Kurdistan has suspended the issuance of visas for workers from neighboring Syria. This also concerns the renewal of residence permits. In total, this represents 5% of the population of Iraqi Kurdistan. Nearly 240,000 Syrians have come to take refuge there since the start of the civil war in 2011. With this measure, the Kurdish government claims to want to fight endemic unemployment among young Kurds.
3 mins
With our correspondent in Erbil, Théo Renaudon
Among young Kurds in any case, this measure is extremely popular. Here, we are in a billiard room, a lot of unemployed young people. “ I think it’s a good thing that the Syrians are leaving, as the Bangladeshis and other migrants should be leaving elsewhere. Many young people like us are unemployed. There are no big companies here! And all the odd jobs are taken by Syrians and Arabs. They have to leave. »
Don’t you find that racist? “ Morally, I know it’s not right. But there is no more war in Syria. The situation is good, we can work there. The Syrians’ problem is the value of their currency. That’s why they prefer to stay here. When they arrived here, we welcomed them, we helped them as best we could. But now, there is no more war in their country, it is better for them to return home. We must rebuild their country and restore their currency to its value. »
“ I will wait to see what measures the Kurdish government will take »
At the other end of town, there is Mustapha, 21, a waiter in a luxury bar. This Syrian Arab arrived three years ago. “ My residence card expires in a month and a half. I will wait to see what measures the Kurdish government will take because it is not yet very clear. If necessary, I will return to Syria (…) But I am very afraid of going back there. The regime’s soldiers are looking for me to do my military service. I owe them nine years of my life. If I join the army, I will lose my future. I came here precisely to escape that. »
Sometimes I get really desperate. I feel like as a Syrian you can have no hope in life. I am so afraid of returning to Syria. What can happen if you stay here illegally? “ I cannot stay here illegally, because I will pay many fines and I will not be able to send money to my family in Syria. I earn $400 a month. If I pay the fines, I will no longer have enough to pay my rent, or eat, and therefore even less send money to my family back in Syria. »
According to a United Nations survey, almost all Syrian refugees in Iraq have no desire to return to their country.
Read alsoKurdistan: Syrian refugees still without prospects for the future