Georgia’s Yezidi Kurds heading for Poland in record numbers
Georgia’s Yezidi Kurds heading for Poland in record numbers
Poland has seen a dramatic rise in asylum applications by Georgian citizens this year. About 4,000 Georgian Kurdish citizens requested asylum in Poland between April and November 2009, ten times more than in the previous 8 years put together.
A recent report by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) says that this sharp hike is due to the migration of Yezidi Kurds, who constitute 90 percent of the asylum seekers from Georgia in Poland. Moreover, Yezidi Kurds apparently use Poland as a transit country to cross into Germany and other European countries which have relatively well-established Yezidi Kurd communities.
Georgia had a Yezidi Kurd community of about 12,000 in 2008. According to the report the vast majority of migrants come from Tbilisi and Telavi, and most are young males. While Russia was previously the most attractive country for migration, visa restrictions and the suspension of direct flights rendered this option unavailable for many and prompted Yezidi Kurds to head to European countries.
ECMI says that unemployment and economic plight have driven these minority groups to pack up their belongings and try their fortunes in European countries. Lack of knowledge of the Georgian language and racial stereotyping [Yezidi Kurds are expected to hold low status jobs] make it particularly difficult for them to land a job in Georgia. Moreover, this lack of opportunity, coupled with some new misperceptions about Polish migration policies, have caused a recent unprecedented flood of migration from Georgia to Poland.
“There was a rumour spreading in Georgia in April-May 2009 that the Polish-Belarusian border is open for Georgian citizens.... It appears that some citizens of Georgia also believed that they would be welcome in Poland due to the Polish President’s demonstrated solidarity with the people during his repeated visits to Georgia after the South Ossetia War in 2008. ...Another rumour that has been spreading in Georgia since April is that it is easier for Yezidi Kurds to obtain asylum in Poland than other Georgian citizens,” the report says.
Migrating to Europe is costly. Some Georgian citizens have to pay unofficial visa brokers to provide often fake documentation to help the applicants acquire Schengen visas. Some others cross into the zone illegally from Ukraine, Belarus, Turkey etc.
ECMI says that most asylum seekers make it to Poland via Belarus. Georgian citizens do not need visas to enter most former USSR countries. They can then reach the Polish side of the border unhindered, where they apply for asylum by submitting an application for the granting of refugee status to the commanding officer at the border checkpoint. Consequently, there is no need to have a Polish visa to physically enter the EU.
The Yezidi Kurds give different reasons for claiming asylum, the main being discrimination based on ethnicity. According to some Yezidi Kurdish representatives in Georgia these claims often do not adequately reflect the reality for Yezidi Kurds in this country but are rather invented with the aim of acquiring refugee status or at least entry to the country. As some applicants realise that it is impossible to get refugee status in Poland they cross its external borders to the EU illegally with the intention of either seeking asylum in other countries or hiding. The majority of these have as their goal Germany or France. Germany is attracting Yezidi Kurds due to its large diaspora,www.ekurd.netalthough there were few cases of the granting of refugee status there last year. ECMI believes that France is chosen because a higher number of people have acquired refugee status there in recent years.
Those unlucky with their asylum applications have had to eventually return home. Deportations began in August, when four Georgian citizens were removed, and by September this number had risen to 49. However although some mostly Yezidi Kurdish Georgian citizens have been, and continue to be, deported back to Georgia large numbers of them are still in EU countries seeking better lives. About 75% of the registered Georgian asylum seekers in Poland have disappeared from the refugee camps and private accommodation while their applications are being processed.
ECMI says that the recent flow of mostly Yezidi Kurdish migrants from Georgia threatens this community with assimilation and the loss of its language and culture. It calls on Georgian and international bodies to intervene and provide better conditions for them in Georgia to stem this migration.
Обновлено (05.02.2010 13:14)


