Abstract Recent work on the migration of young Kurdish people has provided us with general information and data in terms of the process of migration of such to Western Europe and the USA. This presents some important points with regard to the process of Kurdish migrants who decided to move to modern countries to change their way of life. Migration is common among young Kurdish Iraqi people who want their rights in a modern society.Consequently, they have moved to cities in Britain such as Leicester. This research study examined the motivation of young Kurdish people who moved to Leicester between 1989 and 2011 in the form of the push and pull economic, political and social factors which have led to the creation of Kurdish communities in Leicester. It focuses only on the migration of young Kurds who came from Iraqi Kurdistan. Two main methods have been used to answer the research question. One was the use of focus groups, which was helpful in finding the motivations of young Kurdish migrants. The other was individual interviews which were used to find some specific points in term of the process of push and pull factors which have affected young Kurds.

The resulting data shows that young Kurds have been affected by the process of push and pull in term of social, economic and political factors. However, this process has changed for young Kurds in terms of time and place and gender. This has led to different waves and types of young Kurdish migrants to Leicester. For instance, it has been found that there are differences in the first and second migratory waves in terms of the motivation. In addition, it shows that there are differences between men and women with regard to the push and pull factors. It also presents the role of place, which makes for different motivations for young Kurdish migrants to Leicester, such as those from Kirkuk, which is not a stable city.

It also argues that there are relationships between the processes of the pull and push factors in terms of young Iraqi Kurdish migrants and inequality. It also shows how the push and pull factors impacting on Kurdish migration has changed since the Kurdish region has improved in terms of social, economic and political factors in the post-Gulf War Iraq, in 2003. For instance, the differences between the first and the second wave show this reality. i

Acknowledgements

My grateful thanks are due to Dr. Leah Bassel, my teacher and my supervisor at the University of Leicester, for her help, guidance and patience throughout the process of writing this research. I would also like to express my grateful thanks to all my lecturers at the University of Leicester, who taught me a lot in term of Contemporary Sociology thanks to all the lectures they delivered. I learned a lot from you. Grateful thanks are due to the Sociology staff, especially dear Nita, for her patience and guidance during my Masters courses in the Sociology Department. I wish to thank my lovely family members, for their help and their encouragement during my life in the UK. I would like to thank my lovely Mum and Dad, for their blessings during my study at the University of Leicester. I also wish to thanks my friends and my classmates, for all their support and help. I am grateful to University of Leicester, for those who provide the services and facilities in terms of Library services, events and seminars. These were helpful to me and made me strong when it came to finishing my study.

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Author’s Declaration

The work presented in this dissertation was carried out in the Department of Sociology, University of Leicester, and is entirely my own expect where other authors have been refereed to and acknowledged in the text. It has not previously been submitted for a degree in this or any other university. The views expressed in this dissertation are my own and not those of the university.

Name /Suren-Abubaker-Abdullah

Signed /

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Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Literature reviews ................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Definitions .................................................................................................................................... 8 2.2 A brief history of Kurdish migration to Britain .............................................................................. 9 2.3 The pull and push factors behind Iraqi Kurdish migrants. .......................................................... 12 2.4 Theoretical migration.................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter Three ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Methodology......................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Focus groups ............................................................................................................................... 22 3.2 Individual Interviews ................................................................................................................... 23 3.3 Ethical issues ............................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter Four ......................................................................................................................................... 26 Analysis of Findings ............................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter Five .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Discussion and Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 41 5.1 Discussion.................................................................................................................................... 41 5.2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 45 Appendices............................................................................................................................................ 49 Appendices 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 49 Appendices 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 50 Appendices 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 52 Appendices 4 ..................................................................................................................................... 53 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 54

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Chapter One Introduction Britain has been targeted by migrants who would like to change their social, economic and political situation. This has led to ethnic diversity in Britain,with many ethnic communities from different countries. For instance, London has become the most multicultural city in the world, since 41% of the population are migrants and from different cultural backgrounds (Arnold, 2012:64-65). One of the nations that has provided migrants to the UK is the Kurdish nation. This is made up of “a homogenous group of people who are unified ethically, territorially, linguistically, culturally and politically” (Sheyholislami, 2011:51). There have been many political, economic and social problems in Iraqi Kurdistan which is a part Kurdistan in that it has been divided into four parts.As a result, the push factors were strong until 2003 in that there was a great deal of ethnic conflict with other ethnic groups in Iraq (Sirkeci, 2005: 199). As a result, many young Kurds moved to western countries such as Britain. For instance, the largest Iraqi community in London is Kurdish, with between 70-80 thousand people in 1990 (Hendow, 2010: 37). First of all, in Chapter twoI will discuss the Kurdish people and related concepts such as Shies and Sunni. Furthermore, it explains the history of Kurdish migration which might help us to understand the push and pull factors behind the migration of the Kurdish young to western countries and especially to Leicester, This is becausethe move to Leicester might be due to particular factors which might exist for other ethnic groups in Iraq. Secondly, it offers a brief explanation in terms of what is meant by push and pull factors, and how they might be helpful in showing the motivation of Kurdish young migrants to Britain, and the role of this process for the Kurdish movement from Kurdistan Iraq to Britain during the wave of migration from Iraq to western countries. In addition, I will address how the Iraqi people have suffered for a long time from the effects of war and from political conflict with other countries such as Iran and Kuwait. This affected all ethnics groups in Iraq, forcing them to become migrants to western countries and to the USA. However, there are big differences between Iraqi ethnicities in terms of the process of push and pull factors which affected them in terms of moving to other countries. The 5

process of migration was not the same for all of them over the years (Sirkeci, 2005:197198)1. In addition, young Iraqi Kurds may have a number of different reasons for moving to Leicester. There may be differences between men and women who would like to be migrants in terms of their motivation. The process of push and pull factors and how they affect migration may change for young Iraqi Kurds at different times and in different places. It was the aim of my research to find these points. There are many theories that attempt to explain the emergence of the motivation behind migration that are related to the process of pull and push factors. They might be useful with regard to dealing with the phenomenon in term of understanding people who move to a new country. Consequently, Chapter Two provides details of sociological theories such as economic, social and political theories with regard to migration. This may make sense in allowing us to understand more about international migration in general and Kurdish migration in particular since there are strong links between the theories and empirical studies in terms of the process of push and pull factors. This chapter might be helpful in explaining the match between sociological theories and the Kurdish Iraqi situation in Leicester. Chapter Three deals directly with the methodological aspects of the research and explains why they have been chosen by the researchers, and how they can be useful when it comes to finding the answers to the research questions. For instance, there are a number of reasons why the researchers chose focus group and individual interview methods rather than other approaches for this research, and we have chosen Kurdish young people (male and female) aged between 20 and 35 years, rather than other age groups. Therefore, Manning (2013: 192)points out that migration includes several types of participants. This is about social groups rather than about individuals. It is important for the researcher to select the age or sex for the research in terms of the motivation of migrants. This is because it has been noted that young people tend to move to other countries more than older people.2

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Chapter Four presents the findings with regard to the research questions in terms of the motivation of young Kurdish migrants to Leicester by analysing the focus group and interview data. We also discuss the results of the research which might show the responses of young Kurdish people in Leicester, since it shows that there are difference between men and women in terms of the motivation of young Kurdish people who moved to Leicester. We also explain how changes in the process of push and pull factors have caused different waves of Kurdish migrants to Leicester in that each group have different reasons for becoming migrants. In addition, it shows how different cities in the Kurdish region could be affected by the of push and pull process in terms of young Kurdish migrantsin Leicester. This is because Kurdish people in Kirkuk are more vulnerable than those in other cities in Kurdistan Iraq, since the Kurdish region nowadays is much better than it was in the past. The researcher discusses and concludes the research in Chapter Five by considering the motivation of young Kurdish migrants for going to Leicester. In addition, it concludes the important points which have been found in answer to the research questions. It also shows the relationship between the research findings, the literature and the aims of the research.

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Chapter Two

Literature reviews 2.1 Definitions of Migration There is a great deal of evidence which shows that migration is not a new phenomenon. This causes us to define migration in a number of different ways, even if it is quite difficult define this concept. According to Kosar (2007:16) migration refers to the many people who leave their countries to relocate to a new environment because they would like to change their lives in terms of economic, political and social aspects. This allows us to identify three types migration. One is “innovation migration” which relates to people who move to obtain something new such as international students. Second, there is “economic migration” which relates to people who move from poor areas to rich countries because they would like to improve their life chances like undocumented migration. Finally, there is “non-economic migration” involving people who move to a safe environment as a result of their political views, such as asylum seekers and refugees (Mayhew, 2009:325-326). For instance, one of the ethnic migration groups in Leicester is Kurdish who have a specific identity – the Kurdish identity. They have been trying to maintain this identity even though their territory was divided into four parts between Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria,byEuropean countries in 1920 (Sheyholislami, 2011:51). As a result, Kurdish Iraqi people define themselves as Kurdish rather than as Iraqi. This makes them different from Sunni and Shiites in terms of ethnicity which has a religious identity, because the Kurdish people have a national identity. In addition, they live in the north of Iraq in what is called Kurdistan Iraq - an autonomous region (Lukitz, 2009:13). So the Kurdish Iraqi identity has been defined as a tribal identity. Certainly, Gary Green finds that the tribal identity is stronger between Kurds in Iraq, which makes them fight for autonomy within Iraq (Freji, 2007:20). These lead to social, political and economic problems for Kurdish people in Iraq, and these problems may push Kurdish people to become migrants to Leicester.

