Latest news with #AfghanReturnees
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
The Scale of Afghans Returning from Iran is Overwhelming, Says UN Official
The pace and scale of Afghans returning from Iran are overwhelming already fragile support systems, a senior UN official warned Tuesday, with tens of thousands of people crossing the border daily exhausted and traumatized, relying on humanitarian aid. So far this year, more than 1.4 million people have returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan, including over 1 million from Iran. Iran and Pakistan in 2023 launched separate campaigns to expel foreigners they said were living in the country illegally. They set deadlines and threatened them with deportation if they didn't leave. The two governments deny targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland over the decades to escape war, poverty or Taliban rule, The AP news reported. The UN special representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, called for immediate international support for Afghanistan following a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing in western Herat province near Iran. The 'sheer volume of returns —many abrupt, many involuntary,' should be setting off alarm bells across the global community, Otunbayeva said. 'Without swift interventions, remittance losses, labor market pressures and cyclical migration will lead to devastating consequences such as the further destabilization of both returnee and host populations, renewed displacement, mass onward movement, and risks to regional stability,' she said. Returns from Iran peaked in June following a 20 March government deadline requiring all 'undocumented' Afghans to leave. The UN migration agency recorded more than 28,000 people crossing back into Afghanistan on June 25. Afghanistan is a 'forgotten crisis' Most Afghans depend on humanitarian assistance to survive. But deep funding cuts are worsening the situation, with aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations forced to cut education and health care programs. Nicole van Batenburg, from the International Federation of the Red Cross, said Afghan children returning from Iran are developing scabies, fever and other illnesses because of deteriorating conditions at the border and the hot weather. Her colleagues were reuniting hundreds of children daily who got separated from their parents. People lost their belongings and documents in the chaos of hasty exits. Most were only able to take a few suitcases with them, and some were now using their luggage as makeshift furniture. 'Afghanistan is an unseen crisis, and there are so many crises going on at this moment in the world that it seems to be forgotten,' van Batenburg told The Associated Press by phone from the border. 'The problems and the challenges are immense. We're only talking about the situation here at the border, but these people have to return to some areas where they can live longer and where they can rebuild their lives.' Last week, the Norwegian Refugee Council said many of its staff were hosting returning families in their homes. Authorities were doing their best to mobilize the few resources they had, but local systems were not equipped to cope with 'such tremendous' needs.
Times of Oman
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Around 30,000 Afghans returning daily from Iran, say Herat officials
Herat: Government officials have established facilities at the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat to help manage the increasing influx of Afghan returnees from Iran, with nearly half a million people having re-entered the country in just the past 20 days, TOLO News reported. The Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, Hamdullah Fitrat, visited Islam Qala and urged both the private sector and general public to assist with humanitarian support. "My call to all citizens, traders, and wealthy individuals is to come forward and join the Islamic Emirate in showing solidarity and compassion with these people," TOLO News quoted Fitrat as saying. According to local officials in Herat, an estimated 30,000 people are entering Afghanistan daily through the Islam Qala border. Abdul Ghani Kamil, the head of committees at Islam Qala and district governor of Kohsan, said: "Based on what we have seen over the past 15 to 20 days, nearly 500,000 migrants have likely returned, as around 30,000 people enter the country every day," TOLO News reported. Many of the returnees cited the harsh living conditions in Iran as their reason for returning and called on the caretaker government to provide employment opportunities. "We no longer intend to go to foreign countries. Even if we eat only a piece of bread, we want to live in our own country with dignity and honor," said Ahmad Zia, a returnee from Iran, in comments to TOLO News. Another returnee, Matiullah, echoed similar sentiments. "If these youth are provided with jobs, none of them will leave the country. They will work in their homeland and stay where they belong," TOLO News quoted him as saying. According to TOLO News, local officials in Herat reported that between 20,000 to 25,000 migrants return daily through Islam Qala alone. National figures also show that more than 4,000 Afghan migrants are returning daily through other major border points, including the Silk Bridge in Nimroz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, and Torkham in Nangarhar, from both Iran and Pakistan.
Arab News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Afghanistan faces new crisis as hundreds of thousands forced back from Iran
KABUL: Ahmad Nazir had nothing with him except his work clothes when he reached the Islam Qala border crossing and entered Afghanistan, forced, like hundreds of thousands of others, to suddenly leave Iran. Nazir, 24, has worked at a restaurant in Tehran for the past four years. He arrived at Islam Qala — part of the main route connecting Afghanistan's Herat and Iran's Mashhad — on July 6, which was the deadline that Iranian authorities set for undocumented Afghans to leave. 'Two days ago, the Iranian police took me from the restaurant and put me on a bus to Islam Qala. I came with nothing but my work clothes,' he told Arab News. A native of the central Parwan province — some 600 km from Herat — Nazir is now waiting for his family to help him return home. He is one of nearly 450,000 Afghans who returned to the country since June, according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration and local nongovernmental organizations helping the returnees. 'Approximately 30,000 Afghans are returning from Iran each day through the Islam Qala border crossing, and most are forcibly deported. They include both undocumented refugees and Afghans with legal documents,' said Abdul Fatah Jawad, director of the Ehsas Welfare and Social Services Organization, which is providing help in Herat province. 'Most families arriving at the Islam Qala border crossing have no tents, forcing many to improvise makeshift shelters to shield themselves and their children from the scorching sun. They wait in these harsh conditions for their turn to receive limited cash assistance before continuing on to their home provinces.' Many have nowhere to go as they moved to Iran decades ago with their whole families. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities, which have vowed to support all those returning, do not have the means and funding to do so. 'The people of Herat have shown tremendous support, offering food and transportation to returning families,' Jawad said. 'Ehsas is providing cooked meals and water to up to 3,000 people each day, but this support is far from sufficient given the scale of new arrivals. A significantly broader and more urgent response is needed from the government, international organizations, and those with the means to contribute. This is a humanitarian crisis of much greater magnitude.' The exodus from Iran is worsening a crisis caused by a similar deportation drive that has been underway in Pakistan since last year. The two countries have hosted millions of Afghans fleeing war and poverty at home for the past 40 years. Official estimates suggest that over 4 million Afghan nationals were living in Pakistan, while in Iran, the figure is around 6 million, with 4 million believed to be undocumented. In 2025 alone, more than 900,000 Afghan refugees and migrants have been forced to leave both countries, pushing local systems to the brink of collapse and jeopardizing access to vital services for both returnees and the communities that host them. While many Afghans have fled the Israeli bombing of Iranian cities in mid-June, the directive for undocumented migrants to depart voluntarily has been in place since March. Iranian authorities ordered them to comply by July 6 or face deportation. Many of those returning through Islam Qala, the main border crossing, are completely unprepared to move. Some were born in Iran and have never lived in Afghanistan. Islamuddin Momini, a university lecturer from Herat who joined a convoy delivering aid to the returnees in Islam Qala, said the situation was 'extremely grim,' with many people arriving visibly traumatized. 'They are living in a state of psychological shock, compounded by severe shortages of food, water, and shelter,' Momini told Arab News. 'Upon returning to their home provinces, returnees will face a new set of challenges, including limited access to employment, education, and livelihood opportunities. Addressing these medium to long-term needs requires comprehensive support systems to facilitate their reintegration into society — an especially difficult task amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis and prevailing restrictions.'
