VARIOUS: HEAD OF U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER GROWING NUMBER OF AFGHANISTANS FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES
Record ID:
640523
VARIOUS: HEAD OF U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER GROWING NUMBER OF AFGHANISTANS FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES
- Title: VARIOUS: HEAD OF U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER GROWING NUMBER OF AFGHANISTANS FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES
- Date: 29th August 2002
- Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 28, 2002) (REUTERS) SLV UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES RUUD LUBBERS ARRIVING FOR NEWS BRIEFING ON THE LAST DAY OF HIS TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN; MV MEDIA (2 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LUBBERS SAYING "An important category are Pashtuns, who are fleeing from the North, especially in the time of the overthrowing of the Taliban and what happened in the north since then, it's essential that there will be an improvement in the security situation." SLV MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) LUBBERS SAYING "Then more in general, we spoke about the need to shift from now on gradually, especially next year, the emphasis in our operation somehow from pure repatriation to what has followed up reintegration in society, getting work, jobs, and being productive in the Afghan society." MV MEDIA
- Embargoed: 13th September 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: CHAMAN, PAKISTAN TRIBAL AREAS/ KABUL, SPIN BOLDAK AND ZHARE DASHT, AFGHANISTAN
- City:
- Country: Afghanistan
- Topics: Conflict,General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA78ZMO61PPNPK9MUL1H2HD04SV
- Story Text: The head of the U.N. refugee agency has expressed concern over the growing number of Afghans forced from their homes because of drought or ethnic violence.
In a "no man's land" at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, over 26,000 displayed Afghans have settled in an area called the Chaman Waiting area.
It's a long wait, in wretched conditions.
The Afghans tried to cross into Pakistan in February, but Pakistani authorities denied them entry, forcing them to stay put in a makeshift encampment in this desolate place.
Some are Pashtuns who fled persecutions by Tajiks and Uzbeks after the fall of the Taliban, others are nomadic shepherds, known as Kuchi.
Others are southern Pashtuns who became destitute after years of drought.
Their plight is being looked into by Ruud Lubbers, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), who recently visited camps in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
"An important category are Pashtuns, who are fleeing from the North, especially in the time of the overthrowing of the Taliban and what happened in the north since then, it's essential that there will be an improvement in the security situation," Lubbers said at a news conference in the capital Kabul on Wednesday (August 28), the final day of his five-day visit to Afghanistan.
Efforts are under way to try and solve the refugee situation at the southern Pakistan-Afghan border. Some refugees are getting transferred to Zareh Dasht, a new temporary camp an hour's drive from Kandahar in Southern Afghanistan.
Others are too afraid to go back and are waiting for the situation to calm down in the north before attempting to go back to their home.
Lubbers said attention should now be focused on how to help these refugees re-integrate into society.
"We spoke about the need to shift from now on gradually, especially next year, the emphasis in our operation somehow from pure repatriation to what has follow up reintegration in society, getting work, jobs, and being productive in the Afghan society," Lubbers said.
Another 30,000 internally displaced Afghans live in five windswept camps near the Afghan border town of Spin Boldak.
Lubbers, along with Afghan Minister for Repatriation, met with elders, who said they had left their farms in northern Afghanistan because of violence and persecution.
They were given the option of moving to the Zhare Dasht site near Kandahar.
Over the past weeks, some 2,000 Afghans have been transferred to Zhare Dasht, a dustbowl in the middle of the desert. It's a desolate place, baking in the sun.
Upon arrival, they receive tents and kerosene stoves for cooking.
For Ismail, a young Pashtun boy originally from the northern city of Shebergan, this bleak camp is now home. He said his family had no intention of going back to their old home.
"We had about 1,200 sheep and 6 camels, and they stole everything from us," Ismail said.
The refugees will receive basic food assistance this year. Aid agencies have installed wells and handpumps, clinics, and the area is gradually getting cleared from landmines. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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