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2.2 A brief history of Kurdish migration to Britain There is no doubt that migration in the UK has a long history. However, there are many arguments which show that since the late 1960s, British society has been changed demographically and socially because of migration. This is supported by historians who believe that preindustrial times led to diversity and the creation of many different communities in Britain due to both international and national migration. There was also a great deal of movement from towns to cities, and from other countries to Britain (Whyte, 2000:10). For instance, since 1950, many people from Commonwealth countries moved to the UK leading to the development of a number of ethnic minority communities which had a different cultural background. These included Jewish refugees and migrants from Pakistan and India, all of which brought new forms of diversity to Britain (Coleman, 1987:1138-1139). Iraqi people have been trying to move to European countries, and especially to Britain, since they have been a significant number of political, social and economic problems and because Iraqis suffered from ethnic conflict. This has been especially true for young people who had the ability to leave this situation. Since 1950, there has been some migration, not only for Kurdish people but also for other small religions like Jews. For instance, 130,000 Jewish Iraqi people, which included Jewish Kurds, moved to Israel and Europe because they were not safe as a result of ethnic problems in Iraq. This was a large scale form of forced migration due to different ethnicities. In particular, it was much stronger for Jewish Kurds because they were both Jewish and Kurdish, which meant that they were not accepted by the Iraqi regime at this time (Hendow, 2010: 19). Furthermore, between 1969 and 2003, large numbers of Kurdish people were deported by the government to other countries such as Iran and they brought Arab families to Kurdish areas. This was referred to as ethnic cleansing. For instance, in the multi-ethnic Kirkuk, the Iraqi regime used force to remove Kurdish people from this area because Kirkuk has a lot of oil and the majority of the Kirkuk population was Kurd. This led to ethnic and political conflict between Arabs and Kurds. This involved armed conflict between Kurdish political groups called Pishmarge, and the Iraqi regime. As a result, there was an increase in the number of Kurds migrating to neighbouring and western countries (Hendow, 2010:21). 9

The conflict between ethnicities (Kurd, Sunni and Shiie) worsened markedly after Saddam Hussein got into power in 1979. He was the former President and leader of the Basis’ political party. He introduced a dictatorship to Iraq particularly with regard to the Kurdish people who fought his regime for a long time (Romano. 2005:431-432).This led to “environmental insecurity” in Iraq which brought economic problems such as poverty and discrimination, and social and political problems such as conflict between Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis, especially since the government was controlled by the Sunni group. This made opportunity to redefine identities between ethnic groups, andled to international migration to Europe countries such as Britain (Sirkeci, 2005:198-200). In addition, since 1980, Iraq was at war for 10 years with Iran, and people suffered as a result. For example, the Kurdish area borders Iran, and they suffered more than other areas in Iraq since Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against the Kurdish people in Halabja which is town in North Iraq and has a border with Iran. This killed 5,000 civilians including children, women and elderly people in 1987. It also left manypatients and handicaps who are affected by such weapons until the present day (Sipos, et al, 2001:238). Furthermore, from 1987 to 1988, Saddam regime destroyed 4,000 villages and 182,000 persons disappeared in an attempt by Iraqi troops to stop the Kurdish people. This divided Iraq for some ethnic group’s especially Kurdish peoplewho did not want be a part Iraq anymore and it created a big gap between them. As a result, the Kurdish people decided to fight the Iraqi regime in order to obtain independence from Iraq. This worsened the situation in the Kurdish area, and increased the number of migrants (Bruinessen, 1999:5-6). Since 1990, the political situation in the Kurdish area has improved following the Iraqi regime’s invasion of Kuwait. The UN Security Council responded to this situation and they forced limitations on the Iraqi regime which led to the Gulf War in 1991 (Chatelard, 2009:3). This brought autonomy to the Kurdish region which included three cities in northern Iraq with the exception of Kirkuk and Khanaqin. This caused a decrease in the number of young Kurds migrating, but Kurdish people have had many political and economic problems. This is because they have been involved with Iraqi problems between 1990 and 2003 and there were some blood conflicts between a numberof Kurdish political parties from 1992 to 1996. This led to economic, social and political problems for the Kurdish people. As a result, the

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migration process started again, and a lot of young Kurdish people have migrated to Europe (Chatelard, 2003: 3-4). It has been noted that there is a new situation in Kurdistan Iraq in political, social and economic terms. It has achieved more benefits than other parts of Iraqi following the Gulf War in 2003. Since they overcame the political conflict, the Kurdish area has been a stable and peaceful place in which all have the same ethnicity – Kurdish – although with some diverse religions. The Kurdish people and their political leaders have been involved with Iraq in terms of making a new Iraq, which might lead to Kurdish rights in Iraq. The aim is to achieve some political and economic benefits such as developing political relations with Shiie political parties which are in the majority in Iraq, in terms of security and also with regard to finding oil in the Kurdish area. This makes for a new situation for the Kurdish region in terms of international relations. For instance, since 2007, many Turkish and European companies have moved into the Kurdistan region in order to develop this area. As a first step they have built two international airports in Irbil and Sulaymaniya. This has brought a lot of Turkish, British, Chinese and Russian investment to the Kurdistan region, and has changed the KRG (Kurdistan regional Government) economy. This has not stopped young Kurds from sending thousands of students to the UK to study and to obtain new skills and degrees (MA, PhD) since this region became rich because of oil revenue after 2010 (Gunter, 2008:41-42). Historically, these were strong motivators for young people to migrate to Britain. In addition, the pull factors associated with Britain have been strong to persuade many young people to try to find a country which might be helpful in terms of their basic rights and which might lead to improvements in their family lives compared with the Kurdistan region. Consequently, Kurdish history shows that the motivation behind the migration of young Kurds to Leicester depends on the period under consideration. Therefore, the influence of push and pull factors have changed. Kurdish Iraqi students in Leicester as a migration case can be helpful to understand how the motivation of Kurdish young migrations has been changed.This different period shows that how changes in the push and pull factors between 1989 and 2011 can lead to different types of Kurdish migrants to Leicester.

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2.3The pull and push factors behind Iraqi Kurdish migrants. The process of push and pull factors might be helpful to understand international migration, especially Kurdish migration, since this process explains the motivation behind the migration from one county to another. It shows why people want to leave their country (voluntarily or due to obligations). There are many arguments in terms of migration which shows the process of push and pull factors which allow us to understand the wave of migration. Certainly, push factors (political, social and economic) make people leave their lands. These include such factors as war and political conflicts, ethnic and identity conflicts, and economic crises (Kline, 2003:108). However, pull factors can also play a big role in terms of migration. These include such aspects as politics (security and democratic systems), economic (availability of jobs and the cost of living) and social (no ethnic conflict) (Mayhew, 2009: 407). This might be useful in helping us understand the motivation for Kurdish migration, since Kurdish people, like those of other nations, have reasons for leaving their land and moving to developed countries like Britain. There are three main push and pull factors (political, economic and social) which cause young people to move from their home country to a new environment. Young peoplein particular would like to change their lives by spending their energies since they have a significant number of responsibilities. They have been trying to create a second chance in a new country which has strong pull factors such as greater job opportunities and political and social stability, As a result, there are many small and poor nations which have been affected by these push and pull factors. This process will be used to answer the question as to why some individuals migrate but others do not (Kainth, 2009:83-84).

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Political factors (push and pull) Kurdish Iraqis have suffered from war throughout their history. This has been because they have their own identity and land but have not been able to obtain their rights due to political conflict in this area. If we consider the history of Kurdish people, it can be seen that there was political instability in Kurdistan Iraqi between 1950 and 1996 and many tragedies affected the Kurdish people due to the actions of the Iraqi regime which did not care about human rights. This was one strong push factor which made young people decide to leave their lands and move to developed countries (Chatelard, 2003.3). However, Britain might be a stable country in Europe. It offers political and social stability for people include migrants, since it has a democratic system which cares about human rights and small communities; this brought a significant number of young migrants to Britain especially to some cities like London and Leicester. For instance, by 1990, the number of Iraqi migrants was between 70,000 and 80,000 people. However, by 2007 the number had increased to over 100, 000 people. The majority Iraqi migrants are Kurdish, who came to the UK as refugees. They define themselves as Kurdish rather than Iraqi since they found freedom in a democratic country like Britain in term of free speech and asking for their rights (Hendow, 2010: 37-38).

