Afghan refugees

#EndTo10yearsinLimbo

Join the campaign using the hashtag above

Thousands of Afghan refugees, mainly #Hazaras have been living in #indonesia and #Malaysia for the past 10 years hoping for a resettlement to third countries. Unfortunately, there has been very little attention given to the refugees in the mentioned countries, with a few of them being resettled in countries like US, Canada or some other European countries in the past couple of years. With the uncertainty and no hope for protection, at least a dozen or more of the Hazara refugees have committed suicide, leaving their family and children behind. Several others are suffering from severe mental health problems.

On several occasions, the refugees have had sit – in protests in front of the UNHCR Indonesia office, but with no sufficient result or outcome. Once again, hundreds of Hazara refugees have started a sit – in protest in front of the UNHCR office for the past 31 days, with 4 of them sewing their lips in an attempt to attract the attention of countries that are involved in the resettlement process.

With my experience of working with refugees for the past several years and staying closely in touch with several activists and Hazara refugees in Indonesia, I totally understand the frustration they are going through and therefore fully support the cause and call on the #EU, #USA, #Canada and #Australia to include these refugees who have been living in limbo for the past 10 years in the their resettlement programs. With Afghanistan currently going through its worst phase after the handover of Afghanistan to Taliban and an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country, these refugees have no way back to Afghanistan. This is the time for the Western countries to allocate a quota for the refugees in Indonesia from the total number of refugees they are planning to resettle in the coming months.

Two days ago, on 8^th of May 2021, 3 explosions rocked Western part of Kabul. A girl’s school was targeted killing 80 and injuring more than 200 students, all of them children below 18 years old. According to reports released by Ministry of Interior, the explosions were caused by a car bomb followed by two other explosions believed to be landmines.

The target of the attack was Sayed Ul Shuhada School located in Dasht E Barchi, West of Kabul. This is mainly an area populated by very poor Hazara families who have newly shifted to Kabul from central parts of Afghanistan like Bamyan and Daikundi. The victims were also children from those poor families who were getting out of the school when they were targeted. Around 200 students have been injured and need immediate support. There are already several people and organizations colleting support for them, but our staff and some friends have also decided to raise some support for them to do our part of the job. Here is how you can help;

A) Unfortunately since we are in Afghanistan and can’t arrange a fundraiser using Facebook fundraiser or PayPal, if anyone is willing to help us with a PayPal account to raise some fund, it will be much appreciated.

B) Those who are willing to donate 100$ or more can send us the donation using Western Union. Please DM

C) Those who are willing to make small contributions, you can DM me and I can send you links to trust worthy campaigns taking place where you can donate.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-09/kabul-afghanistan-blast-kills-30/100126620?fbclid=IwAR17GI_UaNo4q9yuWOfX9Qn0bqkgW7rDjeXKYrY6Ss70j-uzDskSxenOunw

Two to three years ago, European countries hesitated to deport Afghans who had changed their religion to Christianity, atheism or any other religion. The reason was obvious and known to everyone, they feared the outcome of deporting this particular group of people to Afghanistan due to the risks they may have to face from their family, relatives and the society.

EU has started deporting Christian converts for a long time now, without knowing what will be the consequences of deporting them back to Afghanistan. I assume they are waiting for one or two to be killed until they believe that it is not safe to return them. Until they hear any news of that sort, they need to find out what a miserable life Christian converts live post return. Rejected by all, from the family and friends to the society they are supposed to live in and make a future.

I have come across several cases of men being beaten up, thrown out of their homes and forced to leave a shared home because the rest of the roommates didn’t want to share food with them. Ofcourse, as an individual it is not possible for me to write about all of those cases, instead a thorough research needs to be done in this regard. But here, I am sharing once case that I have been following up since he was deported to Afghanistan last year.

The trouble for Ali Karimi (fake name) started soon after he was deported along with several others from Sweden back to Afghanistan last year. I met him in my office, and I could see the fear on his face about his future and the consequence he may face due to his change of religion. His problems started with his roommates, who were also deportees. They are the first one’s who started creating troubles for him. He had to flee the country within a week and go to one of the neighboring countries where his family also lived.

