Migrants deported from Iran have come forward, expressing grievances of “mistreatment and physical abuse” by Iranian police during their time in the neighboring country.
Several deported migrants, who chose to remain anonymous, reported being “mistreated and beaten” by Iranian authorities, with allegations of torn passports. They claimed that the Iranian government has escalated the deportation process in recent days.
“Iranians treat us very badly. They did not pay us for work. They tore up our documents that we had received. Our request is to provide us with work inside our own country. How long will we migrate to Iran?” voiced Mohammad Arif, an immigrant recently deported from Iran.
According to officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Herat, an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 migrants are deported or return from Iran daily.
“We were expelled from Iran. Iranians treat Afghans very badly and harass them a lot. They say, ‘Why did you come?'” stated Mohammad Nabi Ghulami, another immigrant expelled from Iran.
Nafisa, an Afghan immigrant recently deported after residing two years in Iran, shared her challenging experience. She mentioned selling her possessions, including a pharmacy, to afford the journey to Iran. After a week in Iranian custody, she and her family were returned to Afghanistan.
“We didn’t have money to rent a house. When we were going out, they would harass us with the name of Afghani. I could not even go to the park. I was also sick,” she recounted.
Two months ago, Iran’s foreign minister reported to Iranian media that nearly six million refugees from Afghanistan live in Iran. Officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Herat have disclosed plans to release a report on the number of refugees expelled or returned from neighboring countries within the next twenty days.