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Economic factors (push and pull). There is no doubt that Iraq, including the Kurdistan region, has faced an economic crisis for decades due to war (Iran, Kuwait, Gulf and Post-Gulf wars 1980-2003) and due to its unhealthy diplomatic relationships with other countries. This has been caused by unhealthy economic relationships with neighbours and with the developed countries. In addition, Iraq generally was unable to produce as much oil as in the past, since it was banished by international law. The Saddam regime tried to produce oil in the Kurdish areas, especially in Kirkuk which had a lot of Kurdish citizens. Saddam did not produce oils in the Sunni areas and he had been tried to saveoils in the Sunni areas, these divided Iraq in term of economic recourse.This brought many economic problems, not only for the government, but also for young people in the Kurdistan region, such as a lack of jobs, low incomes, difficulty with learning new skills and finding jobs in other countries (Nordhaus, 2004:3-4). This was what the Iraqi regime wanted because it wanted make the Kurdistan region weak in economic terms. This caused a wave of young Kurdish migrants to European countries. Nevertheless, Britain is one of the developed countries which has a strong economy and has good economic relationships with other developed countries such as those in Western Europe and the USA. Since Britain was the leader of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, this led to a significant number of international migrants from around the world, especially between 1960 and 2005. For instance, the number of migrants who came from Third World and developing countries to developed countries increased dramatically from 30 million to 60 million.Therefore, Britain and other developed countries have a strong economic situation such as a strong currency, high incomes, available jobs because of industrialization, and the opportunity to learn new skills (Geneva, 2009:4-5). This shows the role of economic pull factors in developed countries such as Britain in terms of the migration process.However, it might not be the only factors which pull young Kurdish people and persuade them to move to Leicester, since young Iraqi Kurds have been migrants everywhere.

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Social factors (push and pull). Ethnicity is of the main problem in Iraq, and one which pushed Kurdish people and those of other identities to move from one city to another, or move from one country to another. Since Iraq was divided into three ethnicities (Shiie, Kurd and Sunni), this diversity, together with a lack of a democratic system, caused social conflict between them, and it led to war for three decades since Iraqi regime (Saddam regime) has been dominated by Sunni which used power to control the Shiie and Kurdish populations in Iraq until 2003 (Chatelard, 2003:3). This led to many tragedies for the Kurdish people, such as violence against civilians, and wars between 1988 and 1991. This led to a stronger national identity for the Kurdish people than before, since it has been recognized that they were killed because of their Kurdish identity, bringing many social problems for Kurdish families. For instance, there are many people who lost all their family members in Halabja when the Iraqi regime used chemical weapons against civilians, and they are many Kurdish women who still do not know where their husband are, since they were made to disappear by Iraqi troops in 1988. So it can be said that the Iraqi regime tried to destroy the Kurdish social structure by using economic and political power (Wimmer, 2003:118-119). However, a democratic country makes opportunities for small nations in terms of allowing communities to develop and to ask for their rights, even though they are migrants. Such a social structure helps Kurdish people to develop strong communities in Europe, even if they have different religions, beliefs and accents, especially in the UK, which makes for a positive social situation for Kurdish immigrants who can define themselves as Kurdish, since there might not be social punishment in Britain because of their identity (Wahlbeck, 2002:225). So, many young Kurdish people find Britain to be a safe country which makes them strong, since they can ask for their rights in a peaceful way, and they might live without being under any threat. These are some of the pull and push factors for young Kurds in terms of migrating to Britain. They show the process behind Kurdish migration in that, throughout history, there have been push factors at work in the Kurdish area (political, social and economic) and pull factors in the UK (political, social and economic). 15

2.4 Theoretical migration There are many arguments in terms of theoretical migration which explain why some people move to other countries but others do not. However, generally all migration theories focus on the process of push and pull factors with regard to migration such as that of Lee (1966) who redefines the process of migration between two places in the form of “Pushes” in the place of origin, the other being “Pulls” at the destination. The difference between them in terms of economic, social (culture) and political factors leads to migration and relates to the motivation behind all kinds of migration (Johnston, et al, 2000:505). In addition, migration, like other phenomena, has been the subject of many different theories which might be helpful in terms of showing all migration dimensions (social, economic and political) since there are differences between them in term of the analysis of migration. Consequently (King & Smith, 2012:128). The process of migration throughout history has led to the creation of many theories which might be helpful when it comes to understanding human movement and the reasons why people leave the land of their birth.

Economic approaches The economic factor is one of the most important reasons why people move from poor to rich countries. This led to the development of a theory which is called the neo-classical economic theory. This shows that people move from their areas to new places which are strong economically, because they might have a chance to get job and the opportunity of a high income, neither of which may be available in the original place (Koenig, el at, 2004: 255). This approach shows the pull and push process of economic factors between poor countries and developed countries, since rich countries have improved industrially, and they need a large labour force. In addition, the neo-classical theory shows the relationship between individuals and rational choice, since migrants are looking to find a country which makes them better off in terms of costs and benefits. This is referred to as a rational comparison between a place of origin and a new destination (Miller &Castles, 2003:22).

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This approach has been divided into two theories. One is the neoclassical macro-economic theory which shows the relationship between the processes of economic development and the development of labour migration. For instance, labour moves from low-wage countries to high-wage countries in an attempt to improve their income. The other is neoclassical micro-economic theory that also refers to the labour market. However, it focuses on the individual’s rationale in terms of which country they might choose to move to, since there are big differences between countries with regards to the cost of travel, the psychological cost of leaving families and family members, and adaption to the new environment in terms of culture and a new language. (European Communities, 2000:3). Furthermore, Borjas(1989)points out that these approaches might be helpful to understand more about the process of movement and the types of migration, since it explains why people have been trying to find the best country to stay and to change their lives. However, he has argued that the process of migration has had a negative effect on the countries providing the migrants since it might lead to a decline in the rate of skill levels. Even Chiswick (2000)claims that the process of migration has a negative effect on the place of origin when people with high skills move to other countries. This has been referred to as a “brain drain” (Miller & Castles, 2003:23). These theories are helpful when it comes to understanding the meaning of migration,they show how economic factors can affect people in terms of moving and the rationale for choosing a new life. However, they could not answer many questions since it is too simple in terms of the analysis of the migration process, such as why young Kurdish people chose to move to Britain rather than to another country, and why they move to Leicester rather than another city.

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Social approach There are many new arguments in the field of social theory which explain the role of structure and agency in terms of the migration process, since structure and agency theories have been used to analyse many social phenomena by sociologists such as Bourdieu, Giddens and Stones (O'reilly, 2012:14:17). There is even a difference between their ideas in terms of the relationship between structure as a group and agency as an individual in society. For instance, Bourdieu claims that structure can affect all human activity, and can remake behaviour (Lusis& Philip, 2006: 883). However,Giddens’s ‘structuration theory’ (Giddens,1984) shows the relationship between agency and structure. These are all about the relationship among individuals and groups, and how they interact with each other in terms of social behaviour and social phenomena (Haas, 2007: 50). Furthermore, social structure has affected the waves of migration since it causes individual behaviour. For example, it has been found that there is a link been structural change (resources and the social environment) and the rate of migration in society (Koppel, 1976:233). This theory shows that the social structure could have a role to play in terms of pull and push social factors. However, it shows the role of the individual with regard to making the structure which causes the emergence of push and pull factors. These illustrate the relationship between individual decisions and the effect of social structure in terms of migration, since both affect the rate of migration between countries. Another social migration theory is the migration system which explains the relationship between the migration system and structure (macro, meso and micro). It focuses on social structure and groups rather than on individuals. For instance, it explains the process of migration between two or three countries which have their own economic, social and political situations(Taylor, el at, 1993:454). For instance, the migration system explains the process of migration from Mexican to the USA, and it explains how colonialism leads to migration between some countries, such as having a significant number of Indian people in Britain, Algerian people in France or Turkish people in German (O'Reilly, 2012:46). In addition, network theory shows the role of relationships between migrants in terms of the process of migration and the types of migration. Network migration has affected the various waves of migration since it leads to a decline in the cost and risk of migration, and 18

