Refugees%20of%20Afghanistan

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Afghan Refugees
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The Basics

• Afghanistan is an extremely poor, landlocked
  country.
• People are motivated to leave due to political
  and economic conditions.
• 900,000 estimated to be internally displaced,
  with further hundreds of thousands fleeing to the
  surrounding countries of Pakistan and Iran.
• 3.6 million refugees still living in Pakistan
  from the 1979-89 Soviet invasion.

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Reasons for leaving Afghanistan

• 40 of Afghanistans population live below the UN
  poverty line
• Political and economic hardship combined with
  repeated famines has made migration the only
  option for millions of impoverished Afghans
• Protracted civil war
• The nation is in the midst of its worst drought
  in 30 years
• Peoples lives are under threat of further
  American military attacks
• Appalling child mortality rates, health-care
  provision, and nutrition levels

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Where The Refugees Go

• 1 The border with Pakistan stretches over 2500km,
  most of which is mountainous terrain.
  Approximately 250,000 people tried to cross the
  border in October 2001 alone
• 2 Iran currently has more than 1.7 million
  refugees from Afghanistan
• 3 At Peshawar the UN Food Aid Agency provides
  monthly food rations to 57,000 in two camps

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Where The Refugees Go

• 4 At Jalozai, a makeshift refugee camp
  established in November 2000, and closed February
  2002, more than 100,000 refugees lived.
  Conditions in the camp were poor, with a severe
  lack of shelter, food, or decent medical
  provision.

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Attitude of Afghan Government

• The new democratic Afghan government is keen to
  see the return of the refugees
• In economic terms, the displaced millions
  represent a large potential labour force and
  consumer market
• The rebuilding of the country can only be
  achieved with stability. This comes from
  maintaining a fixed and permanent population

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Attitude of Pakistani Government

• Pakistan is a poor, heavily populated country,
  suffering from internal political disputes, lack
  of foreign investment, and a costly confrontation
  with neighboring India
• It has 21bn in foreign debt due in 2002/2003,
  totaling 50 of government expenditure
• A large proportion of its own people live below
  the UN poverty line
• Country cannot support the refugees, and the
  government wishes to close the border to them,
  and return the many millions of existing Afghan
  refugees as soon as possible
• However, international concern has obligated them
  to take a soft approach to refugees from
  Afghanistan

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Webliography

• pupilvision.com
• worldvision.org
• amnesty.org
• refugees.org
• english.pravda.ru/war
• odci.gov/cia/