Iraqi Kurds and other immigrants say they are fleeing their desperate homeland, but Belarus encourages them, provides visas and helps them reach the border.

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Authors: Jane Arraf and Elian Peltier

Sulaymaniyah, Iraq-The sudden surge in immigration from the Middle East to Belarus has now become the focus of the European political crisis. This is no accident.

The Iraqi travel agency stated that the Belarusian government relaxed visa regulations in August and that flights to the country are more suitable for Europe than the dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece.

It increased the flights of state-owned airlines, and then actively helped transfer migrants from the capital Minsk to the borders of Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The Belarusian security forces instructed them how to enter the EU countries and even distributed wire cutters and axes across the border fence.

These measures were characterized by European leaders as a cynical strategy of “weaponizing” immigration to punish Europe, opening the door for those desperate to escape this region plagued by instability and high unemployment.

Thousands of people are now trapped or hiding on borders in freezing conditions. This is not what EU countries want, or, the situation suggests, the first thing to lure them to is the country.

The wave of humanity has turned cities like Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq into a bustling port of departure for immigrants, who are eager to embark on an expensive and adventurous journey in order to live a better life in Europe.

As news of Belarus offering a route to Europe went viral on social media, the number of immigrants snowballed.

Malalavac, a travel agency in Sulaymaniyah, said he sells about 100 packages to Belarus every week. These packages include air tickets through a third country, transit accommodation and Belarusian visas.

On Thursday, 25-year-old Bryar Muhammad (Bryar Muhammad) sold warm clothes at the market in the city and his business was booming.

"Good clothes from Belarus!" he yelled, holding a thick acrylic sweater and winter jacket from a cardboard box. "For the snow in Belarus!"

Just as young families in Iraq used their houses as collateral to raise funds for travel, there was evidence that the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alexander G. Lukashenko, was planning immigration and creating a crisis for the European Union.

European officials said Belavia, the state-owned airline of Belarus, has increased flights from the Middle East to Minsk. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, the Belarusian authorities have eased the issuance of visas through the state-owned travel agency Tsentrkurort.

According to Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya's senior adviser Frank Vya Franak Viacorka stated that immigrants arriving in Minsk were placed in at least three government-owned hotels.

Mr. Pabrix said that Belarusian intelligence agents participated in the transfer of migrants to the border and used military buses.

Several Iraqi immigrants said that the Belarusian security forces provided them with tools to break through the Polish border fence.

Bayar Awat, an Iraqi Kurd who was stranded on the Belarusian side of the Polish border, said that the Belarusian guards pointed out a route that bypassed the official border crossing and appeared near the gap in the border fence to help his team reach the border.

"The Belarusian police guided us into the forest, and then instructed us to enter the forest, keeping us away from the official border crossing," he said.

On Thursday, a Belarusian soldier heard an Iraqi Kurd on the phone ordering 400 to 500 migrants from the Lithuanian border to the Polish border.

"Everyone who moves here goes to Brest," the soldier told him in broken English, referring to the Belarusian city on the Polish border because there were too many immigrants on the Lithuanian border.

They said that when some migrants tried to leave the cold forest and return to Minsk, many were repelled by Belarusian guards, leaving the migrants trapped at the border.

European officials said these measures were part of Mr. Lukashenko’s retaliatory efforts to impose sanctions on the EU after claiming to win the contested 2020 elections.

"Lukashenko's remarks, visa policies, and the sudden influx of immigrants this summer all show the involvement of the Belarusian state and travel agencies," said Gustav Gressell, a senior policy researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.

On Friday, in order to contain the crisis, several airlines took measures to limit the number of flights from the Middle East to Belarus. According to Iraqi travel agencies, Turkey and Iran have cancelled air tickets for Iraqi, Syrian and Yemeni passengers to Minsk on Thursday, and the government even stopped selling transit air tickets to Belarus to travel agencies earlier this week.

But it does not matter to desperate Iraqis, who are already looking for an alternative route through Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"I heard that the situation in Belarus is not good, but I have to go because there is no life, no job opportunities, no human rights, no equality and justice, no happiness at all," said carpenter Amel Kalwan. On Thursday, he and three friends went to a travel agency in Sulaymaniyah to collect tickets, hoping to send them to Belarus.

Mr. Kavan, who turned 20 on Thursday, borrowed $3,500 from a relative for the trip. He said that the travel agency warned that the tickets through Iran and Turkey were not refundable, and there was no guarantee that they would arrive in Belarus, which kept the group from being intimidated.

