IFIR organized a press conference at Rand Gallery for IFIR secretary Dashty Jamal. In

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On 08 Sep 2015 the Kurdistan branch of the International federations of Iraqi Refugees IFIR organized a press conference at Rand Gallery for IFIR secretary Dashty Jamal.

In respect for the lives of the refugees who lost their lives in the recent tragedies, Ari Jala representing the Sulaimaniya branch secretary commenced the conference with one minute silence. Following this Dashty Jamal highlighted the reasons and the factors that have caused mass migration to Europe.  Dashty suggested possible ways out of the crisis and highlighted the IFIR obligations and contributions. 

He stated:- “ Yet again we see mass migrations that force people to travel through treacherous routes in order to seek asylum abroad.  This has been a familiar phenomenon recently and unfortunately has led to the deaths of many people. The causes of these events directly correlate to the crisis of politics, economics and the insecurities facing these people. It is a situation that has been forced upon the people living in Kurdistan. This phenomena known as the ‘refugee crisis’ moved the worlds consciousness  following the lifeless body of the three year old ‘Alani washed up onto a beach’ as a direct consequence of the closed borders policy. This is the result of the superpowers struggle to gain power and divide the world for their own interests. It is also about military support to the Middle Eastern and North African tyrants directly affecting people’s livelihood and welfare that makes them flee from their homes and seek refuge in another country. 

 Dashty Jamal also commented on the local issues and stated that The Kurdistan Regional Government is taking people hostage by taking advantage of the current crisis and prolonging their power by dramatizing the threats facing the region. 

Mr Jamal encouraged people to join various movements to force the authorities to listen to their concerns and provide necessary services. He said that migrating and leaving the country does not solve the current crisis, this mass migration does not change the dominant forces and we all should endeavor to challenge the status quo for the changes we want to make.

According to the information IFIR received, 11000 people from Kurdistan Region have left, 80 per cent of them are young citizens and a further 20 per cent are families. 

Mr Jamal stated that we have no control over what people decide and despite not encouraging this mass migration, we will support people who do so and we will endeavor to work with them side by side to get to their destination by working with international organizations to recognize their rights as refugees. This is to help them to avoid been handed over to smugglers who play with their lives. Mr Jamal said that we are a radical movement and recognize that people have a right to have refugee status despite the authorities misleading statements towards this phenomenon.   

At the end of the conference, the Federation confirmed that they are working with many other international organizations and they have drafted a letter outlining their concerns to the European Parliament.

08 Sep 2015