Salima*- a mother of three and pregnant with a new baby - was one of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees forced to return from Pakistan to their homeland in the last month.
On her harrowing six-day journey from Karachi, Pakistan to Afghanistan, she gave birth on 21 April amidst the chaos at the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, where up to 6,000 desperate people are currently crossing daily.
“It was a deeply traumatic experience. I was physically weak, suffering from high blood pressure, and there was no one with the proper training to assist me. There were no doctors, only a few elderly women who tried to help.
After giving birth, I lost consciousness for five hours. I’m not even sure what caused me to wake up. When I opened my eyes, my daughter was hungry, but I had no milk to give her because I hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days. I fed her sweet tea just to keep her nourished. She had no clothes, so I wrapped her in a piece of cloth.
Two days later, we reached the Takht-e-Pul camp (Anzaki camp) in Kandahar province. Within an hour, the Afghan Red Crescent Society had brought us hot meals and provided a tent for our family. They also gave us a health screening and vaccinated my daughter. For the first time, I was able to rest — even if only briefly — under shelter.”
Speaking about her newborn daughter, she says:
“I still haven’t decided on a name for her. She was born in an incredibly difficult time and place, and we haven’t had the chance to think about what to call her. She remains unnamed. Sometimes her father affectionately calls her Muhajira (which means ‘the migrant’), because she was born in exile, far from our homeland.”
Salima expresses deep concern for her family’s future.
“Our future is uncertain and full of hardship. We left Afghanistan due to insecurity and economic collapse. I’ve heard that things are more stable now, but there are still no job opportunities. We have no savings, no home — and I don’t know how we will begin life again. Our only hope lies with charitable organisations and humanitarian aid. We have nothing else to rely on.”
She is also deeply worried about her children’s future.
“My children were born in Pakistan and don’t have any form of identification. I don’t know how or where to obtain ID cards for them. Their education has already been delayed significantly, and I don’t know how to enroll them in schools here in Afghanistan. We have no shelter in Kabul or Baghlan. We don’t know where to go or how to meet our daily needs.”
Salima originally fled Afghanistan around 2010 due to growing insecurity.
“We are originally from Baghlan province, where I was born. During the years 2010 and 2011, insecurity in the region intensified. I lost my brother in a roadside explosion. Given the deteriorating security situation and our poor economic conditions, both my husband’s family and my own decided to leave. Job opportunities in Kabul were either extremely limited or nonexistent. Pakistan, as a neighbouring country, seemed like the best available option at the time.”
“My husband worked at a car repair shop and earned 15,000 Pakistani rupees per month. Because we were surrounded by family, and my husband and father-in-law had work opportunities, we managed to build a life together. It was a life filled with hardship, but we endured it as a family.”
To support the thousands of people returning to Afghanistan - like Salima and her family - the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) allocated 750,000 Swiss Francs from its Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) to support the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in delivering urgently needed shelter, emergency healthcare, food, and water—basic resources that are now in short supply.
The IFRC has also launched a comprehensive Emergency Appeal, aiming to raise 25 million Swiss francs to deliver vital lifesaving aid over the next two years, covering support for recovery and reintegration including income generation activities, vocational training and cash-for-work opportunities.
*Name changed to protect identity