Refugees from Afghanistan

What exactly is a Refugee?  A refugee is somebody who has been displaced from their home for economic, political, and social reasons.  War, religious persecution, and famine are three of many reasons why refugees seek refuge.

What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Article 14 of Declaration of Human Rights  Everyone has the right to look for refuge in other countries without being persecuted.  This right is not given in cases where the refugee’s country of origin is committing non-political crimes; nor is this right given to refugees who seek refuge only because of a particular decision made by the United Nations.

September 11, 2001  Many Afghans have crossed passed their borders to seek refuge in Pakistan, as a result of the war between the United States of America and Afghanistan.  The Pakistani government has told about 50,000 Afghan refugees to clear out the Bajur region of Pakistan  Around 20,000 have returned while thousands have gone to different parts of Pakistan.

What is an IDP and what makes an IDP different from a refugee?  The definition of a refugee is often confused with the definition of an Internally Displaced Person (IDP). A refugee leaves the country whereas the IDP flees to a different part of the country.

Why were there so many Afghan refugees during the late seventies and eighties?  Afghanistan was in a civil war for more then 20 years. During this time there was a massive human rights abuse. This abuse began a civil war that forced millions of men, women, and children to leave their homes.  In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded and as a result, displaced a lot of families. There was a lot of conflict between the Soviets, the Mujahedeen, and other Afghan militant groups.  During the conflict, the United States supplied the Mujahedeen or, according to Ronald Reagan, “freedom fighters” with weapons and supplies in effort to aid them to defeat the Soviets.

Statistics  Afghan refugees make up 21% of the global refugee population.  3.7 million Afghans have escaped to surrounding countries over the past twenty years. One million and five hundred thousand have fled to Iran. Over two million have gone to Pakistan.  It was estimated towards the end of 2006, there were 2.1 million Afghan refugees in seventy one different countries.  Around 10,000 Afghan refugees (including women and children) have been stationed on several islands along the Tajikistani border, ever since the Tajik government brought over 10,000 Russian troops.  There are about 10,000-20,000 people waiting to be able seek assistance by crossing Pakistan’s border.  As of 2002, Japan has given Afghanistan an estimation of 136 million dollars (equivalent to 16,700 yen)

Afghan Refugees in Pakistan  In Pakistan, Afghans have continued to be at risk of violence  Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran have endured hardship and deprivation as they have struggled to meet their basic living needs.  Most of the approximately one million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan are located in the border areas of North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan. An Estimated 950,000 are housed in refugee settlements, the rest in towns and villages.  Direct food assistance to refugees was stopped in 1995.

Afghan Refugees in Pakistan (Cont’d)  Assistance has been provided to vulnerable refugees, but at a minimal level.  In February 1999, the provincial Chief Minister announced plans to restrict all refugees to the camps.  Some refugees have been targets of intimidation, harassment and even assassination.  Educated Afghan women, particularly those working for the education and welfare of Afghan women and children refugees, have also been threatened.

Afghan Refugees in Iran  The government supported a huge refugee population largely without international assistance.  Since 1992, there have been very few permanent residence permits granted to Afghan refugees in Iran.  In July 1997, the authorities announced the changing of identity cards for all foreigners  During 1998, there were reports of thousands of Afghans being forcibly returned to Afghanistan from Iran.  In May 1999, an international refugee aid conference was held I Tehran to discuss refugee issues.

Afghan Refugees In Europe  The countries of Europe and other northern states have taken intensive steps to make it nearly impossible for refugees to enter their territories.  In Germany, many asylum applications, or refuge, applications of Afghans have been rejected.

IRC (International Rescue Committee)  The IRC, also known as the International Rescue Committee, has played a role in assisting refugees from all around the globe, particularly Afghans. As a result of the United States’ declaration of war on Afghanistan.  the IRC has reached out to the Hazara ethnic group in particular because they are the most “underserved.” The International Rescue Committee has helped Afghans located in different parts of Pakistan. One place that is populated with Afghan refugees is Peshawar.

The Taliban  The Taliban forces committed a large number of political and other extrajudicial killings, both within the country and in the refugee community in Pakistan during the year.  In June Amnesty International (AI), reported that over the previous 2 years more than a dozen prominent citizens advocating an end to the war and establishment of a government representing all ethnic groups have been arrested and killed by the Taliban.

The Taliban (Cont’d)  The Taliban is a fundamentalist regime consisting of a majority of Sunni Pashtu's who are taking action against Afghanistan's government. It is a ruthless movement that has targeted anybody who is not a Sunni Muslim.

Al Qaeda’s Great Escape  In this book, the author tries - with varying degrees of success - to document the course of events in Afghanistan, and in the contiguous border region of Pakistan, in the months after 9/11.

“Between the years 1979 and 1992, more than a fifth of Afghanistan's population were driven from the country in search of safety, mainly to the neighboring countries of Iran and Pakistan.”

Sources  shtml shtml  tan.html tan.html    ml?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin ml?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin    great-escape.htm great-escape.htm 

This Slide Show was made possible by: Katia, Sharon, Nelson, Mohamad and Bilal