His family were aware of his change of religion and had to come in to terms with him, but he says it took them months to accept him back to the family. He wanted to live and make a living for him without any troubles. That didn’t lost for long when he met one of his friends, who he knew from the camps in Sweden. His friend knew Ali had changed his religion and one of his confession videos were available on YouTube (I personally checked the video and confirm that it still exists).  Almost a week after meeting his friend, he started getting trouble when his relatives started calling meetings on him and keep asking for explanation. They had also decided to throw him out of family, relative gatherings. Ali believes his friend who had traveled from Sweden to that neighboring country had shared Ali’s secret with others.

European migrations authorities often advise returnees to keep their religion a secret and that will not create trouble for them, but they never say what will happen if the secret is somehow leaked, through friends like Ali’s, through social media and other means. It is similar to a death penalty for the person concerned.

The trouble in the neighboring country casued Ali to escape and return back to Afghanistan before he gets in to any sort of real trouble. He has been to Afghanistan for two weeks now and is still living in hiding, looking for ways to get out of Afghanistan. Indifference of what caused Ali or many others to change their religions, which is totally a personal choice, but the idea of deporting them back to Afghanistan claiming everything is going to be fine totally crazy and out of mind. Hope this story becomes the start of collecting testimonies of returnees who have changed their religions and let the decisions makers know that you can’t send them back to death.

Ali Reza went to Sweden in 2015 when he was a minor. He had received a negative answer to his asylum claim after his first interview. According to Reza’s mother, he was very depressed after his asylum claim was rejected and always complained about it to his mother. On 15^th of July 2018, Ali Reza passed away due to a heart attack. His body was transferred to Afghanistan after the due process and arrangements by the Afghan Embassy in Sweden and the Swedish government.

The family had to borrow around 5000 $ to help send Ali Reza to Sweden. Ali Reza’s two other sister had passed away due to almost similar reasons before. One of his sisters had passed away due to a heart attack on her wedding night and the other had passed away due to kidney failure. Reza’s father had passed away many years ago. Late Reza’s mother had to sell some of her belongings and furniture from home to be able to arrange the money and make the transfer of his corpse possible. Now, those who had borrowed her money are demanding to receive their money back.

Now, there is only Reza’s mother and his younger brother living together with Reza’s sister, who is already married. They are paying 4000 Afs for one of the rooms she shares with her daughter. To find a mean for survival, she often knits cultural clothes or female dresses and sales it to different individual and businesses, but that is not enough for her to pay back the money she had borrowed.

Reza’s mother and younger brother visited us in our office using the reference of another deportee who was deported from Germany 3 years ago. After our investigation and based on the documents provided to us, we did a thorough interview with Reza’s mother and made sure we had all the relevant information to start a fundraising campaign.

An activist from Sweden has agreed to help us with the process. So for those in Sweden, you can send your donation using the SWISH number provided below. After we receiving a sufficient amount of support. We will then give the money to Reza’s mother along with her and picture if approved by her and needed by donors.

SWISH: 0761747655

Nannethe Nabben

Please use the name ALI RAZA when you make a donation

Deportation to Afghanistan was temporarily halted after the spread of the novel coronavirus, followed by lockdown in most of the European countries and Afghanistan due to the pandemic, and therefore no forced deportation has taken place since March this year. After months of gap between March and now, Sweden and Austria on 15^th and Germany on 16^th December, are planning to resume deportation to Afghanistan. This deportations are taking place at a time when dozens of security personal and civilians are being killed by the insurgents on daily basis. There is also a new Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, Mr. Nur Rahman Akhlaqi and a new deputy Minister, Mr. Wafiullah Kakar.

After the news of continuation of deportation to Afghanistan, European organizations, activist groups and sympathizers of the Afghan refugee in Europe have shown their strong opposition and disagreement to news . They fear deportation to Afghan will put lives of dozens of deportees in danger due to the deteriorating security situation, uncertain future due to the peace talk and the growing number of cases due to the Covid – 19.

Sweden

Some of the well – known Swedish organizations, refugee led groups, Facebook groups and pages with thousands of followers have sent a joint letter to the Afghan Minister for Refugees and Repatriation to show there strong opposition against the deportation planned for 15^th of December. The letter was then followed by a press release and statement by the the organizations.

