Displaced, repatriated and crossing borders: Afghan people make grueling journeys to survive
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Displaced, repatriated and crossing borders: Afghan people make grueling journeys to survive

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The sprawling camp of people returning to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing is the latest facet of Afghans’ long, painful search for a stable home. Over the course of months, an Associated Press photographer traveled across Afghanistan from its eastern border with Pakistan to its western border with Iran, getting to know displaced people and returned refuges and capturing their images. The other way is longer — a drive by car for hours to Afghanistan’s southwest border, where they cross into Pakistan to make their way to its border with Iran, passing through mountains and deserts.

Pakistan Afghanistan Iran Taliban Camp Afghan Shamila Crossing Borders  afghans  repatriated  iran  survive  journeys  afghan  pakistan  money  live  grueling  afghanistan  crossing  borders  border  verifyerrors  displaced  million  camp

History of this topic

Millions of Afghans made Pakistan home to escape war. Now many are hiding to escape deportation
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Millions of Afghans made Pakistan home to escape war. Now many are hiding to escape deportation

New Indian Express  

KARACHI: Born and raised in Pakistan to parents who fled neighboring Afghanistan half a century ago, an 18-year-old found himself at the mercy of police in Karachi who took his cash, phone and motorbike, and sent him to a deportation center. The youth is one of at least 1.7 million Afghans who made Pakistan their home as their country sank …

Displaced, repatriated and crossing borders: Afghan people make grueling journeys to survive
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Displaced, repatriated and crossing borders: Afghan people make grueling journeys to survive

Associated Press  

TORKHAM, Afghanistan — The barren desert plain among the mountains of eastern Afghanistan is filled with hundreds of thousands of people. Afghan refugees sit in a camp near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Torkham Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. “I have to forget all my dreams … so at least I can help my father and my family a little and …

UN agency warns of Afghans dying in harsh winter if there's no proper shelter after leaving Pakistan
1 year ago

UN agency warns of Afghans dying in harsh winter if there's no proper shelter after leaving Pakistan

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The U.N. refugee agency has …

U.N. agency warns of Afghans dying in harsh winter with no proper shelter after leaving Pakistan
1 year ago

U.N. agency warns of Afghans dying in harsh winter with no proper shelter after leaving Pakistan

LA Times  

Afghan refugees settle in a camp near the Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in Torkham, Afghanistan, on Nov. 3. The United Nations refugee agency has warned that Afghans could die in harsh winter conditions if they don’t get adequate shelter once they cross the border from Pakistan. “Many Afghan returnees are vulnerable, including women and children, who could lose their lives in …

Revealed: 1,500 Afghans scrambled to UK in secretive mission
1 year ago

Revealed: 1,500 Afghans scrambled to UK in secretive mission

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Defence minister James Heappey has said it is “great at …

More than 400,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan following crackdown on migrants
1 year, 1 month ago

More than 400,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan following crackdown on migrants

Associated Press  

ISLAMABAD — More than 400,000 Afghans returned to their home country following the ongoing crackdown on illegal foreigners in the country, Pakistani authorities said Monday. An estimated 1.7 million Afghans had been living in Pakistan when authorities announced its nationwide crackdown, saying that anyone without proper documents had to leave the country by October 31 or else get arrested. However, …

Hundreds of Afghans evacuated from Pakistan ‘dumped’ in military bases as UK scrambles to find them homes
1 year, 1 month ago

Hundreds of Afghans evacuated from Pakistan ‘dumped’ in military bases as UK scrambles to find them homes

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. General Sir John McColl, a former deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, praised the …

Why is Pakistan deporting Afghan migrants and refugees? | Explained
1 year, 1 month ago

Why is Pakistan deporting Afghan migrants and refugees? | Explained

The Hindu  

The story so far: On October 31, the Torkham Crossing — five kilometres west of Khyber Pass, on the border connecting Pakistan’s Peshawar with Afghanistan’s Jalalabad — saw a sudden influx of at least 24,000 Afghan refugees packed in trucks and convoys, with whatever luggage they could take from demolished homes. As things stand, Afghan nationals in Pakistan are caught …

Afghans fleeing Pakistan lack water, food, shelter and toilets once they cross border: United Nations
1 year, 1 month ago

Afghans fleeing Pakistan lack water, food, shelter and toilets once they cross border: United Nations

India TV News  

Afghans fleeing Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation are sleeping in the open, without proper shelter, food, drinking water and toilets once they cross the border to their homeland, aid agencies said on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have left Pakistan in recent weeks as authorities pursue foreigners they say are in the country illegally, going door-to-door to check …

Taliban calls for more time for Afghans to leave Pakistan
1 year, 1 month ago

Taliban calls for more time for Afghans to leave Pakistan

The Hindu  

Afghanistan's Taliban government has urged Pakistan to give undocumented Afghans in the country more time to leave as pressure mounts at border posts swarmed by thousands of returnees fleeing the threat of deportation. Since taking power, the Taliban government has urged Afghans to return home but has also condemned Pakistan's actions, saying nationals are being punished for tensions between Islamabad …

