FILE PHOTO: Kurdish migrants sit at a makeshift camp in Loon-Plage near Dunkirk, France, November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina
DUNKIRK, France (Reuters) - When Kaiwan Hussein, a 26-year-old from Iraqi Kurdistan, arrived in Germany on Nov. 23 after he slipped across the European Union border from Belarus, he sent a one-word WhatsApp message to his brother back home saying “OK.”
That was a signal for the family to authorise the release of a $3,500 payment to a smuggler contact, who Hussein knew only by the nickname ‘Nato,’ that was being held in a money transfer shop in his hometown of Ranya.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Subscribe or renew your subscriptions to win prizes worth up to RM68,000!
Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
