Afghan migrants deported from Pakistan, after enduring years of hardship in exile, are now facing severe challenges in their own country, including lack of shelter and employment.
International organizations have warned that millions of dollars are needed to support these families.
Sardar Wali, who recently returned to Afghanistan with his family, said he came back to escape harassment by the Pakistani government, but now has no place to live.
“We had lived in that country for fifty years. We didn’t want to return because we had no land or shelter here,” he told TOLOnews. “Now conditions there are no longer good. We’re living in camps here, and we don’t know where we’re going next.”
Sardar Wali is just one among hundreds of thousands of returnees now facing uncertainty in their homeland. Other deported migrants have also called on the government and aid agencies to provide job opportunities and proper housing.
Anwar, another deportee, said: “There’s loss on every side of this issue. Now that we’ve returned, we’re confused about what to do. We have neither land nor shelter, and we don’t know where to go.”
Adam Khan, also deported from Pakistan, said: “We need a shelter and food. It was a difficult journey to Kabul. Along the way, police took money from us at several points.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that more than 144,000 Afghan migrants were deported from Pakistan just last month.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has also warned that at least $25 million is needed to assist deported returnees through the end of this year.
“WFP requires around $25 million to continue assisting returnees through the end of the year. We call on all our partners to stand by the Afghan people and support WFP’s efforts,” said Ziauddin Safi, WFP’s communications officer in Afghanistan.
The mass return of migrants has added to Afghanistan’s already strained economy. However, the caretaker government says it has plans in place to address the situation.