offers an easy way to choose a country(De kaa, 1996: 263). For instance, people tend to move to a city or a country which has a migrant population. Therefore, they can find friends and family who might be helpful in terms of getting to the place safely, language, finding a job and a place to stay temporarily, and learning experience from them. This makes for the emergence of ethnic communities and ethnic diversities in developed countries (Taylor, et al,1993:449). Furthermore, network migration shows the role of the group which makes migration decisions, since there are many nations which are affected by group decisions rather than by those of individuals. For example,The Asian family has a big play role to play in terms of migration decisions, especially in the case of women who cannot move if their families, and particularly the elders and men, do not agree with her choice and her movement to another country (Miller & Castles, 2003:27). This might explain the role of social push and pull factors for young Kurdish women migrants to Leicester, since they may have different social pull and push factors compared with young Kurdish men. In recent years, a new wave of migration has brought about the emergence of a new theory in the form of transnational theory. This explains the role of globalization in terms of new transport and communications, and how it makes it easy to increase the rate of migration from developing countries to developed countries. This is because people can maintain their close relationships because of new technology, which is helpful with regard to sending and receiving information between the origin and the destination(Miller & Castles, 2003:29).this might shows the different wave of Kurdish young migrations in Leicester since they have been in Leicester for different reasons and in different times. All these social theories show that economics aspects are not the only pull and push factors with which to analyse migration, since there are many social push and pull factors which make people move to another country. In fact, migrants do not focus solely on income and jobs when they decide to migrate to a particular place. This answers many question about the process of migration, such as why migrants choose one city rather than another. This question might be answered by my research findings since I will ask my research participants in terms of the why they chose Leicester rather than other cities in Britain.

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Political approach Political push and pull factors might be useful when it comes to understanding the migration process between countries, since the political system can play a big role in social phenomena, especially for new migrants such as in the case of the wave of migration after the Second World War and the Industrial Revolution. This has been explained by structure theory which illustrates the role of the political system and political conflict between countries to the individual migrant’s motivation (DeWind&Portes, 2007:42-43). For instance, there are big differences between the European political systems (democratic systems) and some African or Asian political systems (not democratic systems). This affects waves of migration from undemocratic countries to democratic ones, especially when migrants find more rights and greater peace in a democratic structure (Statham &Koopmans, 2000:31). Another point is that structure theory can explain the link between inequality and migration, and how social and political inequality have affected the rate of migration, and it causes an increase in the number of migrants from developing countries to developed countries. Consequently, there are strong relationships between political system, inequality and migration (Bastia, 2013:11-12).This approach shows that there are many pull and push political factors behind migration. People may affect by political systems, since they can find a significant difference between political systems in terms of human rights and freedom.

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Chapter Three Methodology This research is qualitative in nature because of the belief on the part of sociologiststhat this is an appropriate way to analyse culture, social problems and social phenomena which relate to individuals and groups in society. There are many explanations of the term ‘qualitative research’, but they all refer to the same definition which is an approach to the study of social worlds which seeks to analyse and describe the behaviour and culture of individuals and social groups, to find how differences between groups make for different forms of phenomena (Bryman, 1998:46-47). Research into the process of pull and push factors in terms of migration to Leicester needs to use qualitative methods in order to find out and explain why Kurdish people have come to Leicester. This is because this method helps researchers to obtain a great deal of information for analytical purposes, such as which reasons (economic, political or social) were particularly strong with regard to young Kurds migrating to Leicester. It allows different stories to emerge which might be helpful with regard to analysing the process of migration, and to examine whether or not the situation of young Kurdish migrants is different from that of other nations or ethnicities. Consequently, the research questions investigated the motivations of young Kurdish migrants in terms of coming to Leicester by using two methods. First of all, a focus group has been used to obtain the pull and push factors affecting Kurdish young migrants (male and female) to Leicester, which brought up many points for analysis, because it is a method which is helpful for researchers who are interested in obtaining a great deal of information from certain groups and from certain people who may have different experiences.

Secondly, individual interviews have also been used to identify some points which might have been difficult to find through the use of focus groups, since there is no interaction between participants. In addition, individual interviews had been used by researchers who wished to identify new factors, since the participants may have different perspectives that could emerge in the group interviews, such as in the case of young Kirkuk migrants who 21

faced different situations in terms of the process of push and pull factors, and the second wave of Kurdish migrations who came to Leicester after 2011. Furthermore, the analysis has been divided into several parts to explain clearly and show the relationship between theories of migration and Kurdish young peoples’ motivation to move to Leicester.

3.1Focus groups The use of focus groups is one of the most familiar methods which has been used by social scientists in dealing with social phenomena. It has a long history in that it was initially called “focussed” interviews (Rook, et al, 2007:1-2). So, focus groups are a way in which a social researcher brings together some people to act as participants who talk to one another in terms of a specific topic, since they have experience and information about this topic (May, 2001:125). Historically, this method has been chosen by social researchers since it offers many opinions and ideas on the part of the participants which might be helpful in answering research questions, and give the researcher more ideas when it comes to analysing social problems. In addition, it saves time and resources from the point of view of the researcher (Newbold, el at, 1998:258). I chose young Kurds in Leicester who are between 20 and 35 years of age, because the majority of Kurds who have migrated to Britain are young people. They like to speak together about particular issues such as migration, and they were helpful to the researcher since they hoped to address and resolve the migration issue as a result of this research. As a result I was able to obtain a great deal of information, was able to save time and observe the interaction between the participants as a result of using focus groups interview. In terms of the number of interviewees, the aim was to use 10 young people which was included both males (5) and females (5), divided into 2 focus groups – males and females who live in Leicester.

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3.2 Individual Interviews An interview is one of the most widely and most commonly used methods in qualitative research. The social researcher usually uses this method in order to obtain data and collect information which might show the reality of a social phenomenon such as migration. There are two main types of interview. One is the unstructured interview which is the normal approach since the interviewer asks questions of the participants. It is just like a conversation between two persons about social problems or culture (Bryman, 2012:469). I chose this type of interview since it was helpful in order to identify some different points in terms of the motivation of young Kurdish migrants with regard to moving to Leicester, since the participants might reveal different opinions if they speak about the pull and push factors face to face with the interviewer. This allowed different attitudes to emerge. This was important in order to identify more than one pull and push factor. In addition, it might be important with regard to the researcher’s interviews to find a number of different perspectives, because the participants might have different attitudes when not in a group. However, the individual interview needs a lot of time, resources and research money, and it caused some difficulties for me since I did not have enough time. This encouraged me to make four interviews only - two women and two men - who had moved to Leicester for different reasons.

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3.3 Ethical issues Ethical issues is one of the most important aspects of my research which had to be considered before starting the research in term of finding the participants, using a recording device and receiving information. My research involved some ethical issues which made it difficult for me in terms of finding the motivation of Kurdish young migrants in Leicester. Therefore, it was difficult to find some young people who wanted to be involved with regard to this issue, since they knew their speech and their names might be recorded as part of the process of analyzing information. Consequently, they did not have confidence in terms of speaking initially. For instance, the meal participants thought that it would have political problems for them if returned home for ever, because free speech was limited when they left the Kurdistan region. In addition, they had difficulty with the use of the recorder such that they were not willing to speak to me about my research questions initially, and they doubted my research conditions which was that I would destroy all information after I had finished the dissertation. As a result, the Kurdish society leader asked to avoid the use of the recorder, especially for the women participants. Another point is that the participants had difficulty with the focus group method since they did not have any idea how they might start in terms of the questions they were asked to talk about. However, I have been used some academic approaches to overcome these issues. First of all, I found the leader of Kurdish society in Leicester. Because of his relations with many young Kurdish people in Leicester, I was able to find the necessary number of participants. In addition, I went to Kurdish meeting places in Leicester such as Kurdish restaurants and the Kurdish Mosque in order to meet young Kurdish people who live in Leicester. In addition, I have tried to explain everything in terms of the use of information. For example, I told them about the university research regulations about saving information and only using it for academic purposes. I told them that their identities would hidden by using a pseudonym, and I showed them the university papers which explain the British research conditions. Therefore, the research participants have the right to have detailed information in terms of my research, such as the use of a recorder and the purpose of the research. This ensured the confidentiality of the participants who answered my research questions. They did so because they felt safe and free to speak in term of their motivations for moving to 24

Leicester. Another point was that I offered arguments in terms of the simple ways to use any recordings, which is that it is helpful to the researcher in terms of obtaining all their ideas. I also explained how this research would be useful to Kurdish migrants in Leicester as well as in other cities in the UK. This persuaded them to help me in my research in terms of answering my research questions and finding other young Kurdish people to act as participants.

