Afghans increasingly being forced out of Quetta

Conditions in refugee camps outside the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta are set to worsen, as a government policy continues to force many Afghans out of the city into camps in search of assistance, a UN official told IRIN. “Our hands are tied, as the Pakistani government does not allow us to give aid to those in the city,” said Zahida Shahidi, UNHCR’s repatriation assistant for the Quetta sub-office. “Many Afghans can’t find work once they move out, and it is a very difficult decision for them to make,” she added. Shahidi explained that although UNHCR was unhappy about the Pakistani authorities’ policy, it was obliged to abide by the rule. “Last year, 1,830 families moved out of the city, followed by another 800 families so far this year,” she said. “Pakistan has not signed the [UN] Refugee Convention and, therefore, they can implement this policy,” she added. Introduced in 1999, the policy was intended to stop the city from being overwhelmed by Afghans. According to government statistics, there are 300,000 Afghan refugees in Quetta alone, and Pakistan has said it cannot cope with the burden. Defending the government’s decision, Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Mohammad Jalal Modokhail told IRIN: “Quetta city is not a camp.” He said that Afghans could not be treated as refugees if they stayed in the city. Even with the one-off assistance from UNHCR, comprising 60 kg of wheat flour, oil, tea, sugar, blankets and basic medical supplies, conditions in camps are set to worsen. At a camp in the Surkhab district of Quetta, 62 km from the city, families who arrived a month ago told of how desperate their situation had become. Widow Nur Bibi from the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif told IRIN she would do anything to go back to Quetta city. “There is no clinic nearby,” she complained. “At least we could beg for food in the bazaar, but it is too far away now,” she said. Nur Bibi told of how she was now having to build her own house from mud. Most refugees at the camp are living in tents provided by UNHCR, and said it had become unbearable in the soaring heat. In the city some refugees were at least living in proper houses, but now conditions had become worse, they explained. “We are living like animals here,” Mohammad Navaz told IRIN. Inside the tents, girls as young as five were spinning wool to help supplement their families’ meagre income. “I want to earn some money so we can afford to buy vegetables to eat with bread,” an eight year-old girl told IRIN. With no proper sanitation system in place, the stench of waste hangs over the camp, creating a breeding ground for disease. Refugees said there had already been some cases of tuberculosis. “Our children are getting ill, and we can’t afford to pay for medicine as we can’t find work here,” Nur Bibi said.