The immigration crisis. The gathering of immigrants along the eastern border of the European Union has led to an escalating confrontation between Belarus and the European Union. Here are the things to know:

How it started. In the past few months, more and more immigrants fleeing poverty and war have tried to enter EU countries such as Poland and Lithuania from Belarus. After the EU imposed sanctions on Belarus in May, a sharp increase was found.

European charges against Belarus. EU leaders claimed that the authoritarian leader of Belarus, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, orchestrated the crisis to punish European countries for harboring opponents and imposing sanctions.

confrontation. The Polish government tried particularly hard to keep people out, sending thousands of soldiers into the border area. The hardline policy has played a very good role in Poland's right-wing nationalists.

Fear of humanitarian crises. Migrants are trapped in dense forests across the border, facing severe cold and the coming winter. They cannot enter the European Union or return to Belarus. Several people have died of hypothermia.

The role of Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin became the most important supporter of Belarus. Russia accused the West of instigating an immigration crisis and agreed to deploy nuclear-capable bombers to patrol the border area.

Ironically, the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq is the largest source of immigrants and is considered the most stable and safe region in the country.

Unlike many parents who became refugees during Saddam Hussein's time, this time the Iraqi Kurds did not escape war or genocide. They are seeking a future that even the relative peace of the country has not provided them.

Despite the seeming prosperity of Iraqi Kurdistan, young people are particularly desperate for lack of jobs, corruption, repression, and tribal conflicts that often override the legal system.

They are taking loans and borrowing money from their families to travel.

The crisis has increased the price of Belarusian visas, which used to cost approximately US$90 and are now approximately US$1,200. Most immigrants stated that they paid about $3,000 for packages including visas, air tickets and a few days of accommodation.

Many immigrants also leave thousands of dollars in deposits in money transfer shops to smugglers who promise to send them to the border. Some people say that the smuggling fee is about US$3,000. However, immigrants say that smugglers often just point out the direction from which to cross the dense forest.

Not to mention that immigrants face the emotional cost of leaving their homes and their families.

On Friday, Mr. Kalwan wore a new olive-green winter jacket and gloves. He left home and took a taxi to Erbil Airport, a four-hour drive away.

When seeing off in Sulaymaniyah, Mr. Kalwan's mother and two sisters stood at the door sobbing. His father stuffed the Iraqi dinar into his hand and waited until the taxi door was closed before wiping away the tears.

"I feel bad," his mother Bayan Omar said. "He is my only son. If I prevent him from leaving, what will he do? He told me,'Can you guarantee that I have a house, a car, a life, and a chance to get married? I can't stop him."

Later that day, Mr. Kalwan’s flights to Tehran and Istanbul were cancelled. He was in Erbil waiting to rebook through Dubai.

For those who have already arrived in Belarus, the situation is very serious. On the border with Lithuania, thousands of migrants were pushed to the barbed wire fence, unable to advance or retreat.

According to the video sent by the immigrants, young people who have been walking deep in the forest for a few days and families with children crowded around the temporary camp to burn wood for heating. Some people have small pop-up tents, others bury themselves in sleeping bags on the frozen ground.

On Saturday, Polish authorities accused Belarusian soldiers of destroying part of the border fence near the village of Czeremcha and tried to use laser beams and strobe lights to distract Polish border guards to help immigrants enter the European Union. However, Poland’s description of the incident could not be confirmed because the Warsaw government banned all non-residents, including journalists and doctors, from entering the border area.

According to Polish officials, at least nine immigrants have died in Poland in the past two weeks, most of them due to exposure. Belarus did not say how many people died on the border side. Polish media reported on Thursday that a 14-year-old Iraqi boy was frozen to death near the Belarusian border.

"We have food and water, but not enough," said an Iraqi Kurd, who asked to be called Bahadino by his nickname. He sent videos showing pregnant women and children, some of them disabled.

He also sent a video of himself and a small group of immigrants politely holding up cardboard slogans that read "Poland-I'm sorry".

"Today we apologize to the European Union and Poland," he said. "You know, because we came to the border, we broke the border fence. We apologize for that."

But he did not apologize for trying to enter Europe. He said he has no plans to return to Iraq.

Jane Arraf reported from Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, and Elian Peltier from Brussels. Sangar Khaleel and Barzan Jabar contributed reporting from Sulaymaniyah, and Andrew Higgins from Warsaw.