Lack of jobs, crisis drive young Iraqi Kurds to migrate

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

RANYA, Iraq (AP) — The specter of unemployment haunts both students and teachers at universities in northern Iraq. Many speak of growing numbers of empty seats in classrooms across the semi-autonomous Kurdish region — seats once occupied by students who have left for Europe. Those who remain are making plans to leave. Iraqi Kurdish youth face a tough choice: endure unemployment and corruption at home, or try to sneak into Europe at the risk of financial ruin, or even death during the perilous journey. A substantial number of young Iraqi Kurds are believed to have left, seeing no hope in their own country. Their teachers in dwindling classrooms are helpless to motivate them.