The situation in Afghanistan

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing Iran

More than half a million Afghans have fled or been deported from Iran since the end of March, which risks worsening an already troubled situation in Afghanistan, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a press release.

– We must act quickly [...]. Not just with emergency aid but also with more long-term support, says UNHCR's representative in Kabul, Arafat Jamal, who adds that international help is crucial to breaking the cycle of violence in the country.

In just one day, on June 26, over 36,000 Afghans left the country – a number that has continued to increase since the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran on June 13.

It was after the Taliban took power in 2021 that millions of people fled Afghanistan. Many of them ended up in the northern parts of Iran, writes al-Jazeera.

Ali fled Iran: “They threw us out like trash”

The 1.2 million Afghans deported from Iran face a difficult existence in a repressive Afghanistan characterized by extremist rule and economic collapse, Ali, who after 40 years in the neighboring country has now been forced to leave, tells Context.

“I grew up there, worked there, buried my parents there. But in the end, they threw us out like trash. I lost everything – my home, my small savings in cash, my dignity,” he says.

He has now become part of the wave of refugees that the UN warns could cause the collapse of the already fragile Afghan society. Many of those who left the country are now returning to a completely different one, which could deprive them of rights they took for granted.

“I love studying and would have liked to continue in Afghanistan, but I don’t think I can do it,” says Hajjar Shademani, who is facing a homeland with few opportunities for women.