There is also a demonstration planned on 15^th in Sweden. Further details and the link to the event will be updated on the same post later.

Austria

Similar to Sweden, Austria has also sent a letter to the Afghan Ministry, explaining the situation of Afghan refugees in Austria and shown a strong opposition to the deportation taking place on 15^th December. The letter was sent by asylkoordination österreich, which is a platform of organisations supporting persons that are seeking international protection in Austria. They have also highlighted some of the major problems deportees face and provided with concrete reason on why the deportation shouldn’t take place.

A petition signed by 2300 people until now, has also been attached and sent to the Ministry.

There is also a demonstration planned by several organizations to oppose the decision. The deportation will be held in Wien, Austria today on 10^th of December.  

Germany

A letter has been sent to;

H.E. Ashraf Ghani, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

H.E. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of High Council for National Reconciliation

H.E. Mir Rahman Rahmani, President of the National Assembly

A copy of the letter has also been sent to the Minister and his deputy to raise a voice against forced deportation to Afghanistan. There is also demonstration planned in part of Germany in the coming days to protest the decision of forced deportation to Afghanistan.

By: Abdul Ghafoor

It seems incredible after recent events that Afghan requests for asylum are still being rejected, that Afghans in Europe and around the world are being forced to wait, sometimes for years, in camps, detention centers and even in tents by the side of the road or in forests as they try to find protection. As a young man living in Kabul, let me explain why thousands of young men have left, are leaving Afghanistan and will continue to leave Afghanistan in spite of the inhumane treatment we face on our journeys and on arrival in destination countries.

This generation of Afghans, like others before them are fleeing a country that has known only war for the past 40 years. Hopes for lasting peace have been dashed time and time again. After the fall of Taliban in 2001, Afghan has witnessed 3 elections. Each time they went to the polls hoping for a better and safer future. One term finished after another, but peace was nowhere to be seen. Violence increased every year from 2012 onwards and the number of civilian casualties went higher. Afghan citizens have no faith in the ability of the Afghan government to bring peace or provide security to its citizens.

And in this environment, families struggle to survive. 90% of the government’s budget comes from the International community and almost all is spent on security. Unemployment is high, child labor is increasing, as is the population of the IDP camps, where 93% of the people have fled conflict, and others have fled drought and natural disasters. The levels of despair have led to increasing addiction, especially among young men, putting further pressure on their families.

Although violence and civilian casualties appeared to decrease in the first half of 2020 as the US pursued peace talks with the Taliban (further undermining the credibility the Afghan government) recent weeks have seen a sharp escalation. Today, Afghans are not safe in mosques, wedding halls, hospitals, sport gyms and educational institutes. The attacks on the maternity hospital and the educational centers are clearly an attack on the future of Afghanistan.

In an educational center that helps students with preparations for university exams in 2018, 48 students were killed and dozens were injured in the attack. Last month, a suicide bomber blew himself up among students who were leaving an educational center in the West of Kabul, killing 24 young people, again those preparing for university exams. were killed in the attack. And a week later, another shocking and inhumane attack was carried out in Kabul University, the largest University in Afghanistan. 22 students from the law faculty were massacred in the attack and dozens more injured. Following the attack, there has been discussion of who the preparators were, Taliban or ISIS. Whoever it was, it is another cruel blow to Afghanistan’s future – killing potential leaders and those who would have rebuilt our poor country.

In this context, is it surprising that Afghan youth do not see a safe and secure future in Afghanistan, and that their families want to send them out of the country. As a result, for many, migration appears as the only tool of survival and a safe and secure future. People are aware of the risks, but they calculate that migration offers a chance of a future, while there is no future in Afghanistan. Afghan families who can leave, do and those who can’t try to scrape together money to send a son abroad – both to keep him safe, but also in the hope that he will somehow be able to help them, and potentially get a sibling or the rest of the family to safety. Migration to Europe may have decreased, especially with the arrival of the corona virus, but it hasn’t stopped (as a concern for Afghans, the virus ranks third after security and poverty).

So this is the moment for Europe and other destinations to open their borders and offer a sanctuary to Afghanistan’s future, to protect and support those young people so that they can in the future contribute to the reconstruction of our country.