'Don't have anything': Afghan migrants stranded after fleeing Pakistan
1 year, 1 month ago

'Don't have anything': Afghan migrants stranded after fleeing Pakistan

Hindustan Times  

Benafsha and her six children huddle together on a ragged blanket between trucks piled high with their household belongings on the Afghan border, after fleeing potential deportation from Pakistan. Afghan citizens wait with their belongings to cross into Afghanistan, after Pakistan gives the last warning to undocumented immigrants to leave, at the Friendship Gate of Chaman Border Crossing. Pakistan border …

Peace has not stopped Afghanistan’s depopulation
1 year, 2 months ago

Peace has not stopped Afghanistan’s depopulation

Al Jazeera  

Climate change is bringing about more devastation, forcing more Afghans to flee. The return of security to the country after the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021 has certainly made a difference in the lives of many Afghans and given us hope for better times. According to the UNHCR, some 1.3 million out of 4.5 million IDPs have returned to …

Afghanistan and Pakistan trade blame as key border crossing remains closed
1 year, 3 months ago

Afghanistan and Pakistan trade blame as key border crossing remains closed

Al Jazeera  

Taliban rejects Pakistani claims of indiscriminate firing at Torkham border crossing as travellers remain stranded after one week of closure. The Taliban on Tuesday rejected Pakistani government accusations that they are to blame for the closure of the Torkham border crossing, which is the main point of transit for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan. Baloch’s remarks have …

Afghans fled for a better future but 2 years later, it’s a dream for most
1 year, 4 months ago

Afghans fled for a better future but 2 years later, it’s a dream for most

Al Jazeera  

Millions of Afghans who have left their country since 2021 remain stuck in limbo as they seek to reach Western countries. “It has been two years, but they won’t even tell us how long it will be before we are given a result or are relocated,” she said. “We decided to go to Pakistan, hoping that at least there we …

Thousands of Afghans in limbo two years after fall of Kabul despite pledge to save those who helped UK troops
1 year, 4 months ago

Thousands of Afghans in limbo two years after fall of Kabul despite pledge to save those who helped UK troops

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Labour MP and former soldier in Afghanistan Dan Jarvis called …

‘I want to leave more than ever’: A year after U.S. pullout, Kabul is a city in despair
2 years, 3 months ago

‘I want to leave more than ever’: A year after U.S. pullout, Kabul is a city in despair

LA Times  

Standing on the side of a mud-crusted street by a sewage canal, Shafiullah heaved a 110-pound bag of flour into the trunk of his battered Toyota Corolla and sighed. “She can’t go to school,” Husseini said, gesturing at her sister, who stood silently by her side. Yes, there are less intihaari bombings because the Taliban themselves were the intihaaris and …

Photos: Afghans paying the price for peace since Taliban takeover
2 years, 4 months ago

Photos: Afghans paying the price for peace since Taliban takeover

Al Jazeera  

Rows of mud huts put together in a rush. It is also here that one can meet people hit the hardest by the sudden economic collapse which followed the end of the war in Afghanistan – the highest price that most Afghans have been paying for peace. The international community felt it was left with few options but to cut …

Afghans still adjusting to US: New life, new struggles
2 years, 7 months ago

Afghans still adjusting to US: New life, new struggles

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Taliban forces had taken the Afghan capital. “We are not sure what may happen,” said Gulsom Esmaelzade, whose family has been shuttled between hotel rooms in the San Diego area since January, after spending three months at a New Jersey military base. “They are facing a ticking time bomb of what happens if they don’t get SIV or …

Afghans face new uncertainties, after months on army bases in US
2 years, 10 months ago

Afghans face new uncertainties, after months on army bases in US

Al Jazeera  

Rights groups are calling on Congress to pass a law to grant Afghan refugees a path to permanent residency in the US. The Afghan evacuees are refugees, but their legal immigration status differs from those who come to the US as part of the refugee resettlement programme. “The fortunate thing is that people are entitled to up to two years …

AP PHOTOS: Afghans desperate; Taliban face economic ruin
2 years, 11 months ago

AP PHOTOS: Afghans desperate; Taliban face economic ruin

Associated Press  

KABUL, Afghanistan — The bitter cold of Afghanistan’s winter has small children huddled beneath blankets in makeshift camps. Saliha, who like many Afghans uses just one name, took her infant son to the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in the capital, Kabul. For millions living in camps for the displaced or sitting outside government ministries seeking help, the only source of …

Desperation drives thousands of Afghans a day across borders
3 years ago

Desperation drives thousands of Afghans a day across borders

Associated Press  

HERAT, Afghanistan — Over the course of an hour on a recent night, the bus waiting in the Herat station filled with passengers. One smuggler in Herat — a woman involved in the business for two decades — said that before the Taliban takeover, she was transporting 50 or 60 people a week into Iran, almost all single men. There …

Amid economic turmoil, people in Afghanistan struggle to make ends meet
3 years, 1 month ago

