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AFGHANISTAN: FOUR DECADES OF FORCED DISPLACEMENT
For more than forty years, the people of Afghanistan have been forced to flee their homes and country. Marked by decades of wars, violent conflicts and natural disasters, the situation in Afghanistan has resulted in one of the world’s largest refugee populations.
WHY ARE AFGHANS FLEEING TO EUROPE?
While Afghans have had to struggle for decades to survive amidst wars, conflict, insecurity, recurring natural hazards, chronic poverty, drought, widespread food insecurity and a weak or declining economy, the situation today is catastrophic. Since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (commonly known as ‘the Taliban’), took control of the country in August 2021, international donors immediately suspended most non-humanitarian funding and froze billions of dollars in assets. Without this funding, the economy has spiralled downward with profound consequences for the people of Afghanistan, who are now facing one of the worst humanitarian crises worldwide.
The ongoing violence, fear, insecurity and deprivation continue to drive Afghans to seek safety, protection and asylum across borders. Yet neighbouring countries, such as Iran and Pakistan, which are already hosting over 90% of all registered Afghan refugees, are facing increasing constraints on their ability to support incoming arrivals and provide protection. Simultaneously, safe and regular pathways to seek protection in Europe remain extremely limited, including through very low resettlement commitments in general, and particularly for Afghan refugees. This inevitably leaves people with no other choice than to embark on difficult and dangerous journeys, often via Turkey, to try to reach Europe.
These journeys are made even more dangerous by the practice of ‘pushbacks’ taking place at Europe’s land and sea borders, which have become a de-facto general policy in Greece according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants. ‘Pushbacks’ denote a set of illegal practices whereby people fleeing war and persecution are denied access to the territory of a state, and therefore prevented from seeking asylum. These incidents usually involve several criminal offences by authorities, such as neglecting to provide life-saving aid, beatings, theft, and other inhuman and degrading treatment. Of around 6,000 cases of pushbacks from Greece reported through survivor testimonies to the Border Violence Monitoring Network since 2017, a shocking 98% involved the use of violence. While the Greek Ombudsman is currently investigating over 50 pushback incidents involving 10,000 people, Greek authorities have consistently denied the practice.
Afghans have consistently been the second largest nationality applying for asylum across the EU since 2016, following Syrians. Between August and December 2021, following the shift in power in Afghanistan, Afghans became the largest group applying for international protection in Greece and across the EU. So far in 2022, Afghans are the second largest group applying for asylum in the EU, after Ukrainians.
Despite the persecution and dangers they flee from, Afghan refugees in Greece face considerable barriers in accessing full and fair asylum procedures, as well as dignified reception conditions and integration support to rebuild their lives.