Thousands have been deported to Afghanistan in the past couple of years. Young boys without any social network, female heads of the household, elderly ill asylum seekers were deported from European states and families have been split. The European and Afghan government’s agreement on return to Afghanistan was extended from 8 European countries to many more after the Joint Way Forward deal was signed on 2^nd October 2016. Since then, on one hand the number of deportation to Afghanistan has increased and on the other hand insecurity, political instability and humanitarian crisis have increased.

Afghans have always been hopeful for a brighter and safer future in the country and were hopeful about a peace deal between the US – Taliban and Taliban – Afghans. The US and Taliban finally came to an agreement which was signed on 29^th of February 2020 (Shereena Qazi, “Afghanistan’s Taliban, US signed agreement aimed at ending war’, Aljazeera, 29 Feb 2020). Unfortunately, the level of concern has increased among the Afghan civilians after the deal was signed. On 11^th of March, only few days after the deal was made between the US – Taliban, Ashraf Ghani ordered release of 1500 Taliban fighters as the US had promised of releasing 5000 Taliban fighter that was agreed upon during the deal.

Many Afghan civilians, including myself are concerned about the outcome of such a deal and its impact on the lives of Afghan civilians, who have been the sole victim of this warfare throughout the years. The Afghan government states that they are releasing Taliban prisoners on conditions, one of which is a written statement not to hold gun again or fight against the Afghan government. History knows, Taliban have done this sort of promises before and have joined the Taliban fighters as soon as they were released, so this assurance is not worth the paper it is written on and the pretend to believe it is nothing but cynical. (Blatant lie.)

Since I am in direct contact with deportees and meet a couple of them in my office every day, I am more concerned for them than anyone else. Most of them have no social network, economic support and someone to rely on in case of an emergency. Even those who have relatives in the country or even in Kabul tend not to be welcome there. In a situation like this such vulnerability can be deadly anytime. There are further reasons that deportations should be stopped immediately.

Political instability

After almost five months of waiting, the Independent Election Commission in a controversial statement announced Ashraf Ghani winner of the Afghan election ( Mujib Mashal, Najim Rahim and Fatima Faizi, ‘ Ghani named Afghan election winner: his opponent claims victory, too’ The New York Times, 18 Feb 2020). His opponent Abdullah Abdullah refused to accept the result claiming the votes in question weren’t examined well and therefore he was the president of Afghanistan, not Ashraf Ghani.  European and US diplomats and the US special advisor Khalilzad spent hours with both the candidates to bring them at one table and find a solution to the crisis. After several attempts of reconciliation, they failed to come to a conclusion.

On 9^th of March, both the opponents Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah held a dual ceremony declaring themselves winner of the election and the next president of Afghanistan (Shereena Qazi, ‘Ghani sworn in as Afghan president, rival holds his own inauguration ‘, Aljazeera, 9 March 2020). Blasts were heard, several rockets were fired towards the presidential palace while Ashraf Ghani was speaking to the crowd gathered to witness his oath taking ceremony (Michael Safi and Akhter Mohammad Makoii, ‘Blasts in Afghanistan as presidential rivals hold oath ceremonies’, The Guardian, 9 March 2020).

Since then, the level of anxiety among Afghans has risen considerably and people are concerned of the current political instability and fear the start of, god forbid, another civil war. In a situation like this, those recently deported from countries like Sweden, Germany and other European states are terrified and traumatized to be witnessing the situation. They don’t have family, relatives or someone they can count on and do not have any way of escape with no money in hand. Those who can afford to do so leave the country as soon as they can – legally or illegally. But those who can’t afford to escape are often stuck in Kabul in very bad and rough conditions.

Coronavirus

Many still do not consider the virus any threat in Afghanistan, but one has to. The World Health Organization declared coronavirus a world pandemic. According to WHO “as of 11 March 2020, a total of 118,162 people have been confirmed to have contracted COVID – 19 and 4,290 people have reportedly died across 113 countries”.

