Every day, hundreds of Afghans arrive at hotels in Herat city where they embark on their illegal journey to Iran which is facilitated by human traffickers.
Getting into Iran comes with its own dangers, and migrants have died, either from hunger and thirst or at the hands of Iranian border guards who have been known to shoot them.
But first, migrants set off from Islam Qala with human traffickers on their treacherous journey overland through deserts and mountains.
The Herat-Iran route is one of the most popular among migrants although many go through Nimruz province into Pakistan and from there they enter Iran.
But migrants have said that while the Islam Qala route is a lot quicker than the Nimruz route, human traffickers charge a lot more to get them into Iran through Islam Qala.
One migrant’s story
One Afghan man, who asked to remain anonymous, told Amu TV that migrants hoping to get to Iran first visit the Islam Qala market and then “with the coordination of the traffickers, they are brought to the border zero point in Do Kamana and Chah Khargah or Gorg Abad in Islam Qala.”
“The passengers wait through the day there. They (traffickers) have tents in these areas and travelers stay there until the time of departure during the night,” he added.
It is not clear how exactly many people illegally travel to Iran on a daily basis but the humanitarian crisis in the country has forced thousands to leave home – including educated people who also choose the illegal migrant route.
