The United Nations have recently reported that 8 million people have left Afghanistan since 2020. The influx of refugees has mainly occurred after August 2021 following the return of the Taliban in power. The UN report has earned widespread reactions and a large number of citizens say that the worst economic situation in Afghanistan under the rule of Taliban has caused even those who have a better life to think of leaving the country.
These citizens say that the deprivation of women and girls from their basic rights, including education and work and the spread of poverty and unemployment are the main factors of Afghans leaving the country.
Out of nearly 8 million Afghan citizens that left their country since 2020, 85 percent of them have migrated to neighboring countries, mainly Iran, and another million have migrated to Europe.
According to the latest data of the International Organization for Migration, almost 70 percent of Afghan citizens have gone to Iran due to the lack of job opportunities in their country. It is also stated in the report that in 2023, nearly one million immigrants from Iran have returned to Afghanistan, 70 percent of whom did not have legal documents and the other 60 percent were forcibly returned.
It is stated that many Afghan citizens migrate through illegal routes due to difficulties in obtaining passports and visas, and often pay smugglers to cross the borders illegally. Unfortunately, most of the migrants have to borrow money or sell their family’s property to finance their journey.
An educated jobless man told Harici that he had no option but to travel abroad to work
Ahamd Jalali, a resident of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, said that he had no other option but to go to Iran for work. “I graduated from the faculty of political sciences, but now I am jobless. I sent CVs to several departments and received no reply,” Jalali told Harici.
He said that the majority of elite, educated and expert youth are not interested in continuing to live in the country due to unemployment. “If the situation prevails, people will lose hope for the future under the Taliban government. The Taliban need to chalk out a clear mechanism to provide jobs for educated young Afghans,” he asked.
Anosha Ahmadi, a female university student, said that she was banned from going to university after the Taliban took power. “I was in my third year. Only one year was left until completing my higher education. Who is more responsible than the Taliban for depriving me from education,” Ahmadi told Harici.
“I hate living under the Taliban rule, because I have no rights in society and life. Now I am at home living as a prisoner. I cannot accept darkness forever. I want to live as a human being, and human life,” she lamented.
No country can move toward peace and prosperity sans women’s active role in society
She said that the Taliban must open the doors of education and work for women. “I am pretty sure that the Taliban will succeed in ruling Afghanistan and trigger us toward peace, and economic development if they respect women’s rights and provide them with education and job opportunities,” she added.
Another number of citizens believe that the number of people leaving the country is higher than the statistics provided by the International Organization for Migration. It has been reported that 8 million people will leave the country in 2020. They say that this is the only statistic recorded by the United Nations, while thousands of others leave the country daily through smuggling and illegal means. According to these citizens, even the statistics presented by the United Nations reflect the dire and dangerous conditions in Afghanistan at the moment.
