Afghan Refugees

More than two decades of civil war and the destruction of towns and villages have caused mass movements of the people of Afghanistan in two major directions - emigration, mainly to Pakistan and Iran, or escape to the relative
safety of the capital city, Kabul. The civil war, compounded by the often severe living conditions in the refugee camps, has taken the life of almost one million people including women, children and the elderly.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates, more than 5 million Afghans have been displaced either as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) inside the country or in neighbouring states over the
past twenty-three years. As many as 300,000 Afghans have entered Iran and Pakistan since September last year, while more than 3.5 million have been there for more than 10 years. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees plans to set up a three-year program to facilitate the return of more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, with Afghan reconstruction including the
simultaneous reconstruction of infrastructure as well as humanitarian assistance.

A small child in the Roghani Refugee Camp in Chaman, a Pakistani border town. Children and young people make up a large percentage of the population at Roghani Refugee Camp.

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