The virus has spread across several continents now and has affected the social lives badly. Countries like Italy are on lock down and Denmark has shut the schools and public gatherings. Iran with the third highest number of people confirmed to be infected and lost their lives dead after China and Italy shares a border with Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the border between Afghanistan and Iran is still open and thousands have returned over the past couple of weeks. This includes those who return on their own, and those who are forcibly deported from Iran to Afghanistan. The Afghan Ministry of Public Health has confirmed 7 positive cases in Afghanistan, 5 of which are in Herat, the province bordering Iran and all of those who were proven to be infected had returned from Iran. However, as Afghanistan doesn’t have the means to test those suspected of being infected, the likely number of actual infections can be assumed to be no lower than in neighboring Iran.

As suggested by doctors and experts, the only way of lowering the risk of infection is to keep a good hygiene and stay away from crowded areas. Unfortunately, those deported are not in a position to do any of that. Those without social network and support are forced to live accommodations that are a health hazard even without a pandemic on the rise. In a situation like today where the risk of getting infected is that high, these “hotels” with its overcrowded rooms and no sanitary facilities in sight, the risk of the returnees getting infected is much higher than that of others. Even in the shelter we provide for deportees, many of them have to live together in one room. There is no possibility of keeping them all in separate rooms.

Therefore, looking at the overall situation and now the virus being declared a pandemic, I request all the European countries to immediately stop deportations to Afghanistan until further notice. This step should be taken to make sure the Afghans facing deportation remain in those European countries, where there is a chance to avoid infection and receive treatment where it is necessary. In Afghanistan, if they are infected, there will be a very slim chance they will survive looking at the absence of proper facilities in the country and the lack of food, proper housing and medical aid they are dealing with anyway.

Let’s forget our differences for some time and treat the pandemic as the global threat that is has become. For a moment, let’s forget that those in the detentions centers are Afghans and failed to get the right to stay in Europe for good, but treat them as humans at this time of need and make sure they receive the same level of treatment as European citizens and all the measure that need to be taken to ensure they have access to a clean and safe environment as well as medical care.

Let’s also give Afghans a chance and reason to regain hope that another civil war could be avoided for now. It is nothing but certain though. With no safe way to escape such a scenario, the responsibility for those sent back by force continues to remain with those European countries who insist on deportations while their joint diplomatic efforts have failed to end or at least mitigate this imminent threat so far.

By: Abdul Ghafoor

Image courtesy: social media

Wafaye and Ahmadi, two of the young boys recently deported from Norway on 18 – 2- 2019 had just left my office moments before we started hearing sound of explosions coming from the Western part of Kabul and from a close distance where my office is located. I rushed to the balcony to see where the smoke was coming from while the explosions keep on going and could be easily heard from where I was standing. By that time, all the roads leading to the site of the attack were closed and the ambulances were active and heading to the site of the explosions.

I called Wafaye to make sure they weren’t heading to the area were the blasts were occurring. Luckily, they had heard the explosion and had directly gone to the hotel they are living. Wafaye told me he was planning to go to Dashte Barchi, but when he heard the explosions, he was terrified and chose to go to the hotel. Wafaye and Ahmadi do not have any social network or family in Afghanistan and therefore, are currently living in a hotel along with dozens of others and share a common dining hall. They both can only stay there at night if they do both dinner and lunch at the same hotel, or else they won’t be given a space to sleep.

I then received a call from another deportee who was deported from Denmark on 27^th of January. He was actually present at the gathering and had to escape for his life after rockets started falling around him. This is what he said;

“I was sitting in the front row when the first rocket landed close to the entrance and the main gate, with few seconds’ difference, more rockets started landing in different parts of the venue where hundreds of people had gathered. I was too far to reach the main gate to escape, I ran towards the stage to find safety. more rockets started landing closer to us, I had no option but to climb up the wall and jump from there. I lost all my money and my clothes were full of dirt. Luckily I didn’t suffer any injury from the explosions”

As soon as I was off from the call with Wafaye and the deportee from Denmark, I started receiving calls from my friends who knew the location of my office and where worried about my safety. The next call I received was from a Family deported from Norway last year. They have been to my office for advice at several occasions and were concerned about me after hearing about the explosions.

