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A first repatriation flight left Minsk (Belarus) for Iraq on Thursday, November 18, with 430 migrants on board, mostly Kurds. A return synonymous with the end of the European dream.
The conflict continues on the border between Belarus and Poland. Many migrants dream of entering the European Union by this route. But for others, it’s the end of a long ordeal. A first repatriation flight brought some 430 Iraqis, mostly Kurds, home to Iraq. All were volunteers and the flight was organized by the Iraqi state from Minsk, the Belarusian capital. In the airport hall, everyone is exhausted after spending weeks in the forest along the Polish border.
Hope for Europe is gone. “It’s impossible to go to Poland, they won’t let us pass. We’re going back, and we’re going to try in another way”, explains a man. Another explains having spent a lot of money, in vain, for this trip. A hangar was made available to those who remained to accommodate them. But the place is already saturated. Some migrants do not want to return, others do not know what to do. “We are a weapon for the Belarusian government. Everyone here knows that they are using us against European countries,” deplores a migrant.