Repatriation continues to slow

For the Ahmad family, going back to Afghanistan after years, living, as refugees in Pakistan couldn’t of been more natural. "This is our country. Why shouldn’t we return?" Mohammad Ahmad asked IRIN outside the Pul-e-charkhi encashment centre outside the capital, Kabul. But as winter fast approaches, more and more Afghans are pondering just that question. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has already noted a significant drop in numbers. "Less than 4,000 people a day are returning from Pakistan and Iran - with about half from each," agency spokeswoman, Maki Shinohara told IRIN in Kabul on Thursday. "This is a significant drop. During the month of May, we were assisting as many as 20,000 [per day]." In a United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report last week, the total number of assisted returns for September would be just over 115,000 individuals, representing a decline of 40 percent against an August total of almost 197,000 people. Returns from Pakistan had seen the greatest reduction – 46 percent. If the current rate was maintained from Iran, the figures would have decreased by 32 percent, 42,000 compared to 62,291 in August, the report said Meanwhile, at Pul-e-charkhi - one of 24 such reception centres where returnees are provided with transport and aid assistance upon arrival - the facility, 25 km east of the capital, which once handled upwards of 15,000 returnees each day, was now down to as low as 2,000. But according to Shinohara, the figures are to be expected. The main reason hindering people’s return is the drop in temperature. "What is happening is quite natural," she said. "If you know that your house is destroyed, you certainly aren’t going to return with temperatures dropping. It simply doesn’t make sense." Ahmad’s son, Bashir, said weather was the motivating factor for most refugees. "Our friends back in Pakistan say they will come next summer when the weather is warmer," the 21-year-old said. However, weather alone was not the sole concern amongst returnees in the decision making process. According to a report by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Wednesday, lack of job opportunities, shelter, infrastructure and security all played contributing factors. "As much as we want to go home, we can’t due to a lack of shelter and assistance and the threat of warlords recruiting our sons into militias," one refugee told IRIN. Still another refugee elder from northern Afghanistan said he would only bring his family home if the mission of the international security forces were extended to provinces like his, plagued by factional fighting. But for 52-year-old Ahmad, having left his job as a shop assistant in NWFP’s provincial capital Peshawar, he, like most returnees must now find a way to provide for himself and his five children. "I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do," he said standing by the truck carrying all his belongings and his family from Pakistan. "We don’t have any work and our house is destroyed." Shinohara explained that many families have on a practical basis, had to consider whether such a move would be sustainable or not. And as for some people actually returning to Pakistan after their arrival for just that reason, she maintained what movement there was was primarily seasonal migration. The challenge now was not the people returning back to Pakistan, but rather further internal displacement within the country, she explained, adding the refugee agency was now preparing to assist the most vulnerable among the returnees and internally displaced during the winter months – currently estimated at 560,000. The United Nations has predicted some two million Afghans will return to their homeland before the end of this year, with a similar number expected for 2003. But this figure will only be realised if security improves and the infrastructure can support such large numbers. As part its assistance package to returnees, UNHCR provides each returning family member US $20 per person to offset travel and transport costs, as well as 50 kg of wheat per family of four. In addition to mine awareness information, returning families also receive an assortment of non-food related items, as well as polio and measles immunisation for children from UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).