NIMROZ, Afghanistan — A number of Afghan citizens deported from Iran or returned voluntarily are facing significant hardships, including a lack of shelter and facilities amid the winter.
In Chakhansor district, Nimroz, Jamila, a woman overseeing a family of five, was deported from Iran and now works as a tailor to support her family. “We are vulnerable. Our meals mainly consist of carrots or pumpkins. We don’t have livestock,” she said.
Her father-in-law, Abdul Ghafor, also deported from Iran, is battling vision problems. “We lack access to food we prefer. A loaf of proper bread is hard to come by,” he explained.
Despite their economic struggles, Jamila is primarily concerned about her daughters’ education, disrupted by the Taliban’s ban on girls’ schools above sixth grade. “I hope she can study and achieve a good level in the future. She has been deprived of school,” Jamila expressed.
In the final quarter of 2023, thousands of Afghan refugees were forcibly deported by Pakistan and Iran, plunging many into uncertainty.
Taliban refugee affairs officials report that around 2,000 Afghan refugees are returned or deported from Iran daily. Iranian officials have voiced concerns about the large Afghan refugee population in Iran. Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi claimed nearly 5 million Afghan refugees reside in Iran.
