...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
ended.
"The situation there is horrible," said Ramyar Haidar. "A friend of mine asked for some bread and they [smugglers] put a gun to his head and were about to kill him."
Haidar was among 25 Kurds, most from the town of Ranya in the Raparin administration of northern Sulaimani province, who were returned to Erbil through the joint efforts of the Kurdistan Region’s Department of Foreign Relations and the Iraqi consulate in Libya.
The Libya-Italia route is increasingly popular among youth from Raparin trying to get to Europe as tighter restrictions have made the
...a NATO...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
member, but not the most reliable...
-Greece crossing less viable. Dozens have been repatriated to the Kurdistan Region after being stranded in Libya.
Haidar spoke to Rudaw about the conditions in Libya’s prisons. "Each of us were given one loaf of bread a day," he said. "We had lost all hope there. Even now I can not believe that I am finally back."
He said some Kurds are still detained in Libya and their situation is "very bad."
He advised his fellow Kurds not to take the same route he did. "Europe is not worth it. Whoever experiences what I have will know what I mean," he said.
Ramyar’s father, Haidar Abdullah, said his son was repeatedly sold by smugglers. "Since July 14, my son had been in Tunisia for two months before going to Libya, where he was detained for over a month. Until now, smugglers have sold and transferred them seven times," he told Rudaw.
Baghdad’s consulate in Libya is working to return 12 more people who are currently in Misrata, approximately 250 kilometers from the capital, Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, Chargé d'Affaires Ahmed al-Sahaf told Rudaw on Thursday.
The Kurdistan Region has seen repeated waves of youth emigration over the past decade, largely driven by economic hardship and the search for better opportunities abroad.
The Libya-Italia journey typically takes around eight hours, compared to up to 72 hours through Greece, but can cost as much as $17,000 per person, much of it paid to militias that control Libya’s coast, according to Bakr Ali, head of the Association of Returned Refugees.