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
UNICEF Provides Basics To Afghan Families Returning From Pakistan
Since 2023, nearly 1 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan. Almost two-thirds of them are children. In partnership with the Government of China, UNICEF ensures that returning families reach home with a kit of essential hygiene supplies. More help is needed. On April 20, 2025, at Afghanistan's eastern Torkham border with Pakistan, families rest at the Omari Camp reception center, where they receive supportive services from UNICEF and other UN agencies before relocating to their permanent homes in Afghanistan. By Veronica Houser For thousands of Afghan families recently returning from Pakistan, the journey home can be filled with uncertainty. In the first two weeks of April, as many as 8,000 people returned to Afghanistan every day. Some are parents with children, but some are children on their own, separated from their families or caregivers. For those just arriving at the Torkham border crossing, they are often exhausted, vulnerable and in urgent need of basic supplies. Thanks to a generous contribution from the People's Republic of China, UNICEF is delivering lifesaving hygiene kits to thousands of returnee families, providing not just essential household items, but a message of care, dignity and solidarity. Ten-month-old Faizullah sits on his mother's lap as she receives a hygiene kit provided by UNICEF for families returning to Afghanistan via the eastern Torkham border with Pakistan. With support from the People's Republic of China, UNICEF is delivering lifesaving hygiene kits to thousands of returnee families. In November 2024, UNICEF and the Government of China partnered for the first time in Afghanistan to support children's urgent hygiene and sanitation needs, especially for communities facing urgent needs due to migration, natural disasters and diarrheal diseases. Through this partnership, UNICEF aims to reach over 28,500 households — or around 289,000 people — with hygiene and water purification supplies. At the Torkham border alone, UNICEF has distributed more than 5,700 hygiene kits to returning families. "For us, as UNICEF, our commitment to support these returning communities is completely absolute," says Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan. UNICEF also provides safe drinking water, latrine facilities, basic health care, nutrition services and immunization services. Each kit contains 14 essential items, including soap, shampoo, reusable sanitary pads, toothbrushes and toothpaste, nail clippers, towels and water storage containers. These kits have been positioned across Afghanistan's southern, western and eastern regions, ready for distribution to help protect families from acute watery diarrhea and other preventable diseases. Distributions like this one are part of UNICEF's emergency preparedness strategy, ensuring families have the tools they need to stay healthy from Day One. As climate change accelerates and displacement increases, this support is more vital than ever. UNICEF partner staff distribute hygiene kits to Afghan families who have recently returned to the country across the eastern Torkham border with Pakistan. Afghanistan is one of the most climate-vulnerable in the world, with over 12 million people lacking access to safe and clean water for drinking, bathing and cooking. Years of drought, waterborne disease outbreaks and a declining water table have left communities exposed to deadly risks – especially children under 5. As families return to the country and begin to resettle, these hygiene kits are a first step toward safety, health and stability. They represent more than just supplies — they represent solidarity and support for Afghan children and their families. In addition to distributing the kits, UNICEF conducts hygiene promotion sessions, teaching families about the importance of handwashing, water safety and menstrual hygiene. These sessions help families understand how to use each item in the kit effectively, and how to protect themselves from disease in challenging environments. At Torkham, more than 40,000 people have participated in these hygiene promotion sessions, both at the border zero-point and at the reception center. Learn more about how UNICEF helps children in Afghanistan At Afghanistan's eastern Torkham border, a UNICEF partner conducts a hygiene awareness session with women who have just returned from Pakistan and received a hygiene kit as part of their arrival package. Hygiene is only one component of health and dignity for returning families. UNICEF is also providing clean drinking water through water trucks and permanent wells, so far serving more than 42,000 families at the border, and has installed nearly 200 toilets to keep the reception center safe and clean. Beyond immediate relief, this partnership strengthens UNICEF's broader water, sanitation and hygiene efforts, which last year provided nearly 690,000 people with access to safe drinking water through solar-powered systems, provided more than 500,000 people with access to basic sanitation, and declared nearly 1 million communities open-defecation free. Your contribution to UNICEF is more important than ever. Please donate. Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.