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Chapter Four Analysis of Findings

There are many push and pull factors (economic, social and political) which cause Kurdish young people to move from Iraqi Kurdistan to Britain and there are many young Kurdish people in Leicester who are affected by the process of push and pull factors the during the first(1991-2003)and second wave(2010-2013) Kurdish young migrations to Leicester. There are several points which have been found by this research in terms of the motivation for Kurdish young migration to Leicester. These points all show the factors behind Kurdish young people’s decisions to move to Leicester such as political, social and economic factors and they connect with migration theories. However, the research findings also show how the process of push and pull factors has changed for Kurdish young migration because of the gender, time and place and highlight the difference in type of Kurdish migration, depending on whether this took place in the first or second wave.

I begin by discussing the findings with regard to male participants who live in Leicester in terms of the motivation of young Kurdish Iraqi people who migrated from Kurdish cities in order to change their lives and to benefit from a better social, political and economic situation.

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Male participants The research found that all Kurdish young men migration participants in Leicester have been affected by the negative situation in Iraqi Kurdistan and the push factors were strong for them since they had been there during the economic crisis and Iraq wars(1989-2003) so there are three main factors (economic, political and social) which push young people to Britain. For instance in one focus group question shows the role of push factors in Kurdish region include Kirkuk to Leicester. Researcher- what did you think of your country before coming abroad? MarwanDana-

I was really pessimistic about my region in terms of everything. I agree

KarzanNerimanJebar-

Me too Yeah Same for me

Kurdish young people thought about moving abroad since they are pessimistic in terms of everything in Iraqi Kurdistan and migration might be the only option for the first wave Kurdish migration who wanted changing their economic, social and political life.

The Economic push factor The economic situation is one of the most important push factors which cause an increase in the number of migrations within and between countries. For instance, Marwan (age 31) claims that ‘there were a lot of economic problems such as lack of jobs, political problems such as the conflict between political parties which made difficulties for young people and people could not deal with the situation’. This point shows the role of economic push factors which have prompted Kurdish young people to move to Britain when Kurdistan Iraq has had abnormal situations such as war and economic crisis and discrimination. This has affected the individual level of income in the Kurdistan region for two decades.

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The political push factor Politics is another push factor which affects the rate of migration and it encourages young people to leave their countries to go to another country which has a more secure environment, freedom and human rights. Dana (age 34) points out that ‘political situations cause many young people in Kurdistan to move because everything has been divided by political parties which makes limitations for young people in terms of getting jobs, studying and communications’.‘This made us move to Britain as we did not have other choices and being a migrant was the only way to change our life and our family’s life’,Jebar said (age 25). This shows the difficulty of a young Kurdish male’s life in Kurdistan because of the political situation generally in Iraq and especially in the Kurdish region between 1986 and 2003, and it made a significant number of young Kurdish migrants go to places around the world such as Britain. Furthermore, ‘Inequality was another problem there which has affected everything’,Marwan (age 31) said.Social and political inequality are serious social problems which push people to move to another country. Therefore, there is a strong link between social and political inequality and social phenomena like migration.

The social push factor Another point is that social relationships have been affected by the process of migration. Generally, migrants have a strong relationship with their families and friends and they have connections with home because of globalization even if they live far from their own countries. For instance, Karzan(age 33) said‘Yeah I have a brother and now we live together in Leicester. I was affected by what my brother and friend said in terms of moving to Britain, especially Leicester, because I did not have a nice life in Iraq. I was not happy any more, and I heard many nice stories in terms of the UK from them. Neriman (age 29) points out that ‘I was encouraged by my friends and my family to move to the UK since I could see the big difference between my country and Britain, you know there was real life here but not in Kurdistan’. It seems that relationships can lead to an increase in the rate of migration from one country to another, especially for Asian people like Kurds who have a strong network of 28

relationships with each other such as family, family friends and friends. Therefore, they encourage people around them and they help each other to get to Britain. For example, new migrants can benefit from their relatives and friends in finding jobs and places to live for a couple of months or maybe more; this matches with a migration theory which is called network migration(Taylor, el at, 1994: 728-729). Therefore, new migrants need help and to be able to benefit from the experience of friends and relatives in order to help them to adapt to a new environment. In addition, there are many young Kurds who have been affected by other young people who came back to visit the Kurdish region for a short time, and noted big economic, social and political changes. For instance, Jebar(age 25) said ‘I think people are affected by migration when migrants visit Kurdistan for a short time, because we can see how they are better than us in terms of income, social situation, everything. Let me tell you about my case. I had many problems when I saw the visiting migrants. I asked myself why not me and why don’t I try to be like them by moving to a European country like Britain’. This shows the interaction between young people which is called social interaction in terms of the theory of network migration .At the same time, it shows there are pull factors which encourage Kurdish young people to move to Leicester since there are significant differences between developed countries like Britain and the Third World like Iraq.

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I will explore these factors which pull Kurdish young meal to Leicester, this might be helpful to understand the process of pull which affect Kurdish young meal Iraqi. The economic pull factor Britain has always been a country which has had a significant amount of migration since it is an industrial country and it is in the centre of Europe. These factors increase the rate of job opportunities and higher wages and Kurdish young migration were aware of these economic opportunities. Neriman states that ‘Leicester people are really friendly and helpful in terms of everything and there are many job opportunities for foreign people. I suppose that’s because Leicester has had many positive factors throughout history’. It seems that there is a link between job opportunities and the movement of young migrants since young people are the force of labour and they have ability and energy for doing work. This has been describing in the literature review chapter two as neoclassicalmicro and macro-economic theories (European Communities, 2000:3). Marwan points out that ‘I would like to say that the young are the force of labour. They leave their countries where they do not have the chance to get a job and when they cannot get any facilities. We had the same situation. We wanted work but there were no good jobs. There was not equality in terms of getting jobs’. However, since 2011 there are many young Kurdish migrants in Leicester who came to study for Ph.D.s and Master’s degrees who come from the Kurdish region which has a better situation in terms of economic, social and political factors. I refer to this as the second wave of Kurdish migration. This makes for a new wave of young migrants who have a different motivation for moving from the Kurdish region to Leicester. Qareman points out that, ‘No I did not have problems because I was a lecturer at a university and I did not have social and political problems but I got a scholarship from the Kurdish government and I would like to study for a Ph.D. at the University of Leicester and gain new experiences in the UK’. This testimony shows recent Kurdish migration to the UK is for different reasons such as learning new skills and getting a British degree at the University of Leicester and this explains how the type of Kurdish young migration has been changed in Leicester because of time and place. The types of economic pull factors have also changed for this reason.

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The political pull factors The participants I interviewed were looking for a country which has a secure environment, a democratic system and an organised society. Democracy brings a situation which respects human rights and peoples’ choices. For instance, ‘Britain is one of the democratic countries which shows respect for all ethnic and religious groups and the British government protects their rights’, Karzan said. This makes for a peaceful life in Britain even though there are many different nationalities and ethnic groups in Britain, especially in Leicester which has much ethnic diversity. Karzan said ‘I moved to Britain in 1997. We had a lot of problems in Iraqi Kurdistan and we heard and saw from mass media like satellite television the good situation in Britain in terms of safety, human rights and income, so we were encouraged since we had a terrible situation in terms of political, social and economic factors’. So the political situation is important to migrants since it affects their daily life. However, the political issue makes migration processbetween the two countries since the British Empire occupied many countries in the Middle East such as Kurdistan. Marwan points out ‘Having Kurdish migration to the UK is ‘backlash’ because my country was divided by the British Empire, you see. Now we are a big nation without a country’ this has been describing in the literature review as migration system (Taylor, el at, 1993:454). Furthermore, Dana supports Marwan’s points. He added a point. ‘We can say that after 2000 the British government gave many citizens a passport and a lot of Kurdish young migrants could get passports since they were not ready to go back home’. These quotations show the role of political factors in terms of increasing or decreasing migration between the two places. However, It has been found that the process of push and pull factors has changed for Kurdish migration because of the place in which migrants are born and the places in which they grow up. For instance, Kurdish migrants who come from the city of Kirkuk have been affected by the process of push and pull factors more than those who come from the Kurdish region. Therefore, there are social problems like ethnic divisions, political problems like environmental insecurity and economic problems such as a lack of jobs, Serko (age 32) claims, ‘I was born in Kirkuk which is a multicultural city in Iraq, we moved to Bagdad first and after we moved to the Kurdish region to find a safe place. There are bad situations in 31

Kirkuk, so my family still live in Heweler and they do not want to go back to Kirkuk. You know, my life was not nice and I was really tired in Kirkuk, so I was pessimistic about everything since I left my birthplace with my family because of social and political conflict between Kurds and Arabs. My life was tough’. It seems that the process of push and pull factors is strong for Kurdish young people who live in Kirkuk since they have significant political problems and instabilities. It is important to consider the role of specific places

The social pull factor The social pull factor has been strong since Britain has been recognised as a multicultural country and has an ethnic diversity from the different waves of migration. Therefore, generally speaking, migrants are looking forward to finding a country like Britain which helps them to avoid isolation. For instance, Leicester is a multicultural city which contains many different migrant communities such as KurdsFor this reason, Kurdish young migrants have been trying to live with each other to maintain their cultures and their identities in Leicester. Jebar states ‘We can say that Leicester has strong Kurdish communities and we have friends and family here, who encouraged us to move from our country to the UK. Therefore, it is like Kurdistan, you can get what you want, such as there are some Kurdish restaurants around, many friends and family friends, Kurdish Mosque and everything. Sometimes I feel that I am in Kurdistan; you know we can get all kinds of foreign food here’. Marwan points out, ‘I would like to say that Leicester is one of the most multicultural cities in the UK after London and Birmingham, so we feel better here since we do not have problems like racism even though there are many different nations and different religions here’. It shows migrants have paid attention to the fact that it is a multicultural city. Therefore, they feel safe and comfortable, so Kurdish young people have been trying to make a strong Kurdish community in Leicester and they have been trying to live with others even though they have different cultures, language and identity. For these reasons both Dana and Neriman said, ‘We came here because Leicester people are really friendly. It is a multicultural city and there are many Kurdish people who live around Leicester’. So social push and pull factors can answer the question of why Kurdish young people move to Leicester rather than other cities. 32

These show that the process of pull and push factors had a big role to play in making young male Kurdish migrants come from the Kurdistan region to Leicester between the Iraq Gulf war and the post Iraq Gulf war (1991-2003) and there is a strong match between the migration theories such as the economic pull and push factors. Political structure theories and network migration, migration system and the research findings, but this process has been less strong in the Kurdistan region (push factors) and Britain (pull factors) after 2003.Therefore, the Kurdish region has improved greatly in terms of economic and political international relationships, because of changes in the Iraqi regime and as a result of finding oil, so many young Kurds would like to go back home even though they are British citizens. They all (Kerim, Jebar, Marwan) claim that ‘Yeah, of course we want to go back home, if we can see political, social and economic change’. Furthermore, even if new male migrants can see major reasons to stay in the UK, they would like to return home after their studies, Qareman states, ‘Absolutely, I will go back because I do not want be here forever, even if I have the opportunity to get a professional job or get married, I just want to learn more about my subject and get my degree’. This seems to reflect how the process of push and pull factors has changed for young Kurdish migrants since Iraqi Kurdistan could do well in terms of social, political and economic factors which have become stable. It could be said that there are strong links between the process of migration and the gap between developed and developing countries with regards to economic, political and social situations. In addition, the number of those migrating might be reduced and the type of migration might be changed from undocumented migrants to international students if developing countries can obtain help from developed countries. This came from the literature review and the research finding in term of the motivation of Kurdish young migration to Leicester. However, It has been found that the process of push and pull factors has changed for Kurdish migration because of the place in which migrants are born and the places in which they grow up. For instance, Kurdish migrants who come from the city of Kirkuk have been affected by the process of push and pull factors more than those who come from the Kurdish region. Therefore, there are social problems like ethnic divisions, political problems 33

like environmental insecurity and economic problems such as a lack of jobs. So there are a number of great differences between Leicester and Kirkuk in terms of political, social and economic factors, which generate a strong motivation to stay in Britain. For instance, Serko states, ’Of course, I do not want to go back home, I want to stay here and I would like to build a family in Britain because there are big differences between Kirkuk and Leicester. For example, did you hear in the media that there were several explosions in Kirkuk last week?’.It seems that the process of pull and push factors is strong for Kurdish young people who live in Kirkuk since they have significant political problems and instabilities. It is important to consider the role of specific places in term of the migration.

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I will now discuss female participants’ responses with regard to their motivations for moving from the Kurdish region to Leicester, since they have different motivations for being migrants to Leicester than young males.

Female participants The process of migration might show some difference between them since women are not like men in terms of the process of push and pull factors. Kurdish young women, like women of other nations, have different motivations for migrating to the UK because they have different responsibilities such as caring for children and families with study or work, in my research I found two groups of Kurdish women migration, one before 2003 and one after 2003. The first group has been affected by the political and economic processes like men since they took different responsibilities at home and the out of house between the Iraq Gulf war and the post Iraq Gulf war; but they did not take responsibility of making money. Therefore, they did not have enough opportunities to study and work outside the house in Kurdistan. Those are called the first wave of migrants. In comparison, the second group came to study after 2011. Their experiences demonstrate how the process of push and pull factors has changed for women since the Kurdish region is in a better situation than in previous years in terms of economic, social and political factors. New groups of women have come to migrate to Leicester to come to study for a degree at the University of Leicester since many Kurdish young women have got scholarship from the Kurdish government region. One such student, Shenge (age 27), notes that, ‘I did not have any problems, I was happy in Kurdistan but I came to study and I got married. Now I am a British citizen’.There are some women like Shenge who study for Master’s and Ph.D. degrees with her husband’s support to receive British degree. Therefore, it might be helpful to obtain a suitable job such as lecturer at a university or gain employment in a famous company in Kurdish region if they would like to go back home forever. .

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The political and economic factors (push and pull) There are some political and economic which make Kurdish young women migrate to Leicester, this made the first wave Kurdish migration who suffered from the war and the economic problems in Iraqi Kurdistan and this affected their opportunities in term of working and study. Being migrants could not change the situation of Kurdish women in the first group was housewives. Pery states, ‘I had a good situation in Kurdistan in terms of everything. For instance, I was a teacher at school. I had a good relationship with my family and I was really happy there but now I am a housewife here’.Shirn points out that, ‘I could not get a job because of political corruption. They said, you need a political support letter to get a job. I did not have any support letter because I did not care about political parties. It was rubbish, so I thought about living abroad but nothing changes here for me’. It seems that the first wave of young Kurdish women migrants was due to the economic and political problems in Iraqi Kurdistan. They had difficulties with regard to the political and economic situation in the Kurdish region because they were affected by political and economic corruption such as shown by the Shrin case which showed the effect of political corruption on the female lifestyle, since women were often jobless in the Kurdish region, even though they were graduates. However, there are differences between young Kurdish women’s reasons for migrating between the second and the first wave in terms of the process of push and pull factors. The second wave Kurdish young women migrate for educational purposes and to be international students and they already had a job in the Kurdistan region since the Kurdish government gave them the chance to study abroad. For instance, Leriy states, ‘I am an international student, I did not have any economic, social and political problems in Kurdistan, I came to here to study only and get a British degree, which will make me strong in terms of my subject and my experiences abroad’. This shows the only economic push factor is to obtain a new degree and learn new skills and it might be helpful to understand the difference between earlier times of Kurdish women’s migration who came to Leicester to get married before such as in the female focus group interviews discussed above who came to Britain by the process of marriage. 36

Furthermore, there are no pull economic factors for younger Kurdish women who have migrated to Leicester in the second wave since they are students and they have got scholarships from the Kurdish regional government, so they do not need to worry about finding a job and making money. For instance, Leriy points out, ‘I got a scholarship from the Kurdish government and I have enough energy to study since I am young now; you know I like to do a lot such as study abroad when I am young and I would like to focus on my studies since I have a chance like this’. This shows the difference between women Kurdish migrations in Leicester. In the second wave women migrants could find more benefits in Leicester in terms of education and language. Now the Kurdish region is better than before in terms of economic, social and political factors and the second wave of Kurdish women’s migration generally comes from a different socio-economic background, which helps them to study well and get a high level of education.

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The social factors (pull and push) The social factor is one of the strong factors which cause Asian women to migrate to Britain. Culturally, they cannot move to other countries alone and they need permission from their parents if they want a chance to move to another country. Kurdish young women, like other Asian women such as Arab, Somali and Pakistani women, had the same problem with migration and they could not leave their country by themselves. In addition, they have been affected by friends and family. Kurdish friends who live in Britain have had conversations with them in terms of lifestyle there. Rozh says, ‘I have a lot of relatives here such as my brother, uncle and my husband. I came to the UK because of them’. Shrin and Fewziadd, ‘I have a lot of relatives in UK such as uncles and cousins’. Rozhsaid, ‘Of course I have’. This shows the first wave of women migrants as the first wave of men migrants have decided to live abroad since they heard things from their families who live in the UK and these show the role of social interaction since Kurdish people have strong relationships with each other, especially when they made conversation in term of living abroad. Shirn said ‘I cannot say, how I thought about Britain; I thought it is the best country in the world especially when my relative spoke to me about the UK and when I saw it in media before’. In addition, social processes caused the first wave of Kurdish women to migrate to Leicester as part of what is referred to as the Network migration and migration chain. This explains the role of social processes such as getting married, to lead to make migration to developed countries (Haug, 2008:586). This is the only way which allowed the first wave of Kurdish young women to be migrants in Britain since they could not leave their home because of culture boundaries, so they got into Britain by the process of marriage. Re claims that ‘I did because I got married’, and Rozhgar points out that ‘My husband moved to the UK before me; he said you should come here and as I could not live alone there, I came even though I did not like it’. It shows that Kurdish women participants came to Britain and they chose Leicester. Their husbands live there and they want to be with them and it also shows wave of Kurdish women migrants did not come to the UK to work or study but they came to get married and make a family life in Britain, in the first waves.

