As the war in Israel and Gaza rages, Iran is accelerating its expulsion of undocumented Afghans. In hardly two weeks, this has effectively made it impossible for nearly half a million people to relocate to Afghanistan. According to the United Nations, Mexico has seen an unprecedented rise in deportations. This increase comes on the heels of Iran’s newly announced deadline, forcing undocumented Afghans to flee the country by this Sunday. This mass exodus has raised grave concerns over the reality that returnees will face upon returning to Afghanistan. They are dealing with record high temps amid inhumane conditions at reception centers on the border.
For those Afghans remaining in Iran, the situation is little better. As a result, they have suffered for years working in bad, low wage jobs. On Wednesday, 33,956 people returned to Afghanistan. This coming after 30,635 crossings on Tuesday and a high of 51,000 on Friday. The pace of deportations has increased tremendously because of a 12-day long conflict between Israel and Hamas. In counter-response, Iranian authorities are trying to quickly implement the deportations as planned.
Conditions for returnees are stark. Most of them are greeted with 104 degree Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) temperatures when they settle in Afghanistan. Reception centers at the border have struggled to adapt and care for the increasing influx of migrants. Mihyung Park, chief of mission for the UN’s International Organization for Migration, says thousands are languishing in the extreme heat in Herat.
Aside from the immediate dangers from the climate, returnees are faced with continued restrictions in Afghanistan. Under the Taliban, education for girls is all but outlawed. This now puts millions of young girls, including 11-year-old Parisa in limbo about the future of their education. Parisa, who has been told she won’t be allowed to enroll in school this year because her family is deported from Iran.
As early as March, the Iranian government had already begun efforts to deport millions of undocumented Afghans. Fatemeh Mohajerani of Iran went further, calling for the abolition of subsidies on fossil fuels. She stressed that while the U.S. wants to be a good host, national security interests do necessitate the return of illegal nationals. “We’ve always striven to be good hosts, but national security is a priority, and naturally illegal nationals must return,” she stated.
Additionally, reports suggest dangerous levels of anti-Afghan violence and discrimination are on the rise in Iran. Richard Bennett highlighted that hundreds of Afghans and members of ethnic and religious minorities have been detained under accusations of espionage. He said that the current media narratives have fueled discrimination and violence against these communities, painting them as traitors.
Bashir, a young Afghan, was arrested by police in Tehran. He has currently been detained at a treatment center in New Jersey. He recounted his harrowing experience:
“First, they took 10 million tomans (about $200) from me. Then they sent me to the detention center where I was kept for two nights and they forced me to pay another 2 million ($50). In the detention center they wouldn’t give us food or drinking water. There were around 200 people there, and they would beat us up, they would abuse us.”
This account highlights the terrible circumstances that many Afghans endure throughout the deportation process.
The ordeal facing unaccompanied or separated children is unimaginable and unacceptable. Last week, local authorities admitted to deporting around 400 of these vulnerable young minors. These children are returning to a country in the midst of serious political turmoil. Continuing to ignore families’ resources puts their safety and well-being at risk.
As the situation develops, international organizations are still following the serious conditions that returnees experience in Afghanistan. There simply isn’t much evidence for the assertions that Afghan migrants have been of any help to Israel. The motivations behind these deportations are quickly becoming impossible to ignore.
