Key points
- Millions of Afghans have called Iran home for decades
- Some 5,000 Afghans are returning daily: World Vision International
- Around 4,000 Afghans with passports arriving in Herat every day after the war: Afghan Taliban official
ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Afghans are fleeing Iran every day to escape deportation and conflict, a major international aid agency and Afghan Taliban official said Friday, according to AP.
Millions of Afghans have been living in Iran for decades.
But their departure has significantly increased since October 2023, when authorities announced a crackdown on foreigners who it said were in the country illegally.
Israeli strikes on Iran
Iran’s war with Israel, which started last Friday, is also forcing them to flee as Israeli strikes target the country.
Some 5,000 Afghans are returning daily through the Islam Qala crossing in western Herat province, according to the aid agency World Vision International.
There were people “at risk, distressed, and in great need” among the 500,000 returned from Iran to Herat this year, the agency said.
“Many require support to find food and shelter, get hold of everyday essentials, and connect with their families before travelling to their hometowns or villages,” said Mark Calder, the agency’s communications and advocacy director for Afghanistan. “But they are returning to a country in which basic services are already in crisis.”
Many require support to find food and shelter, get hold of everyday essentials, and connect with their families before travelling to their hometowns or villages.” – Mark Calder, World Vision International official
US aid cuts
Swinging US aid cuts and a shortfall in funding for humanitarian assistance have closed hundreds of health facilities and reduced other essential services like education.
The UN said Thursday that the Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan had received just 18 per cent of its annual funding by June 19, disrupting the delivery of aid to millions, including women and children, returnees, refugees, displaced communities and other vulnerable and marginalised groups.
“Spiral further”
Calder warned that the number needing lifesaving aid could “spiral further” if the international community did not look to support emergency needs and Afghans’ efforts to start over in their homeland.
Ahmadullah Muttaqi, head of Herat’s Refugee Information and Public Affairs Committee, on Friday told The Associated Press that before June 13 between 3,500 and 4,000 Afghans without documentation were entering the province daily because of Iran’s deportation drive. This figure has doubled since the outbreak of the war.
Between 800 and 1,000 Afghans with passports were arriving in Herat every day before the war. This figure is now around 4,000, Muttaqi added, according to AP.
“My son is gone”
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that nearly 4.5 million Afghan nationals reside in Iran. Other sources suggest that the number could be much higher, according to DW.
With Afghans in Iran seeing bombs flying overhead, their new country no longer offers even a semblance of safety. And some of them have already been kiled in strikes.
Abdul Ghani is from Afghanistan’s Ghor province, whose 18-year-old son Abdul Wali recently completed school and moved to Iran to support his family, DW reported.
“On Monday, I spoke to my son and asked him to send us some money,” Ghani said. “Last night, his employer called to inform me he had been killed in an attack.”
“My heart is broken,” Ghani said. “My son is gone.”