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Furthermore, the social push factors to go back home have been stronger for the first wave of Kurdish women migrations, for a number of reasons. First of all, they do not have work out of the house and they generally spend their time with children at home. Secondly, they feel isolated since they are far from their families in Iraq and they cannot see them often. Pery claims that ‘I’d love to visit there every month if it was possible (smile)’. Rozhe added that ‘I love visiting there to see my family and friends, since I do not have them here.’ Another point is that they do not want to educate their children in Britain, so the majority of Kurdish young women would like to move back to Kurdistan and they want to spend the rest of their life in the Kurdistan region. Shirn said ‘We feel alone, especially the women, since we spend most of our time at home, so I would like to be there forever and I asked my husband for that ’. And Rozhgar added ‘Of course if Kurdistan gets better in terms of getting a job, education and free speech, we will move back as soon as possible. You know we moved here because of some problems like those’. However, recent Kurdish women migrants to Leicester, who arrived as part of the second wave, have come to Leicester to study by themselves with their parents’ permission. They are not isolated in the city because they are busy with their studies and, given that they do not need to spend their time at home, and they can speak English well which helps them to communicate more easily. This helps them to make new friends and learn new skills and explore different lifestyles, often encouraging them to study more and become a professional. Shenge states, ‘Yes Britain is helpful to me in terms of language and education and I would love to learn more and get further degrees, such as a Ph.D’.It seems that Kurdish women participants who are in the first wave do not want to stay in Leicester if they could make a decision in terms of returning home. Therefore, being abroad does not bring a huge change in their lives and there are a number of boundaries to lifestyle in Britain, such as working and going out. Nevertheless, the second women migrant are not isolated in Leicester since they have the ability to speak English and they have been going out to university several times a week to take classes and see friends, but they would like to go back home after their studies.

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There are several main points which highlight the differences between earlier and more recent patterns of migration. First of all, recent women migrants can make decisions in terms of where they would like to stay and study. Shenge notes, ‘Actually I lived in Leeds last year but I moved to Leicester to study and I like Leicester, even I left some friends in Leeds, I think Leeds, like Leicester, is multicultural, so my husband moved here too since I decided to study at the University of Leicester’. Shenge’s experience shows how education can change the role and the rights of young Kurdish women in the UK. For instance, Shenge’s husband takes care of their child since Shenge is busy with her Master’s study and he moved to Leicester because of his wife’s study. Furthermore, the new wave Kurdish women migrations belong to study and education and their aims are more than getting married and having children. Leriy points out that, ‘I chose Leicester because my husband studies in London and I could not find my major subject in other universities which have good ranks like the University of Leicester, so my husband and I decided to stay in Leicester even though he studies in London’. It seems Leriy’s primary aim was to study which prompted the couple to stay in Leicester and it shows the cooperation between the pair which bring more benefits for women. Another point is that such the first wave of Kurdish women have a big role in terms of making the decisions to go back home as, if they do not want to stay in the UK, they do not need to stay after completing their degree. Therefore, there will be more job opportunities for them in the Kurdistan region and this may be helpful in encouraging their husbands to consider moving back home. Leriy claims that, ‘Yes of course, I will go back home when I get my degree, why I will stay here when I do not have economic and social and political problems in Kurdistan region, you know I could be a lecturer at a university, and I really like my culture’. It can be seen that there are important differences between the waves of Kurdish women migrants in terms of the pull and push factors, decision-making and life style. This is because of the changing Kurdish regional situation after 2003. However, women in the first and second waves would both like to go back home and live near their families and friends.

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Chapter Five Discussion and Conclusion 5.1 Discussion The previous chapters have shown that there is a match between the literature reviews and the research findings in terms of the motivation of Kurdish young people to move to Leicester,while the discussion chapter shows how my research can be helpful in understanding the process by which young Kurdish Iraqi migrants moved from Iraqi Kurdistan to Leicester during the first and second Kurdish waves of young people. It also offers a comparison between the research findings and previous research in terms of the motivations of young migrants in Britain from other countries. The discussion shows the role of economic, political and social factors during the period of young Kurdish migration (1989-2013), since these motivations have changed with regard to gender, time and place for Kurdish migration, which I call the first and second wave of migration.

Economic factors The literature review in chapter two showed that there are some migration theories such as the Neo-classical economic theory which explain the role of the economic situation in terms of increasing and decreasing the rate of young migration between countries (Castles, 2002:1148-1149). There is no doubt from recent migration research that there are links between the process of migration and economic growth. Generally, migrants have been attracted to countries which have a significant number of job opportunities and high wages. However, economic factors are not the only factors leading to an increase or a decrease in the rate of migration. For instance, research has found that economics is not the only factor for Mexican people who move to the USA (Massey, 1988:395-396). My research argues that Kurdish young people have suffered from the economic crisis during the first and second Gulf wars in Iraq, and they have had to struggle economically since they could not earn enough money and had a lower level of income. Consequently, the process of push and pull 41

factors has been strong in terms of young male and female Kurdish migrants to Leicester, especially the first wave since they found a big difference between their place of origin and Leicester in terms of job opportunities, wages and income. This shows that the economic aspect was a factor which made many young Kurdish Iraqis migrate to Leicester. However, the economic factor was not the only factor which makes the Kurdish migration in Leicester.

Political factors There are many people who move to another country since they do not feel safe in their country. This is called the political push factor in terms of migration. This has led to a significant number of refuges and asylum seekers which has been addressed in Chapter two. However, the democratic system in Western countries has also affected young people who would like to receive their rights and who might like to live in a secure environment. Therefore, they can express their freedom in terms of freedom of speech and in elections. This could pull many young people to Europe, especially in the case of the many asylum seekers who leave their countries since they have been threatened by a particular regime or group. This is called the political pull factor in terms of the country which receives the migrants (Kline,2003:108). My research shows that Britain is a safe place for migrants. Certainly, there are people of many different nationalities who have moved to achieve safety in the UK. An example is the Sri Lankan male asylum seeker in another study who said “The living conditions are better in a sense. Open fields and the weather is good. It is nice to be in our country. We are only here because of the problems in Sri Lanka. Given a chance, if things are good, we (will) all go back” (Segrott& Robinson, 2002:27-28). My research argues that Kurdish people have suffered as a result of the political crises of the last three decades, because they ask for freedom and an independent country, and they have suffered as a result of many political problems. It has been found that political factors are another push and pull factor for Kurdish young people who live in Leicester. The first wave Kurdish young migration (meal and female) would like to go back home to the Kurdish region if the political situation was better.

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Social factors The literature has also argued that social factors always play a big role in terms of the process of migration. Therefore, it reveals the social migration process such as the existence of network migration and migratory chains between two countries. These affect the migrant communities, and this approach might answer some of the migration questions which could not be analysed by the political and economic theories (Wegge, 1998:959). It could be said that social push and pull factors affect the population of an area. For instance, Leicester is one of the most popular cities in terms of migration, and there is now a range of social backgrounds found in Leicester because of such migration. This has encouraged the British government to look for a peaceful situation for everyone, even though there are some social problems such as racism (Amin, 2002:12). My research argues that Kurdish young people focus on Leicester as a multicultural city which means that they would like to live with each other in such a way as to maintain their identities. It also means that they can receive help from their families and friends in terms of places to live and getting a job. This is also true of the Polish people who have moved to the UK. Other research found that social networks such as families, friends and family friends could be helpful to migrants in terms of getting jobs. Certainly, Polish people focus on social networks when it comes to finding a job (Sumption, 2009: 7). Furthermore, network migration had a play big role to play in terms of the first wave of women migrants to Leicester who came as part of the process of marriage. However, social pull and push factors changed with regard to the second wave of women migrants because they came to Leicester to study and to learn new skills. From the literature review and the research findings, young Kurdish people have been affected by a range of social, economic and political factors and one dimension actors cannot explain the motivation of Kurdish young people in Leicester. In addition, there are some similarities between the cases of young Kurdish migrants and those of other nations such India, Sri Lanka and Poland to the UK in terms of the motives for migration.

The literature review and the research findings explain how the process of push and pull has led to changes for young Kurdish Iraqi migrants during the Iraq wars (1989-2003) and it shows the difference in motivation between young Kurdish women and men. In addition, 43

the research found that there has been two waves of Kurdish migrants (men and women) and that there are difference between them. It also found that there are some similarities and differences between women and men in terms of push and pull factors and the place can make different push and pull factors migration such as Kirkuk.

