28 September 2021, NIICE Commentary 7400
Dr. Devika Sharma
The present can aptly be described as the ‘age of refugees.’ There are, at present, 82.4 million people all over the world who have had to flee their countries due to conflict, oppression, religious persecution etc. A major percentage of these have been displaced within their own nations. However, more than 20 million have been forcibly displaced from their homelands.
The Afghans rank third among the world’s largest refugee communities, accounting for 2.6 million refugees according to United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) statistics. This has been the outcome of a series of fateful events like the Soviet invasion of that country in 1979, the civil war which broke out in the 1990s, the previous Taliban regime which seized power in 1996 and the US-NATO invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
In the current context, in the aftermath of the Taliban’s capture of power in Afghanistan and the sudden and unplanned US retreat, Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented wave of forced displacement of its citizens. It is estimated that another half a million Afghans could flee the country by the end of the year if the situation worsens. Strategic affairs experts opine that the magnitude of future outflows of migrants from Afghanistan would be dependent on the quality of Taliban rule and whether a resistance movement is launched by the Afghans who remain on their soil to challenge the oppressive regime. If the latter case turns out to be true, the scale of violence and displacement would grow manifold.
The scenario appears grimmer if we consider the plight of the 2.9 million Afghans who are internally displaced within their own homeland. They have been suffering from a triple whammy of humanitarian crises: the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity and military conflict.
The tragic turn of events in Afghanistan and the mass exodus of people from that country could see history repeating itself, in the form of a global refugee crisis on the lines of the Syrian refugee crisis of 2015. Such unfortunate landmark events have the potential to re-configure global politics as past incidents suggest. For example, the Syrian refugee crisis of 2015 led to ramifications such as a feeling among countries of Southern Europe that they were shouldering an unduly heavy responsibility of hosting refugees, resulting in the strengthening of the far-right political movements in many countries and the decision of Britain to exit from the European Union.
Afghanistan has been bearing the brunt of violence for over forty years, which has culminated into a humanitarian crisis of mammoth proportions. The Afghans, in the present context has fled their homes to avoid the acceptance of the Sharia law, which would be imposed on them by the Taliban leadership. It is apprehended that the said law would deprive women and minorities of all their rights. The Afghan supporters of the USA or the NATO and the previous government are on the hit list of the oppressive regime. The Afghans who have been airlifted to safer sanctuaries are the fortunate minority; the larger majority would flee via the land route.
However, the Afghan refugees who are trying to escape the Taliban rule would not be very welcome in other countries. The 1951 Refugee Convention, aimed at providing protection and safe haven to refugees is known more for being violated than being observed. Countries are even enacting stringent laws to keep the hapless refugees from Afghanistan at bay.
The European Union (EU), mostly, has adopted a hardliner stand towards the Afghan refugees. Turkey, which has provided safe habitat to the largest number of global refugees, has refused to become ‘Europe’s refugee warehouse’, this time. It is unwilling to provide sanctuary to the Afghan refugees, fearing a mass influx of people from that country. Turkey has been building a wall on its border with Iran to prevent the entry of Afghan refugees. It struck a deal with the EU in 2016, whereby, it has made efforts towards checking refugee travel to Europe. Greece, too, is determined not to become a ‘gateway to Europe’ for asylum seekers. Switzerland and Austria have also made their stance of not accepting too many Afghan refugees clear. An unwelcome sentiment of the EU towards accommodating Afghan refugees is founded on fears of a repeat of the Syrian refugee crisis of 2015, in a new avatar. However, the EU governments have committed to providing greater assistance to countries in Afghanistan’s neighborhood to prevent the spillover of the refugee crisis to Europe.
Canada and the UK have decided to grant refuge to smaller population of Afghan refugees, with Canada committing 20,000 and UK, 20,000 over a span of five years. The USA is making arrangements to resettle 50,000 refugees in the coming year. In August, the US declared the Priority 2 (P-2) designation which provides US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) access to some Afghans and their family members. In the current year, the USA is going to host 10,000 Afghan nationals, mostly comprising those who helped the US government and its allies in the war in Afghanistan.
Most of the Afghan refugees would not be hosted by the USA or Europe, but by countries in its neighborhood, such as Pakistan, Iran and India. This depicts the imbalance between the developed and developing worlds in hosting refugees. That is, the countries least equipped to handle such crises are forced to deal with them.
Pakistan and Iran host the largest numbers of Afghan refugees, nearly 1.5 million and 7,80,000 respectively, as per 2020 figures. Fearing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Pakistan closed down border crossings. However, it opened them partly later. The signals that the Pakistani government is sending in this regard are not very encouraging, with statements being made about housing Afghan refugees in secluded, non-permanent camps near the border.
Anticipating a new wave of Afghan refugees, the Iranian government has adopted a strict stance of not permitting entry to them. However, temporary camps have been set up in border areas to provide shelter to the forcibly displaced from Afghanistan. At the same time, the Iranian government has also clarified that the Afghan refugees would be repatriated when the situation improves.
India has announced a new category of e-visas for Afghan refugees to expedite their applications for entry. These visas would be valid for six months only and there is uncertainty over what would happen at the expiry of the six months period.
The fresh influx of irregular Afghan migrants in different parts of the world manifests the unraveling of a humanitarian crisis. The international community, instead of giving a befitting response to the situation, should not ignore the woes of the Afghan refugees and, worse still, brand them as threats to national culture and security. Most nations, especially in the EU, have resorted to scape-goating of refugees and have hinted at the possibility of a culture war. They have built fences and walls to ward off Afghan refugees.
This alarming situation demands deeper respect for international law and exploration of long-term solutions like integration, resettlement and repatriation of refugees, as and when conditions improve. The real test of how a more humanistic approach towards refugees is adopted and a safer future for them is ensured, begins now.
Dr. Devika Sharma is an Assistant Professor at University of Delhi, India.
