Body of Kurdish migrant returned to Duhok
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The body of a young Kurdish migrant who went missing in the forests of Bulgaria around two months ago was returned to his hometown of Duhok on Friday.
Haji Karavan Shamo, 27, left his home in Duhok and set off for Europe through illegal and dangerous smuggling routes on August 4. He would soon lose contact with his family, according to Emad Kochar, his cousin.
The family was informed of Haji’s death in early September, which was later confirmed by relatives residing in the UK who traveled to Bulgaria to locate his body. The body was returned to Zakho after a lengthy legal process which took 45 days, and was examined by the Duhok forensics department.
He is survived by his two brothers and three sisters.
Scores of people, mainly youth, from across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq take to smuggling routes on a daily basis out of desperation, in hopes of escaping endless crises in the country, including high unemployment, political instability, and corruption.
Around 11,500 people migrated out of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the first six months of 2023, the Summit Foundation for Refugee and Displaced Affairs (Lutka) revealed in June, adding that at least five people have lost their lives along the perilous journey during that period, with the whereabouts of seven others still unknown.
Over 750,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have migrated out of the country since 2015. Lutka recorded at least 319 migrant deaths during that period, adding that the whereabouts of 236 others remain unknown.
Iraq ranks 12th among the countries with the highest number of citizens emigrating. According to Lutka, more than 71,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region applied for asylum outside of the country in 2022, reporting at least 17 deaths during that year and seven missing cases.
Haji Karavan Shamo, 27, left his home in Duhok and set off for Europe through illegal and dangerous smuggling routes on August 4. He would soon lose contact with his family, according to Emad Kochar, his cousin.
The family was informed of Haji’s death in early September, which was later confirmed by relatives residing in the UK who traveled to Bulgaria to locate his body. The body was returned to Zakho after a lengthy legal process which took 45 days, and was examined by the Duhok forensics department.
He is survived by his two brothers and three sisters.
Scores of people, mainly youth, from across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq take to smuggling routes on a daily basis out of desperation, in hopes of escaping endless crises in the country, including high unemployment, political instability, and corruption.
Around 11,500 people migrated out of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the first six months of 2023, the Summit Foundation for Refugee and Displaced Affairs (Lutka) revealed in June, adding that at least five people have lost their lives along the perilous journey during that period, with the whereabouts of seven others still unknown.
Over 750,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have migrated out of the country since 2015. Lutka recorded at least 319 migrant deaths during that period, adding that the whereabouts of 236 others remain unknown.
Iraq ranks 12th among the countries with the highest number of citizens emigrating. According to Lutka, more than 71,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region applied for asylum outside of the country in 2022, reporting at least 17 deaths during that year and seven missing cases.