BAGHDAD, Iraq — Istanbul is considered a main destination for Arab migrants who want to reach Europe by illegal immigration across the Mediterranean Sea. According to a survey conducted Dec. 22 by the International Organization for Migration, most of the 1 million people who arrived in Europe in 2015 came across the Mediterranean. Syrians constituted 50% of those, while Iraqis made up 7% (about 70,000 people).
Haider Iraqi, a pseudonym, was on the hunt for a Syrian passport to assume Syrian nationality on the advice of a friend living in Austria.
