Iraqi Kurd’s death in Belarus underscores migrants’ despair

By SALAR SALIM and ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Gaylan Delir Ismael, a 25-year-old from Iraq’s Kurdistan region, jumped at the chance to try to get to Europe when he heard that thousands from the Middle East were taking advantage of easily obtained tourist visas from Belarus. A diabetic, he was desperate to get to Germany to get better treatment and resume his university studies. Despite the risk, he began the journey last month with five other relatives, but got stuck in the cold and damp forest on the Belarus-Poland border. After a chaotic confrontation at the border, he got separated from his brother-in-law who was carrying his insulin, Gaylan died in the forest in late October and his body was returned Sunday to Irbil for burial.