To go with AFP story: EUROPE-MIGRANTS-IRAQ-CONFLICT by Serene ASSIR
In this photograph taken on September 24, 2020, Alia waits for the bus to go to school in the town of Duiven, The Netherlands. - In 2015, with four-month-old Adam strapped to his father's chest in a baby carrier, Iraqi couple Ahmad and Alia joined the million migrants who crossed the Mediterranean to Europe's shores. They faced death at sea and indignity on the road -- all for a chance at life in "peace and safety" for their child, the 32-year-old dad recalls. With an AFP team in tow, they survived an odyssey across Europe, travelling by train, bus, smugglers' cars and on foot across borders under cover of night. They ended up reaching The Netherlands, where they had relatives, breathing a huge sigh of relief when they applied for asylum. But they faced a torturous wait, mostly in migrant shelters, and saw two asylum requests rejected. Fast-forward to late 2018, Alia took the reins. She filed her own case for refugee status and won, securing for her family the right to live in their dream country. They received residence cards, travel documents, and the keys to a two-bedroom house with a brown brick tile roof and a back garden in the leafy town of Duiven. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP)