UK Launches Ad Campaign To Dissuade Iraqi Kurds From Migrating

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Refugee groups have suggested that a British government advertising campaign targeting the Kurdish region of Iraq , warning residents not to attempt to travel to the UK to seek asylum, will be ineffective.

The online campaign, issued by the Home Office in the Sorani Kurdish dialect, aims to deter people from attempting to cross the sea from France to the UK, a dangerous route that 36,816 people took in 2024, with 69 losing their lives in the process.

The ads highlight the dangers posed by the crossing, quoting some of those who attempted the journey warning that "people disappeared into the sea" and that the transport was too crowded.

One woman in a video, her identity obscured, says she was "was promised a well-paid job - instead I was a slave".

Immigration has been a hot issue in the UK in recent years, with the frequent asylum-seeker crossings across the English Channel sparking a panic about "illegal" entry into the country.

On 2 March alone, 592 migrants made the journey across the busy shipping lane in 11 boats, the highest number on a single day so far this year.

Ari Jalal, director of the Summit Foundation for Refugee and Displaced Affairs NGO, told Middle East Eye that the ad campaign would be ineffective as Iraqi Kurds naturally "do not listen" to government-backed initiatives.

"The reason for the increase in illegal migration of Kurdish and Iraqi citizens is due to continuous crises that faced the country in the past years and the lack of job opportunities in the public and private sectors, especially for young graduates of universities and colleges," he said.