RANYA, Kurdistan Region - Several Kurds are learning barbering at a small barbershop in Ranya, Sulaimani, in preparation for their migration to Europe.
Young Kurds are still risking their lives to get to Europe through perilous means.
They have realized that without skills or knowing the language, they will face significant challenges in European countries.
Darian Dler, a 20-year-old resident of Ranya, recently became a barber at the barbershop in the town center.
He plans to depart soon, joining many others who are leaving for Europe to escape unemployment and financial struggles in the Kurdistan Region.
"You can live with it, but you cannot build a future with it. There are people who learned barbering here, migrated to Europe, stayed there for a couple of years, secured a future, and returned," he told Rudaw.
In the first half of 2024, around 3,000 undocumented Iraqis arrived in the UK, making them the seventh-largest nationality crossing the English Channel by boat. From July 2023 to June 2024, 26 Iraqis were deported from the UK, while 193 returned voluntarily, according to figures published by InfoMigrants.
Abubakir Ali is the Head of the Association of Returned Migrants.
"We receive tens of phone calls from people saying they want to return. But because they have run out of money, they are waiting for one of the international organizations to provide financial assistance for migrants to return to their home countries including the Kurdistan Region. But the amount of money has drastically decreased. That is why they are waiting to return via these organizations as many regret going abroad after realizing that Europe isn’t the paradise they imagined," he said.
