Majority of repatriated going back to original homes

The vast majority, or 93 percent, of repatriated Afghans have returned to their home towns and villages, a UNHCR survey revealed on Thursday. “These people have made up their own minds, and that is the best guidance for them,” the UNHCR spokesman in Islamabad, Peter Kessler, told IRIN.
On the question of their safety, he added that most Afghans still had relatives in their homeland, and had a fairly clear picture of the situation there. Kessler said UNHCR had no prognosis as to where the refugees would go when they left the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran.

The survey, in which 2,400 heads of household were interviewed, was carried out in the eastern provinces of Konar and Nangarhar, the central province of Kabul, the northern province of Kunduz and the southern Helmand and Kandahar provinces. The front line for fighting between Taliban and opposition forces is reported to be between the northern Takhar and Badakhshan provinces.

“Iran and Pakistan are facing serious droughts, and the response we’ve had from Afghans is that they can live at least as well back home as they can in the two asylum countries,” Kessler explained. Of those interviewed, at least 51 percent were able to recover their original land and homes successfully. However, many said they were trying to get work in fields or as labourers. Over a quarter had found their homes completely destroyed, the report said.

The survey revealed that only 21 percent of returnees said they had made the decision to return because security conditions had improved in parts of the war-ravaged country. The rest felt either that they were facing huge financial difficulties, or feared they would be deported. Asked to comment on the issue of deportation, Kessler said, “We are concerned about people being deported to a country like Afghanistan, and we caution to weigh up the situation in the country carefully before taking such action.”

Many Afghan refugees, however, were forcibly returned, the survey said, with 82,000 deported from Iran in the first six months of this year.
Another 3,400 were deported from Pakistan, according to random checks by UNHCR staff. However, there is speculation that this number could be much higher. Pakistan and Iran host 2 million Afghan refugees each, according to the UN.

So far this year, more than 39,600 Afghans voluntarily went home from Iran and Pakistan, with only 3,000 seeking UNHCR repatriation. Last year, the refugee agency facilitated 210,000 repatriations, while 62,000 were repatriated without assistance. “It is a good sign that a majority of the Afghans returned to their own homes and villages, but the situation inside Afghanistan continues to be critical,” UNHCR Chief of Mission for Afghanistan Ahmad Said Farah said in a statement issued on Thursday.

The survey has also raised concern over access to health facilities, with 56 percent of returnees without it. “It clearly is a concern for any agency,” Kessler said. “Although resources have been put into Afghanistan, a lot more needs to be done,” he added.