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5.2 Conclusion Some fundamental points have been found by this research in terms of the motivation of young Kurdish migrants to come to Leicester, since young Iraqi Kurds have been affected by the pull and push process factors(economic, political and social) between Kurdistan regional cities and Leicester during the Gulf war from 1991 to 2003. This was because Iraqi Kurds suffered in this period at the hands of the Iraqi regime, and suffered from many economic, social and political problems. These have pushed young Kurds to move to other countries such as Britain. The research has found that the first wave of Kurdish male migrants have all been affected by push and pull factors, since they are responsible for their families and they are the first peopleto make decisions in terms of their family’s future. These affect them and makes them think about migrating to Leicester to make money and to receive new political and cultural experiences. However, the social push and pull factors were stronger for the first wave of Kurdish women migrants compared with the political and economic factors, even though they were affected by political and economic problems. They take a great deal of care with regard to their relationships with their families. They also focus on their children’s education more than men. For instance, the majority of Kurdish first wave migrants were housewives and they did not have jobs outside the house. Furthermore, the first wave of Kurdish women migrants could have found the situation less beneficial, since it was more difficult for them to integrate into Britain as citizensin terms of getting jobs and studying, because there were still many boundaries which limited their activities such as having children, language problems and cultural difficulties. For example, some of them changed their situation, such as from being a teacher to being a housewife, such as Prey who was a teacher before coming to Leicester but she is a housewife now. However, my researcher have found that there are some differences between the migration of young Kurdish women in terms of the pull and push factors, since they came at different times and in different situations, which brings us to consider the different roles and rights with regard to young Kurdish women’s migration to Leicester. The majority of the second migratory wave of Kurdish women consisted of international students coming to study at the University of Leicester. They came for a different reason which was to obtain a degree 45

and benefit from new experiences using a scholarship from the Kurdish regional government. In addition, the pull and push process for a new Kurdish young men has changed in that the new migratory participants have been given the opportunity to come legally to study at the University of Leicester, this shows how the stable situation in developing countries can change the type of migration from un-documented migration to legal migration such as on the part of international students. Moreover, I argue that the process of push and pull factors has changed with regard to young Kurdish migrants in terms of time and place. This has led to different types of migrant: - Those who would like to go back home from the first and second wave migration because they are from the Kurdish regions, and those who want to stay in the UK indefinitely. It may be that they are from Kirkuk and are pessimistic about their city which has a lot of social, political and economic problems. In addition, there are instabilities in Kirkuk because of terrorist attacks. - Those who are from the first wave of migration, and who plan to go back home forever. It may be that they are from the Kurdish region and they feel that the Kurdish region is getting better in terms of economic, social and political aspects. - Those who have come to Leicester in recent times, but who want to go back home soon after their studies.

The research also shows that both female and male Kurds would like to live in Iraqi Kurdistan if the process of push (political, economic and social) was weak, and if the Kurdish region had a better political, economic and social situation. This shows how a reduction in the inequality between poor and rich nations can affect the process of migration, and how it might decrease the rate of migration from developing countries to developed countries. Therefore, the economic, social and political gap between countries could cause the emergence of strong push and pull factors which affect the number of young migrants within countries and between countries. For instance, the research findings show changing

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Kurdistan region situation in tem of economic, social and political make the big difference between first and second wave Kurdish young migration ( female and meal ). It shows that the process of migration cannot lead to a significant number of benefits for migrants who are suffering from many social, political and economic problems. For instance, the first wave women and men Kurdish migrations, so developed countries and NGOs may think about different processes for helping poor countries in terms of human rights, such as helping poor nations inside their countries. These all show the relationship between the literature, the research aims, and the research findings in terms of the motivation of young Iraqi Kurds in Leicester. This may be helpful in understanding the process of waves of Kurdish Iraqi migration to Britain, and doing more research in terms of migration to Britain.

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Appendices Appendices 1 Questions asked during focus group interviews and individual interviews - Normal questions ( name, gender, place and occupation) -What did you think of your country before coming abroad? -Did you have any problems such as jobseeker, political discrimination and unhealthy relationships? - Did you have any friends and relatives who live in Britain? -Why did you decide to migrate when you were so young? -Why did you come to Britain among European countries? - Why did you choose Leicester in Britain? -What did you think about Britain before coming here? -Have you obtained everything in Leicester which made you want to migrate such as job and safety? - Could you be benefit in Leicester in term of language and education? -Did you come for yourself? -Do you like living abroad? If yes, why?If no, why not? -Have you returned to your country for a visit, or would you like to do so? If yes, why?If no, why not? -Do you want to go back home forever? -If you go back home for ever where you do like to stay in Kurdistan? Why?

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Appendices 2 Following my Supervisor advice (Dr. Leah) I put a sample of transcribe. However, all transcribe papers are available if there is any requirements for this. A Sample of meal focus group transcribe ResearcherMarwanDanaKarzanNerimanJebar-

What did you think of your country before coming abroad?

I was really pessimistic about my region in term of everything. I agree me too yeah same to me

Researcher- Why did you think like that about your country? Marwan- we all had economic, political and social problems, we could not find good, good wage and there were social inequality which was the worth one and the political discrimination ... Karzan- there was not security as well Neriman- yeah, it was really bad Dana- I am speaking about 2000, mmm it was terrible situation in term of political, social and economic, there were divisions within cities and people, we must chose one of them, if not there was no spaces to you, I can say that ordinary people pad for this divisions, such as me , so I left there forever ....(he was sad) but we all had economic problems in term of getting job and income ... Jebar- And there was no Guaranteed for us, I left school since my teacher said moving is the best way to young people, and he said I wanna move if I have chance ,,,, this made us pessimistic... Researcher- Did you have any friends and relatives who live in Britain? 50

Marwan- no I did not have any one in the UK Dana- me too, I have no one Karzan- yeah I have brother and now we live together in Leicester, I was affected by my brother speeches and friend speeches in term of moving to a abroad.. Neriman- be honest, I was encourage them when I spoke to my family and friends Researcher/ why ? Neriman- why not, there was huge difference between UK and Kurdistan in term of everything, u know, that ... Jebar- I think people are affected by migration when they visited Kurdistan for short term, because we could see that how they are better than us in term of income, social situation everything, let me tell you about my case, I had many problems when I saw them, I asked myself why not me and why I will not try to be like them by moving to European country like Britain. Researcher- Why did you decide to migrate when you were so young? Karzan- we are not young any more (all laugh) Neriman- there was no life to young people in Kurdistan before, we did not what should we do, it was boring actually Dana- yeah, Admit Marwan- I would like to say that young is the force of labour , when they leave their countries when they do not have chance to get job and when they cannot any facilities, we had same situation, we wanted work but there was not good job, there was not equality in term of getting jobs.

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Appendices 3

Research Project Consent form I agree to take part in the [] project which is research towards the submission of a Masters dissertation in Sociology at the Universityof Leicester.

I have had the project fully explained to me and I have read the information statement about the project which I may keep for my own personal records. I understand that my own contribution will be used for the purposes of Mastersresearch only and that I can withdraw from the research at any time.

I also understand that this project will be carried out in accordance with the University of Leicester’s Code of Research Ethics. Material gathered as part of this study will be treated as confidential and securely stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.

Name…...............................................

Signature ………………………………………………….

Date …………............................................

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Appendices 4 SAMPLE PARTICIPANT INFORMATION SHEET

(............................................)

MA in Contemporary Society

University of Leicester

Title of Project: [Exploring motivations for Kurdish young people’s migration to Leicester] Please read carefully through all the information before making a decision on your participation My name is Suren-Abubaker-Abdullah and I am a postgraduate student at the University of Leicester. I am conducting a piece of research on the process of pull and pull factors (economic, social and politic) Kurdish migration in Leicester. If you agree to take part in this research, I will ask you to participate in a focus groups– interview. It should take approximately 60 minutes. Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. If at any point you wish to no longer take part in the research you have the right to withdraw at anytime and there will be no pressure to stay. All the information you give will be anonymous and confidential and only used for the purposes of this research and will only be accessible to me. No third parties will have access to any of the information you provide. The discussions will be recorded using an audio device, and all recordings will be destroyed once they have been transcribed and anonymised. The data will be collected and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will be disposed of in a secure manner. The information will be used in a way that will not allow you to be identified individually. You will have the opportunity to discuss your participation and be debriefed on the research once it has been conducted and analysed. If you are not sure about anything mentioned above please do not hesitate to ask me. If you agree to take part you will be asked to sign a consent form. The consent form will not be used to identify you. It will be filed separately from all other information. Thank you very much for your time and help!

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