as well as putting one’s life at risk.

Thousands of Iraqis decided to return from Europe, having wasted  money and time. They made that decision because:

• Their asylum applications were rejected
• Asylum applications take a long time and migrants got tired of waiting
• Life in Europe is difficult and expensive
• They missed their families and were unable to support them

Dlawar Omar invested all his savings to migrate from Rwanduz to Europe in 2015. He later discovered that the reality was far from the story his relatives had told him. “After a year and a half and after spending around USD 13,000 I knew that this was all a lie. I used to have a much better life in Erbil and with the money I spent in the last year, I could do many things in Erbil and live a better life than staying in (a refugee) camp and just waiting and waiting.” German authorities rejected Dlawar Omar’s asylum application and forced him to return. He has now started a new business in Erbil, making up for the time he spent on the irregular journey to Europe.

The amount smugglers ask for the journey

Smugglers may say that the route is safe and cheap and promise jobs en route and in Europe. This is not true. There are often unexpected additional costs and smugglers extort more money from migrants on the journey. As a consequence, migrants often end up in debt and lose money when they try to travel irregularly to Europe.

A journey costs around 6,000 US dollars but can go up to 20,000 US dollars or more. For instance in 2018, a smuggling gang was caught, whose members smuggled migrants from countries such as Iraq, charging from 1,800 USD to 8,000 USD to reach the continent.

With no support from charities, the cost of living is very high for migrants and smugglers have also increased their prices. In 2017 a migrant told Seefar that previously smugglers guaranteed entry into the UK for 8,500 US dollars but now it costs 7,000 US dollars to France alone and another 5,000 to try to reach the UK, with no guarantee of success.

Know before you leave

In some cases, migrants report only paying half the cost of the journey at the beginning of their trip on the promise that they will repay the rest en route or at their destination. “The smuggler asked for USD 8,000 where half of it was paid in advance and the other half to be delivered once we arrive to Germany” Dlawar explained. This makes migrants vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking as they are in debt to the smuggler.

When migrants start their trip, they often don’t know how much it will cost in the end, because smugglers ask for more money on the way or change the prices according to security risks. Not only are they spending money, but they are missing out on the opportunity to earn money while travelling.

The cost of living in Europe

Beyond the travel costs, migrants also need money for food and accommodation along the way as well as paying bribes and ransoms. They are often robbed on the journey, in refugee camps or other makeshift camps they have to stay in while in transit or seeking asylum.

“There is too much crazy people… I fight yesterday. People take my phone. I have 300 euros, it is taken” Suleiman, an irregular migrant in Paris, France explained, desperate.

The daily costs of accommodation, transport and food in European cities are very high. In many European countries, the average family spends around 700 US dollars per week to live comfortably. This number is based on UK cost of living of 589 British pounds per week and do not differ significantly in other European countries.

About finding a job once in Europe

Irregular migrants and asylum seekers waiting for their asylum application to be decided are not allowed to work. Irregular migrants are also losing out on the wages they may have been able to earn at home.

Without a job it is very difficult to live and it is not possible to save any money. It takes at least two years before migrants can start to pay back the money they spent on their journey, let alone save and send remittances.

“Oh my God, we had a terrible life there with no jobs and no income most of the time. Our relatives from Iraq were sending us money,” 45-year-old Zhyan Ahmed*, a mother of three children who was forced to leave Sweden after 6 years explained. “If you don’t get residency there, you don’t have any rights!” she added.

Conclusion

• Thousands of Iraqi Kurds have risked migrating irregularly to Europe. However, migration policies in Europe are changing, including rules applying to asylum seekers.
• Seeking asylum in Europe takes years. Asylum seekers who spent around thousands of US dollars to reach Europe are not allowed to work while their asylum application is processed.
• A journey costs around 6,000 US dollars but can go up to 20,000 US dollars and beyond.
• Smugglers often raise their fees en route and ask migrants to pay a second half once they reach Europe  meaning that migrants are in debt once they arrive.
• As irregular migrants are not allowed to work, they are vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and trafficking. Insecurity is high in many migrant camps.
• In many European cities, an average family spends around 700 US dollars per week to live comfortably.
• It takes migrants at least two years before they can start to pay back the money they spent on their journey. Without a job, they have to ask money from their families to meet their daily needs.
• Irregular migration is a financially risky and potentially life threatening. As a result, in 2016 alone, around 13,000 Iraqis returned from European countries.

Information is knowledge, knowledge is power. Please share this with anyone it may help.

Find out here about interesting alternatives to irregular migration.