Amid economic turmoil, people in Afghanistan struggle to make ends meet

The Hindu  

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August, the conflict-stricken nation has been dealing not only with political turmoil but also a severe economic crisis and increasing poverty. Some 8.7 million people are "one step away from starvation," Mary-Ellen McGroarty, head of the World Food Program in Afghanistan said in October. "Afghanistan's economic growth was slow up to August …

It's your country, you should not leave: Afghans trying to enter Pakistan stopped by Taliban
3 years, 2 months ago

It's your country, you should not leave: Afghans trying to enter Pakistan stopped by Taliban

India Today  

Thousands of Afghans trying to escape the misery at home have flocked to their country's southern border with Pakistan, but their attempts to get across have been stopped by the Taliban. Thousands of Afghans trying to escape the misery at home have flocked to their country's southern border with Pakistan On the other side, their Pakistani counterparts in Chaman were …

Afghanistan’s Refugee Crisis Isn’t Over Just Because the Americans Are Out
54 years, 11 months ago

Afghanistan’s Refugee Crisis Isn’t Over Just Because the Americans Are Out

Slate  

For all the chaos and violence that surrounded it, the just-completed military evacuation operation in Kabul weeks was a stunning logistical accomplishment, ferrying 123,000 Afghan civilians out of the country in a matter of weeks. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that as many as half a million Afghans could flee the country by the end of the year …

Why Rich Muslim Nations Steered Clear from Taking in Muslim Refugees Fleeing Afghanistan
3 years, 4 months ago

Why Rich Muslim Nations Steered Clear from Taking in Muslim Refugees Fleeing Afghanistan

News 18  

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has stoked a massive exodus of Afghans, who have been desperately trying to flee the country to escape the spiralling violence perpetrated by the fundamentalist group. Iran’s three provinces bordering Afghanistan have set up emergency tents to host Afghan refugees till conditions in Afghanistan turn better. The OIC’s statement talks about “the necessity to protect …

As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, US groups prepare for a wave of migrants
3 years, 4 months ago

As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, US groups prepare for a wave of migrants

CNN  

CNN — It’s a picture that went viral and stunned people around the world earlier this week: Approximately 820 Afghan refugees packed aboard a US military C-17 plane. Refugee support groups working around the clock Lutheran Social Services National Capital Area, a refugee and immigrant resettlement group that serves the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia area, has already welcomed 68 …

Where does the world stand on Afghan refugees?
3 years, 4 months ago

Where does the world stand on Afghan refugees?

Al Jazeera  

Some countries have offered Afghans safe haven, but others are intent on fortifying borders. Pakistan to keep refugees close to border In June, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan would seal its border with Afghanistan in the event the Taliban took control. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government said 5,000 people would be resettled in the UK within the first …

Will the Taliban takeover lead to a new European refugee crisis?
3 years, 4 months ago

Will the Taliban takeover lead to a new European refugee crisis?

Al Jazeera  

Since 2015, European nations have fortified their borders, meaning large flows of refugees are unlikely, analysts say. In 2015, more than one million refugees, mainly from Syria, arrived in Europe, sparking a political backlash in many countries that has profoundly shifted governments’ attitudes towards migration. Greek immigration minister Notis Mitarachi told a local television station on Monday, “It is clear …

As Kabul falls, Afghan lawmakers turn to India to take refuge
3 years, 4 months ago

As Kabul falls, Afghan lawmakers turn to India to take refuge

India Today  

Even as Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and his aides fled to Tajikistan, other countries have opened their borders to Afghan citizens who are fleeing violence and conflict. The tide of the takeover by the Taliban has meant that India, often regarded as a safe refuge of learning, education and health for Afghans, is also housing political refugees from the country …

Nearly four lakh people newly displaced in Afghanistan by conflict since start of year: UN
3 years, 4 months ago

Nearly four lakh people newly displaced in Afghanistan by conflict since start of year: UN

The Hindu  

Nearly four lakh people have been newly displaced in Afghanistan since the start of the year, with a huge spike from May, a spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres has said, amid the deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country. “Since the start of the year, nearly 390,000 people have been newly displaced by conflict across the country, with a …

Nearly 4 lakh people newly displaced in Afghanistan by conflict since start of year: UN
3 years, 4 months ago

Nearly 4 lakh people newly displaced in Afghanistan by conflict since start of year: UN

India Today  

Nearly four lakh people have been newly displaced in Afghanistan since the start of the year, with a huge spike from May, a spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres has said, amid the deteriorating security situation in the war-torn country. "Since the start of the year, nearly 390,000 people have been newly displaced by conflict across the country, with a …

US races to find safe haven for Afghan translators in Central Asia as troop withdrawal nears
3 years, 5 months ago

US races to find safe haven for Afghan translators in Central Asia as troop withdrawal nears

CNN  

CNN — With the US withdrawal from Afghanistan just days away, the Biden administration is asking countries in Central Asia to temporarily house thousands of Afghan interpreters and translators while they wait for visas to the United States, according to a US official and another source familiar with the discussions. “The good news is the administration is trying to find …

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