A million more Afghans could be sent back from Iran, Red Cross warns
Over 1.2 million people have been returned to Afghanistan from Iran since the start of this year, according to data from the U.N. refugee agency, with the number of returns surging since Iran and Israel launched strikes on each other last month.
Sami Fakhouri, Head of Delegation for Afghanistan at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said he witnessed bus loads of people returning to a border crossing at the Islam Qala border in Herat province in recent days.
"(We) are anticipating that an additional one million people, possibly more, may return from Iran to Afghanistan by the end of this year," he told reporters at a Geneva press briefing, voicing concern about their futures with many having left their home country years ago and were now homeless.
"The majority didn't have a say in coming back. They were put on buses and driven to the border," he said.
Afghanistan is already battling a humanitarian crisis and aid groups worry that the new arrivals from Iran - on top of hundreds of thousands pressured to return from Pakistan - risks further destabilising the country.
Fakhouri said the IFRC appeal for 25 million Swiss francs ($31.40 million) to help returning Afghans at the border and in transit camps is only 10% funded, voicing concerns about whether it could maintain support for people.
Babar Baloch, a spokesperson at the U.N. refugee agency, said tens of thousands were arriving from Iran daily with over 50,000 crossing on July 4.
He also voiced concerns about family separations.
"The psychological scars are going to stay with Afghans who have been made to come back to the country in this way,' he said at the same press briefing.
($1 = 0.7963 Swiss francs)
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Hamilton Spectator
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- Hamilton Spectator
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Perilous journey: A gay Tanzanian man's quest for freedom across the English Channel
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The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Perilous journey: A gay Tanzanian man's quest for freedom across the English Channel
ECAULT FOREST, France (AP) — Isaac stared down at his sandals and wondered out loud how suitable they'd be for the ordeal ahead: A perilous crossing of the English Channel, where scores of desperate people before him have drowned trying to reach the U.K. The 35-year-old from Tanzania never expected, or wanted, to be here, surviving hand-to-mouth in a makeshift woodland camp in northern France, with dozens of other migrants. They, too, fled conflict, oppression, poverty and other miseries for the hope, however uncertain, that life someplace else — somewhere, anywhere — must surely be better. 'I wouldn't be sitting here if I had a choice,' Isaac said. 'I didn't know what to expect. I didn't even bring a jacket or sweater.' All Isaac wants is to live freely as himself, a gay man. That aspiration is denied in Tanzania, where homosexuality is taboo and criminalized. 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Some in the group said things got heated because they were generally frustrated that police had thwarted their previous attempts to take to sea, puncturing their inflatable boats with knives. Qassim said Anouar was hit in the hand by a gas canister. The front of his hoodie was stained with what he said was her blood. He desperately wanted her to be released from custody before the next crossing attempt, so they could leave as a family with their daughters — Jori, 6, and Kadi, 4. While he waited for news, Qassim gave what he said was only the short version of a life that seemed much longer because of the agonies that have filled it. When he was a teenager, Israeli bombing of his family's house in Gaza killed his parents and he awoke from a coma one month later in a hospital in Egypt, he said. His facial hair has grown with white flecks ever since; from shock, he figures. He moved to Yemen, where he and Anouar met and married, but then left the conflict there for Europe, with her and their daughters. The journey was brutal, including months of internment in Turkey, with 400 people sharing just one toilet and surviving on one piece of bread per day, he said. 'This is my life,' he said. 'My life is very hard.' Anouar was released after roughly 24 hours. The group welcomed her back to the camp with applause. The next morning, they were gone. The wait was over. Their boat slipped through French police patrols. After reaching the U.K., one of those aboard wrote that they'd nearly died. 'It was really bad,' the message read. 'Really hard.' ___ Associated Press journalist Nicolas Garriga contributed to this report.
