In a factory in northern Iraq in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, Sheko Ahmed Raheem goes back and forth, large bags filled with grain on the shoulders. His forehead is dripping with sweat. This 22-year-old Kurdish boy works here for around a hundred euros a month, so when he saw a road opening up to Europe, he didn’t hesitate for a second: “Our life is not happy here you know, there is a lot of us wanting to run away from this everyday struggle.”
“I want to leave because here it’s better to die. When you live, you struggle that’s all, and it’s endless.”
Sheko Ahmed Raheem, 22-year-old Iraqi Kurdto franceinfo
Sheko takes us to his home on the outskirts of Erbil, where his things are already ready. They all fit in a small red backpack. “This sweater is very warm, it’s great for travel, explains the young man. Otherwise I have socks, a charger.” And above all, his visa for Belarus, which he obtained a few days ago via an intermediary found on a Telegram group, the encrypted instant messaging application. He takes out his cell phone then explains: “There you go, that’s the support groups, you ask whatever you want here, you send your question and someone will directly contact you in private messages. Me, I was told that this guy was reliable. , that he could get me the visa in Iran or elsewhere. “
Iraq chartered, Thursday, November 18, a first flight to repatriate its nationals recently arrived in Belarus, on a voluntary basis. 431 people are expected at Baghdad airport at the end of the afternoon. This is very little, compared to the thousands of Iraqis who are still stranded at the border with Poland and do not give up hope of crossing into Europe. Very little, too, compared to those who like Sheko Ahmed Raheem are still trying to leave from Iraq.
Intermediaries but also tour operators benefit financially from the crisis. One of them agreed to meet us in a café, on condition of anonymity, to explain how this new market works: “We sell what we call a ‘package’, a package. Two months ago it was around 2,500 dollars for the visa, the flight and the hotel, now it’s around 4,000 dollars, with a guaranteed arrival there. If the customer does not arrive in Minsk, we do not receive the money. “ Juicy traffic, which earns them $ 1,000 per customer. Business has declined slightly since Turkey announced that it would ban Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis flights to Minsk. But other roads are emerging, says this tour operator, convinced that only the abandonment of visas by Belarus will be able to put an end to this crisis.