Feature: Chaos, despairs prompt Iraqis seeking asylum in Europe

"I am not looking for an extravagant life; I simply want better conditions so my kids will have a better future. I am desperate here, my family and I lost hope due to the chaos and relentless violence," Sayf Mahmoud, told Xinhua while preparing to seek asylum in Europe.

Mahmoud's aging mother was crying as she sat next to him on the couch. "How can I bear his leaving? He never left me since he was a child. His two sons fill my life with happiness," she said. "I might not live to see them again."

Mahmoud tried to calm his mother down, "Please, don't cry, mother. I have to leave because I want to start a new life. You know I cannot stay here anymore, although my dreams are not so grandiose," said Mahmoud while he wiped her tears.

Mahmoud comforted his mother telling her that he is sure he will live a better life elsewhere, and his kids will grow up in a better environment and attend good schools. He told her as soon as he is settled in Europe he will send for her to join him, or if things get better in Iraq he will return.

Iraqis, long under pressure from violence and instability, were lured by reports which showed thousands of families and young men from Iraq and Syria crossing the Aegean Sea towards Greece and then onto Europe, particularly Germany.

Iraqis who can't afford the flight to Turkey, travel by bus to Arbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, then over 30 hours by land to Turkish cities on the Aegean Sea.

Whilst still in Turkey and before they depart, people discuss ideas and offers from smugglers in choosing the safest or cheapest way to cross the Aegean Sea towards Greece, depending on how much money immigrants brought with them.

Sabah Hamdi, 38, a taxi driver sold his car for 4,000 U.S. dollars, in preparation to take his four children and wife to Turkey.

"I sold my expensive belongings, such as jewelry, furniture, my used laptop and even my Smartphone, to amass several hundred dollars to secure the cost of at least the first leg of the trip," said Hamdi, whose family is displaced from the city of Fallujah, which was captured by the Islamic State (IS) militant group in early 2014.

"I am displaced from my hometown of Fallujah. I left my house and properties to save my family from daily bombardment and IS militant brutality," Hamdi added.

Large numbers of immigrants to Europe are displaced people who left their homes after IS militants captured several cities in the predominantly Sunni provinces in both the west and north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Ghaidaa Kumbash, a female member of parliament representing Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, said that most immigrants to Europe who left Diyala are already displaced from their homes due to violence following IS expansion in Sunni provinces, including Diyala, after the IS's blitzkrieg in June, 2014.

"Desperate, unemployed and insecure, are forces that drive the recent waves of immigration from Diyala to Europe, especially following IS violence during their expansion," Kumbash said.

Most immigrants believe that immigration is the only solution to salvage their future as they are desperate for any improvement in their lives, she said, urging the government "to guarantee Iraqis solutions to retain their confidence in their future."

Mahir al-Abbasi, 56, a social activist and lawyer, told Xinhua "It's become a phenomenon among numerous Iraqis to contemplate immigration as people's hopes of receding violence diminish, with rising corruption, lack of basic services and instability."

Iraqis suffer from lack of job opportunities as most young men and women, many with college degrees and postgraduate studies, find no chance in the overcrowded job market in government-owned institutions.

"Government institutions hire over four million employees, which is more than double the government's labor force in neighboring countries where the population is twice as populous as that of Iraq," Abbasi said.

Lack of job opportunities is also caused by slow growth and an inefficient private sector, paralyzed by the government's incompetence and widespread corruption.

"Thoughts of travelling overseas are also due to being threatened by militias, leading people to leave in fear for their lives. Others are Baghdad residents from well-off families who escape the difficult economic situation created by plummeting oil prices," Abbasi added.

Najib al-Jubouri, a political analyst, warned of such immigration waves to Europe saying they threaten Iraq's future, as thousands of departing Iraqi experts and a young labor force decreases the chance of ever reviving the country.

"This is a very dangerous phenomenon and the government should take decisive measures to stop the mass migration, as people should be responsible for their country," Jubouri said. "One's homeland is not a hotel we leave for a better one when service is bad. It is our heritage, identity and pride."

He warned that most those seeking immigration expect a better life in Europe. "What they see on television is not the reality because most immigrants will end up living in closed and crowded camps, with restrictions on their movement. Even if they later get residency status, they will face unexpected situations regarding traditions and the nature of European life and work."

"The government must launch an awareness campaign to stop these immigration waves, as well as providing solutions through affording job opportunities in both the government and private sectors," Jubouri concluded.

However, he said the main root of Iraq's current crisis as well as the Middle East is apparently the 2003 U.S.-led invasion against Iraq, and America's double standard policy when dealing with world problems particularly terrorism.

"It was oil, among other strategic goals, which led the United States to acerbate Iraq and the Middle East. The U.S. administration deployed its troops and raised the banner of international legitimacy and salvation of oppressed Iraqis under Saddam Hussein, when in reality the invasion revolved around its own interests," Jubouri said.

However, the 2003 invasion turned Iraqi cities into war zones. U.S. President Bush consistently described Iraq's war as "the frontlines in the war on terror."

Now, after 12 years of invasion and four years after U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq, the result remains catastrophic for Iraqis who realized that what actually occurred was merely the reshuflement of tyranny, driving the country to the brink of civil war and chaos and threatening to rupture the country.

"The Iraqi crisis won't stop unless world states cooperate, including the United States and Europe, to rethink a new policy of collaboration in order to pursue joint policies toward world crises, including the proliferation of terrorism forcing thousands of Iraqis to seek refuge in Europe," Jubouri added.

According to a recent report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), over 50,000 Iraqis, many of whom victims of IS extremist militant group violence, are believed to have departed in the past three months towards Europe.

The report warns that "Thousands could follow unless efforts are exerted to alleviate the suffering of over 8 million Iraqi men, women and children."

"Over 8.6 million people cross-country are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including 3.2 million internally displaced people," the report added.

"Their situation is beyond desperate leading several Iraqis displaced by the conflict to feel there is no other choice but to put their fate into the hands of smugglers to secure passage to Europe," the report concluded. Endit