TERZE TEHA

Sulaymaniyah – The number of people seeking to live elsewhere has been increasing in the Federal Kurdistan Region due to the worsening of the political, social, and economic situation in the region. While people in the region cannot meet even their vital needs, they suffer from electricity and water shortage. Political parties accuse each other of the worsening of living conditions and this situation breaks the peace among citizens. The authorities have not fulfilled their duties to protect the citizens against the ongoing clashes at the borders. Because of all these reasons, the number of people seeking to live elsewhere has been increasing in the region.

649.373 people emigrated in 7 years

In 2025, 186.522 people emigrated from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, 20 of them lost their lives during their migration journey, and the fate of seven migrants is unknown. In 2016, 160.717 people emigrated, 78 of them lost their lives, and the fate of 54 migrants is unknown. In 2017, 92.691 people emigrated, 29 of them lost their lives during their migration journey, and the fate of 67 migrants is unknown. In 2018, the number of people seeking to live elsewhere was 69.203 while their number was 53.240 in 2019. 37 people lost their lives during their migration journey in 2019. In 2020, the number of people seeking to live in another country was 34.000, 18 of them lost their lives on their journey and the fate of 17 migrants is unknown. In 2021, the number of people seeking to live in other countries was 53.000. 36 people lost their lives during their migration journey, and the fate of 17 migrants is still unknown.

Most people choose the sea route to go to other countries. Most of them lost their lives as their boats sank. The survivors remain trapped at the border between Belarus and Poland. In the last six years, 287 people lost their lives while seeking to live in other countries while the fate of 190 people is still unknown. On December 21-22, 2021, a boat carrying 70 people, most of them Kurds, sank and only 12 people survived. On December 23, another boat carrying 90 migrants sank in the Aegean Sea. 19 of them lost their lives. On December 24, another boat carrying 80 migrants sank and 16 of them lost their lives. On December 29, 2021, a boat carrying migrants sank and two of them lost their lives.

33-year-old Lane Omer stays in a refugee camp in Greece. She left the Kurdistan Region on November 19 and she took a boat from Turkey to go to Europe. After two days, they reached an island and they were then taken to a refugee camp. Lane Omer left the Kurdistan Region with her husband and two children. “There were 150 people in a small boat. Sometimes, we had difficulties in breathing. We have lived in this camp for 10 days. We managed to reach here but I don’t think we will get out of here healthy. We left because we want to build a better future for our children.”

Their boat sank

On November 20-21, Tareife İbrahim took a boat with her husband and two children to go to Greece. However, their boat sank. “We heard boats carrying migrants sank on TV. I didn’t know my sister was among the migrants. I didn’t want my sister to leave. Now, we try to take their dead bodies from Turkey.”