Today at around 11:30, Taliban carried out a coordinated attack on a political gathering commemorating the martyrdom of Abdul Ali Mazari, a Hazara leader and the founder of Hizb – e – Wahdat who was killed by Taliban in 1994. Hundreds of his followers, mainly Hazaras had gathered to show their respect to their late leader when rockets started falling among the people gathered at the event. Many mortars have also landed in the houses close of the venue killing and injuring civilians at their homes. Many top Afghan leaders and government officials were also present during the event when the whole situation unfolded. According to the latest figure from various news outlets, 5 have been killed and around 32 have been injured. Those injured also include two political leaders and a member of the Afghan parliament.

I have written blogs, given many interviews with journalists and have been stressing time and again that the situation in Afghanistan, especially the capital Kabul has unfortunately deteriorated and has created uncertainty and fear among the people. Just yesterday, a young couple visited my office asking for safe options and advice to leave the country because they were concerned about the security situation, and today this happened. Western part of Kabul, where the attack was carried out today was considered one of the safest parts of Kabul two years ago, is now considered one of the most dangerous parts of the city.

Therefore, sending young Afghan asylum seekers back to a situation like today is directly putting their lives in danger. Many of those recently deported from the EU states especially Sweden, Norway and Denmark are very young. They have not been to Afghanistan before and are setting foot in the country for the first time. The fear and the shakiness in voice of Wafaye and the deportee from Denmark during the conversation on the telephone i had with them could easily portray the fear they were going through after experiencing the explosions for the first time in their lives and being actually present when all these happened.

Many EU states have plans to deport dozens of Afghan asylum seekers back to Afghanistan. Sweden is planning to send another charter flight back to Afghanistan on 12 of March with unconfirmed number of asylum seekers in it. Those deported in the past couple of weeks from Sweden are already suffering to the level that some have ended up on the streets due to non-availability of any support system and no guarantee for their safety post arrival, some have already left the country to find safety and the others are looking for opportunities to flee again.

Sweden and the other EU states must realize it is not humane to send these young Afghans back to danger and instead should give them another chance for life, for safety and for protection.

By: Abdul Ghafoor

As many Swedish mothers, guardians, activists and will wishers of Afghan asylum seekers in Sweden. I am also concerned about the return of 48 Afghan asylum seekers back to Afghanistan planned on Monday 19^th of November this month, and wanted to share the reasons of my/our concern about the dangers returning these young vulnerable boys back to Afghanistan.

My name is Abdul Ghafoor and I am currently running a charity organization by the name of Afghanistan Migrants Advice & Support Organization (AMASO). For the last 5 years, I have met hundreds of those forcibly deported back to Afghanistan and have been monitoring their situation as long as possible over the last several years. What I have found based on my experience is not what your government or people have heard or known about often.

Ms Fritzon, I know you have been provided with information about the security situation in Afghanistan and often advised that it is safe to return Afghan asylum seekers back to the country. It is sad to let you know that the reality on the ground is totally different from what you have been told. The reality is that Afghan government has failed to provide security to the millions of people who are inside the country, and therefore there is no guarantee they can assure the safety of hundreds of others who are facing deportation to the country. It is also a fact that the government has been losing ground to Taliban and ISIS every passing day. According to a recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR)

“the Afghan government currently controls or influences only 55.5% of the country’s districts, marking the lowest level recorded since SIGAR began tracking district control in November 2015.”

The recent example of a deteriorating security situation was Taliban’s attack on two of the safest districts of Ghazni province, Jaghori and Malistan. The two provinces are Hazara populated areas and have been safe from Taliban attacks since the fall of Taliban regime in 2001. According to the information i have been receiving from activists in Sweden, 10 out of 48 people set deport to Afghanistan comes from the province mentioned province.

Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, often proposed as an alternative by the European states on the other hand has no signs of a safe city, or a city where one can live in peace. With the recent number of deadly attacks in the Capital it is unrealistic to propose Kabul as a safe haven for return. Educational center, sport club, and Mosques have several times been attacked in 2018 only and created fear among all the residents of Kabul, especially the Western part of Kabul, a Hazara populated area once safe from the attacks is now the prime target of these attack, mostly claimed by ISIS.

The level of fear among Afghan people today is higher than anytime before. For returnees, it is a whole new challenge and risk they have to face and battle with once deported. The fear of  being victim of one of the many blasts taking place in the country, non-availability of social and economic network and a failed state lead by incapable president. As much as returnees want to accept the fact and try to re-integrate, the situation in the country is as such that they don’t see any chance of survival.

