Situation for Afghans deteriorating

For two decades, Iran has been one the most hospitable countries for the successive waves of Afghans fleeing drought and conflict at home. Recent incidents of violence against Afghans and reports of deportations, however, indicate a growing feeling of xenophobia in Iran. “There have been incidents of violence perpetrated by Iranian youths against Afghans,” Mohammad Nouri, the UNHCR spokesman in the Iranian capital, Tehran, confirmed to IRIN on Thursday. “This is worrying - as are worrying reports that factories and workshops had to close because Afghan workers were expelled and no local replacement could be found,” he added. There is a growing anti-Afghan feeling in the country, resulting in a hardening stance from Tehran, much like the situation in neighbouring Pakistan. Earlier this month, Bo Schack, the UNHCR acting head of mission in Tehran, told IRIN that thousands of Afghans in Iran were being forced out of work due to a new fine imposed on those who employ them. This situation has caused grave concern among Afghans who have lost their jobs and must now think how they will feed their families. With unemployment at around 15 percent, many Iranians believe Afghans are taking jobs away from them. This fact, coupled with mass demonstrations by Iranians complaining about Afghans working illegally and a string of violent incidents involving Iranians and Afghans, has led the government to toughen its stance towards the refugee community. According to figures released by the Iranian interior ministry on 11 July, of the 2,562,827 foreigners officially registered in the country, 2,355,427 are Afghans. This renders Iran, by a small figure, the largest host to Afghan refugees in the world today. Pakistan hosts another two million Afghans. Iranian officials say that 92 percent of all foreign nationals took part in the two-phase registration process from February to May, conducted nationwide in 250 registration centres in 28 provinces. There have been reports, however, that the rate of foreign aliens not participating in the registration exercise could be as high as 20 percent, leaving the fate of many in the air. “In accordance with the law, all those foreign nationals who failed to participate in the registration plan must leave the country,” one senior official at the interior ministry was quoted as saying. While unable to confirm reports that up to 3,000 Afghans were being deported from the country each day, Nouri said according to government officials, the majority of deportees were recent arrivals from Afghanistan, many of whom had been in the country less than three weeks. In fact, authorities estimate that between 700 and 1,000 Afghans are still crossing the border into Iran on a daily basis, mainly along the common border in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province. Tehran claims that one in three of these newly arrived Afghans is being arrested and deported back, he noted. Asked to substantiate these figures, Nouri said that there had been an increase in the number of Afghans who spontaneously returned, which was being facilitated by the interior ministry. According to the government, over 30,000 Afghans have voluntarily left Iran since 21 March. In addition, UNHCR has also recorded a total of 47,880 Afghans spontaneously repatriated from 1 January to 25 July, he added. Nouri said there was intense pressure from different sectors of Iranian society and mounting public opinion for the government to send illegal immigrants back to Afghanistan. “The general view in Iran is that the country has been left alone in hosting the largest population of refugees for over two decades,” he said. “International help and support is limited and not at all enough to cover the needs of the very large Afghan population living in the country for years,” he added. In short, Iran was trying to deal with its own shortcomings in different social, political and economic aspects, and was finding it increasingly difficult to shoulder the burden of a large refugee and migrant population, Nouri explained. UNHCR on Wednesday reiterated its concern over the increasing outbursts of violence directed against Afghans living in Iran. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, agency spokesman Ron Redmond said: “Last week, clashes took place on the outskirts of Tehran when anti-Afghan protestors rampaged in the Pishva neighbourhood south of the capital, leaving a number of people injured.” During the protests in Pishva, local residents shouted “Death to Afghans!” “Similar slogans were scrawled on the walls of buildings in the area,” he added. Blaming the clashes largely on economic tensions within the country, Redmond noted that many Afghans were said to be frightened to go outdoors, with many of the community’s men now too afraid to gather at the local informal job market to seek work.