Major repatriation drive begins

A major campaign to voluntarily repatriate millions of Afghans began in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) on Friday. First off his truck to register for the assistance package was father of five, Baz Mohammad. "It’s time for a fresh start for my country," the 65-year-old watchmaker from Kabul told IRIN. "Now that there is peace in Afghanistan, why should I stay here?" he exclaimed. Welcome words to UNHCR staff at the Takhtabaig voluntary repatriation centre (VRC), 16 km west of the provincial capital Peshawar and the first of seven such centres to open in Pakistan. UNHCR estimates that up to 200 families will register for repatriation and proceed to Afghanistan on the first day of assisted repatriation there. But this is just the start of an enormous programme. "We hope to repatriate some five million people from the whole region over the next five years," UNHCR regional repatriation coordinator, Peter Nicholaus told IRIN. "While we are planning for the best, it all depends on Afghanistan. If the country is peaceful and stable, we hope to repatriate everyone - up to 400,000 this year alone from Pakistan," he maintained. UNHCR estimates some 3.2 million Afghans in Pakistan and 1.8 million in Iran, the largest host countries, will eventually participate in the campaign. As part of the initial process, refugees at Takhtabaig receive registration papers entitling them to receive a cash grant, food supplies and a repatriation package once they arrive back in Afghanistan. The papers also serve as identity documents for the whole family. Once registered, the refugees will proceed through the famed Khyber Pass to the Torkham border crossing and onward into Afghanistan on trucks or buses, which they hire themselves. The US $150 cost of Baz Mohammad’s truck was shared between three families. Upon their arrival at the UNHCR encashment centre in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, families with less than five members receive US $20 per person to offset travel expenses, while families of five or more will receive US $100 for the whole family. Additional assistance awaits the refugees in their place of origin with UNHCR establishing assistance distribution centres in each Afghan province. Included in the package is 150 kg of wheat for the family, as well as blankets, plastic sheeting and other non-food items. But the repatriation drive is not without problems. Nicholaus said the greatest challenge facing the agency was to facilitate the return process without giving the impression that Afghanistan is generally conducive to return. "We don’t promote repatriation, we merely facilitate it," he explained. According to UNHCR, most of the people wishing to go back were from ethnic minorities such as the Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkomen groups. The number of Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group, who wanted to return was proportionally less. "People who came 20 years ago to Pakistan and have established strong roots are less enthusiastic to return," Nicholaus said, adding: "It’s the last in - first out phenomenon." Under the joint UNHCR and Pakistani government programme, of the seven VRCs in the country, four will be in NWFP, two in the southwest province of Baluchistan and one in the southern commercial city of Karachi. "If there is a desire elsewhere in the country, two of the mobile VRCs will respond to that area," Nicholaus explained. A corresponding encashment centre will be established inside Afghanistan for each VRC, he added. Asked about people registering for the programme but then returning To Pakistan, the veteran aid worker said this was less of a fear because Afghanistan had really changed and assistance was not distributed directly on the border, but inside the country instead. But more importantly, he said UNHCR and other agencies had already started reintegration programmes enabling them to give more than just initial assistance, but a real anchor for people inside the country. Meanwhile in Iran, UNHCR and the government of Iran are preparing for a similar campaign to begin 1 April. "We are preparing to repatriate 400,000, but that will depend on the security situation in the country," UNHCR spokesman, Mohammad Nouri told IRIN from the Iranian capital Tehran. Emphasising the voluntary nature of the campaign he maintained: "Most Afghans are waiting for greater security in their country before making their decision." According to Nouri, some 12 repatriation registration centres are tentatively planned for the cities of Tehran, Zahedan, Mashhad, Esfahan, Shiraz, Kerman, Qom, Yazd, Arak, Bandar-e Abbas, Ghazvin and Semnan. While Dogharun will remain the key exit point for departing Afghans, there was also discussion of opening additional exit points. Possible candidates along the 900 km border include Milak in Sistan Baluchistan and Mile 73 in Khorasan province, he added. The Iranian campaign would be the second voluntary repatriation programme jointly conducted by the refugee agency and the Tehran government. The first programme, in which over 184,000 Afghans returned to their country over a nine-month period, was in 2000.