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Consequence of conflict in Afghanistan continues……
In Iran, only a few of the refugees have lived in camps. The Afghans in Iran were mainly non-camp refugees and they lived scattered in rural and urban areas throughout the country. These non-camp Afghan families were not homogeneous and the diversity was due to their different ethnic identities, differences in socio-economic conditions of the families prior to the arrival in Iran, the legal status of the family in Iran and their provinces of residence. Most of them were Shiite Hazara, or belong to other Persian speaking groups and originate from Herat, Farah and northwestern and central provinces.
In Iran, where employment opportunities were higher but humanitarian assistance by NGOs was almost absent, the percentage of males had always been much higher than among refugees in Pakistan. A number of Afghan men found work as manual labourers, often at construction sites. However, the ‘asylum fatigue’ in Iran is even more disturbing than in Pakistan. The Iranian government and civilians appeared increasingly intolerant and hostile towards the Afghans. By mid-1990s, most refugees were no longer eligible for regular education, health services and food rations. A majority was either undocumented or held a temporary registration card and was restricted in earning a livelihood. The situation of the Afghans in Iran deteriorated even further after the fall of the Taleban. Many residence permits were revoked. While the UNHCR had tried to develop voluntary repatriation schemes, there have been numerous reports of arbitrary arrests, physical harassments and forced repatriations by the Iranian authorities, even for those with an UNHCR refugee status.
Besides these large refugee populations in Iran and Pakistan, the Central Asian Republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, as well as India and Russia are host to considerable numbers of Afghan refugees. Most of the 150 thousand Afghans residing in Russia left their country when Najibullah, the last communist president, was removed from power by the Mujahideen troops in 1992. India proved to be a destination for Afghan Hindus and Sikhs, as well as for Afghans affiliated with the communist regime.
To be continued…..