The Great Afghan Exodus: A Nation In Flight

Afghanistan has been suffering from conflict and instability for over 40 years, with Afghans facing violence, persecution, and poverty. As a result, many Afghans have fled the country, with an estimated 28.3 million—two-thirds of the population—in need of humanitarian assistance. Since 2001, 5.9 million Afghans have been internally displaced or have fled the country, primarily to Pakistan and Iran. The Taliban takeover in August 2021 caused a mass exodus, with tens of thousands of Afghans fleeing and many more seeking safe passage out of the country. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) projected that half a million Afghans would seek to leave by the end of 2021. The total number of Afghans who have fled their homes is over 8 million, creating a diaspora of more than 8.2 million across 103 countries.

The Taliban takeover in 2021 caused tens of thousands to flee

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 caused tens of thousands of Afghans to flee the country. The takeover intensified instability and violence in Afghanistan, causing human suffering and displacement. Many Afghans fear persecution or reprisals under Taliban rule and hope to seek asylum or other pathways to migrate abroad safely.

Afghans have a long history of fleeing the country due to continuous wars, political or religious persecution, violence, and conflict. The first major wave of displacement and migration occurred after the 1978 Saur Revolution and the 1979 Soviet invasion, with more than 20% of Afghanistan's population fleeing the country as refugees between 1979 and 1992. The Soviet withdrawal in 1989 saw many refugees return to Afghanistan, but the civil war in the 1990s forced hundreds of thousands more to flee.

Over the past four decades, Afghans have been forced from their homes, with many becoming refugees in neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Iran or seeking refuge in Europe, North America, and other parts of the world. The United States' War in Afghanistan has also contributed to displacement, with nearly 6 million Afghans deemed to have been displaced as a result.

The Taliban's takeover in 2021 exacerbated the situation, leading to tens of thousands of Afghans fleeing and seeking safe passage out of the country. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) projected that half a million Afghans might seek to leave by the end of 2021. A US-led multinational airlift helped evacuate nearly 125,000 people, including international staff of embassies, NGOs, and foreign passport holders. However, many thousands of Afghans who feared for their lives under Taliban rule were left behind.

The Taliban authorities have stated that Afghan citizens are allowed to leave the country with proper authorisation, but this requirement has been criticised as violating the right to freedom of movement. Neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Iran have been reluctant to accept new Afghan refugees, and the UNHCR has had to maintain camps on the Afghan side of the border.

The Taliban takeover has caused a significant increase in displacement, with over 3.2 million Afghans displaced within their own country as of 2021. The impact of the conflict has been particularly devastating for women and children, who make up over 70% of those forcibly displaced within Afghanistan.

The US post-9/11 wars have displaced at least 38 million people

The 38 million figure is a conservative estimate, and the actual number of displaced people could be closer to 48-60 million. This would rival the number of people displaced during World War II. The report highlights that many displaced people are not counted in official statistics as they avoid registering with governments and international organizations.

The displacement caused by the US post-9/11 wars has had a devastating impact on the lives of civilians. In Afghanistan and Yemen, nearly 50% of children are suffering from acute malnutrition, with a similar situation in Somalia, where close to 60% of children are affected. The damage to infrastructure during the wars has disrupted access to essential services such as healthcare, water, and sanitation, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.

The economic consequences of the wars have also been severe, with Afghanistan facing an extreme economic crisis. More than half of Afghanistan's population lives in extreme poverty, and a staggering 95% of Afghans do not have enough food. The situation is similarly dire in Yemen, where more than 17.4 million people are food insecure, and an estimated 85,000 children under five have died from starvation.

The US post-9/11 wars have not only caused displacement and humanitarian crises but have also resulted in widespread human rights abuses. Afghans seeking to flee their country often face significant challenges and risks. Women and girls, in particular, fear persecution and a loss of educational and work opportunities under Taliban rule, leading many to seek asylum abroad.

The US and its allies have a responsibility to address the displacement and humanitarian crises caused by the post-9/11 wars. Efforts such as resettlement programs and humanitarian aid have been implemented, but more needs to be done to support the millions of people whose lives have been upended by these conflicts.

Afghan refugees are spread across 103 countries

The Afghan refugee crisis is one of the largest and most protracted displacement situations in the world. Since the start of the post-9/11 wars, at least 5.9 million Afghans have fled the country or been internally displaced. The continuous wars in Afghanistan, coupled with political and religious persecution, have forced Afghans to seek refuge in other countries.

Other major host countries for Afghan refugees include Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and the United States. The United States, in particular, has a long history of welcoming Afghan refugees, including those who served as translators or interpreters during the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. These individuals faced serious threats to their safety following the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021.

The international community has recognised the need for solidarity and responsibility-sharing towards Afghan refugees. Efforts such as the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) have been established to build consensus, strengthen partnerships, and engage new actors in finding solutions. Despite these efforts, Afghan refugees continue to face challenges such as human rights abuses, mistreatment, and denial of basic rights in host countries.

Afghan refugees have also faced challenges in obtaining visas to visit family members in other countries, with long delays in processing times. Racism, low-wage jobs, and unsanitary conditions have also been reported in some host countries.

Pakistan and Iran host the majority of Afghan refugees

Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Pakistan and Iran have hosted the majority of Afghan refugees. The first major wave of internal displacement and international migration occurred during the 1978 Saur Revolution and the 1979 Soviet invasion, with more than 20% of Afghanistan's population fleeing the country as refugees. By the end of 1980, there were more than four million Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Over the years, Pakistan has been accommodating to Afghans fleeing Taliban rule, serving as a temporary destination for many as they sought asylum in a third country. However, in October 2023, Pakistan announced its plans to expel more than 1.7 million "undocumented foreigners", leading to a surge in expulsions and deportations. Since September 2023, Pakistani authorities have forced out more than 500,000 Afghans, with 80% of them being women and children.

Iran, on the other hand, has been used by Afghans as a route to Turkey and then Europe, where they apply for political asylum. In 2023, Iran, along with Pakistan, decided to deport more refugees, with Iranian authorities pledging to deport Afghan migrants without proper documentation. In 2023, around 600,000 Afghans returned to Afghanistan from Iran.

As of 2023, there are approximately 1.38 million registered refugees in Pakistan and around 780,000 registered Afghan refugees in Iran.

Canada, the UK, and the US are among countries that have resettled Afghan refugees

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 caused tens of thousands of Afghans to flee the country. Since 2001, 5.9 million Afghans have either been displaced internally or fled the country, primarily to Pakistan and Iran. As of 2023, there are more than 8 million Afghans who have been forced to flee their homes, creating a diasporic population of over 8.2 million Afghans across 103 countries.

Canada, the UK, and the US are among the countries that have resettled Afghan refugees. Canada has resettled over 40,000 Afghan refugees with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Canadian government launched a special humanitarian resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans, including women leaders, human rights defenders, persecuted ethnic or religious minorities, LGBTQI+ individuals, and journalists. By March 2022, Canada had resettled 8,580 Afghan refugees, and by August 2022, that number had risen to 17,375.

The UK announced that it would accept 5,000 vulnerable Afghans in the first year, with a maximum of 20,000 in the long term, prioritizing the resettlement of women, girls, children, and those likely to face human rights abuses by the Taliban.

The US has offered Afghan nationals who worked with US-based media or nonprofit organizations, or programs funded and supported by the US government, Priority 2 (P-2) processing for their refugee applications. Throughout the course of Operation Allies Welcome, the US issued humanitarian parole status to more than 76,000 evacuated Afghan nationals, granting them temporary permission to enter the country and employment authorization.

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