Therefore, the only option they have is to re-migrate, go through the same dangerous journey again and find somewhere safer. For those who are unlucky and do not have the resources to make a new journey and survive, they end up being addicted to drugs, joining the militant groups and at times giving up on life. I am currently in contact with dozens of those who were once deported but are now either in Iran, Turkey or one of the European countries.

Dear Heléne Fritzon, the experience i have had working with Swedish people, activists and media. I have seen sympathy and respect for humanity, i have seen rule of law and helping those in need. Afghans are the most marginalized group of refugees in the globe, they have a government that has failed to protect them. They have a leadership that has failed to be their voice and talk about their rights. It is time your government accept the fact and realities in the ground and stop returning Afghan asylum seekers back to danger, or history will remember your country’s betrayal to a group of young people who were in search of nothing more, but safety and protection. 

By: Abdul Ghafoor

The backpack he carries with him where ever he goes

It brought a smile to my face every time I would see him changing his profile picture with a new one, or posting something new on his social media account. This was the only way I knew that he was still alive. He hardly answered my messages, and even if he did, they were too short for me to be able to understand his situation. Little did I know that he was going through hell.

This young Afghan asylum seeker was returned back to Afghanistan by Norway at the end of 2016 along with dozens of other young Afghans, some of them minors. I met him the first day he set foot on Afghan soil. After two weeks in the accommodation provided by a local organization and without any kind of social network, he had nowhere to go.

Afghanistan Migrants Advice and Support Organization (AMASO) with the support of activists from Norway provided a temporary shelter for him and a number of other recent returnees. After two and half months of living in the shelter, he suddenly disappeared, surprising all of his friends and me, and leaving us uncertain about his situation and whereabouts. All my efforts to find him were fruitless. As I later discovered, he was already on his way to Iran. He was in a battle with himself and was trying to find a way to wipe out the failure he had just experienced, his deportation from Norway.

Finally, I received a message from Iran. He was living with some friends. He hadn’t told his family about his whereabouts. In the hostel where he was staying, he and two of his other friends were encouraged to go to Syria and fight for the Assad regime. They were moved to Tehran, where they were joined by some other friends. They were given 20 days of training inside Iran and then sent across the border to Syria.

Last night I tried to contact him again to see if he would reply. To my surprise, he did. He is back in Kabul. We arranged to meet today at a local restaurant for lunch in West of Kabul. It wasn’t an easy conversation. As we spoke, he kept taking paper napkins and tearing them into small pieces.  I studied his face, distressed by the uncertainty in his eyes. He had no answer or explanation for why he had joined a war that he had nothing to do with, but one thing he was certain of, was that all those Afghans drafted in to this war are just puppets of the Iranian regime and their dirty politics.

 He said; “I don’t have the words to describe those 7 months there. It was like a nightmare. I can’t believe I am still alive and sitting here with you now”.

During the conversation, I could see he was worried about something. He kept talking about his best friend who he had not heard from for a long time. His own trauma still tormented him. The young Afghans he had seen beheaded or the ones that were left behind during the battle. He remembers them all.

After two or three trips to Syria, he became severely ill and was hospitalized. He decided he would not return to the fight, but will go to Turkey instead. Remaining in Afghanistan is not an option for him. He told me

” I am surprised you are still here in Afghanistan with all these attacks and the deteriorating security situation, especially the attacks that are aimed at Hazaras”.  

Here in Kabul, he is waiting for a friend so that they can leave the country together. He plans to go to Iran, Turkey and then to one of the other European countries. He wants to continue his education, become a famous player like Messi and above of all, have a peaceful life for himself and his future children, the same dreams he had when he had first entered Norway.

In the meantime, the video of a suicidal Afghan asylum seeker threatened with deportation from Austria has been circulating on social media. European forced return policy to Afghanistan makes no sense. The current waves of attacks by Taliban, Haqqani Network and ISIS, mean that deportation to Afghanistan equals sending Afghan asylum seekers back to danger and a war zone.

So why not put an end to all the deportations and save those resources and money. I am sure Afghans are and can be one of the most hardworking groups of refugees and a positive addition to European society. But by any measure, deportation to Afghanistan doesn’t work at this point of time.