Many Afghan Refugees Are Still Without a Place to Call Home
Cramped conditions and snail-paced bureaucracy add to the misery of people forced to flee the Taliban’s takeover.
October 29, 2022 (Foreign Policy)—Thousands of people who fled the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan more than a year ago have yet to be resettled, and many are crammed into temporary housing while their kids go without school. Some refugees have been forced out of government-supported accommodations to make way for refugees from the war in Ukraine, and they cannot access their own bank accounts, which have been frozen by U.S. sanctions.
The collapse of the Afghan republic on Aug. 15, 2021, and the return to power of the terrorist-led Taliban sparked a chaotic evacuation by the United States and allies of people who feared retribution. Those fears were realized as the Taliban hunted down people who had worked with the Western-backed government and its security forces, civil society, and media. Many have been arbitrarily detained, tortured, killed, or forced to leave the country.
According to reports, more than 1 million Afghans have fled their country since the Taliban’s return. Many of the evacuees went to third countries to be processed for resettlement in the United States. In Britain, the government has been criticized for its lack of support for Afghan refugees, many of whom suffer deteriorating mental health amid rising domestic violence. They cannot work while their asylum applications are processed, and for many families, their children cannot go to school until they have been allocated housing. In Britain and Germany, Afghan refugees were forced to make way for people fleeing fighting in Ukraine. Lone women often face sexual harassment.
READ MORE: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/19/afghanistan-refugees-resettlement-taliban-migration/