Afghanistan 10 years after Soviet pull-out
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
A decade after the last Soviet soldier left Afghan soil, and 20 years after the first groups of Afghan refugees fled the Soviet invasion, more than 2.6 million Afghans still remain in exile.
The Afghans have remained the single largest refugee group in the world for 19 years in succession, although their continuing plight has, in recent years, been overshadowed by newer conflicts and refugee movements elsewhere in the world.
By the end of 1979 - the year the Soviet army entered Afghanistan in support of the communist regime which had seized power the previous year - there were already 400,000 refugees in Pakistan and 200,000 in Iran. By 15 February 1989, the number had risen to a staggering 6.2 million, split almost equally between the two neighbouring countries, which showed extraordinary generosity in hosting such a vast number of refugees on their territory, despite the burden they represented to their own societies, environment and infrastructure. In both Iran and Pakistan, the refugees were allowed to work, and received considerable government support in the education and health sectors.
Since the Soviet withdrawal, almost two thirds of the refugees have returned to their devastated and poverty-stricken country, despite the outbreak of a new war between different Afghan groups competing for power. In all, more than 4 million Afghans have returned home voluntarily since 1989 - another refugee record - and a remarkable testimony to their courage.
While it was the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan that caused the majority of the refugees to flee, it is subsequent events - almost uninterrupted fighting between constantly shifting alliances of Afghan political groups and militias, continued human rights abuses, and a shattered economy and infrastructure - that is preventing the final settlement of the Soviet legacy.
The strength of the refugees' desire to rebuild their lives in their home country was amply demonstrated in 1992, after the communist government, shorn of its superpower support, finally fell from power. During the course of that year, a total of 1.6 million refugees went home. In 1993, another million followed suit, even though by then the capital city, Kabul, was being torn apart by infighting between different Afghan factions.
By the late 1990s, the numbers returning to relatively safe parts of the country - of which there are plenty - were still adding up to around 100,000 a year. However, many of the remaining refugees are understandably reluctant to return under current circumstances.
Related news and stories
Women-run businesses in Afghanistan dealt a blow by deepening restrictions
UNHCR launches new appeal for Afghan refugees and hosts, urging partners to stay the course
I had to flee for my education, but refused to leave other Afghan girls to their fate
Former refugee, now volunteer teacher, helps other Afghan girls get an education
Families struggle for survival during Afghanistan's coldest winter in a decade
Afghan women affected by Taliban bans on work and study fear for their futures
Your search for « soviet afghanistan » matched 595 results. Displaying page 14 of 67 pages.
-
For Afghan refugee miners, bright dreams beckon from the depths
14 Dec 2011 ... a better future for my family then it is worth it." Six years old when his family fled Afghanistan in the wake of the 1979 Soviet invasion, Hadi has lived in the Malgagai refugee village ever since. ...... -
The State of The World's Refugees 2000: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action - Chapter 5: Proxy wars in Africa, Asia and Central America
1 Jan 2000 ... ... In addition, the assault on the US embassy in Teheran in November 1979, in which radical students seized dozens of US hostages, took place just one month before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The ...... -
Afghan returnee family brings with them love of learning
4 Jul 2005 ... province following the invasion of the Soviet army. For 19 years they lived in neighbouring Iran, raising four daughters and two sons and waiting for a time when they could return to Afghanistan. ...... -
UNHCR's Voluntary Repatriation Program: Evaluation of the Impact of the Cash Grant. Altai Consulting, March 2009
Mar 2009 ... ... Background In the last 25 years, Afghanistan has experienced a massive flow of emigration generated by the ex-Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, the civil war and the Taliban regime. ...... -
Past and present responsibility-sharing arrangements for refugees in the Asia Pacific region
9 Jul 2017 ... ... ever since displacement began following the communist coup in 1978 and subsequent Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Most notably, in 1988, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a bilateral ...... -
The global fallout
20 Dec 2001 ... virtually the entire population of Afghanistan. The latest crisis in that country was triggered and perpetuated by the outside world - first when the Soviet army invaded the country, and then when ...... -
Refugees Magazine Issue 125: The September Terror - A Global Impact
2 Jan 2002 ... ... virtually the entire population of Afghanistan. The latest crisis in that country was triggered and perpetuated by the outside world—first when the Soviet army invaded the country, and then when ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2000 - Russian Federation
1 Jun 2001 ... ... region, and approximately 2,000 Afghan orphans who were educated in the Soviet Union and had no homes to go back to after the war and the col- lapse of the Soviet-backed regime in Afghanistan. ...... -
Access to safety? Negotiating protection in a Central Asian emergency, Arafat Jamal
1 Feb 2000 ... ... in the region see it as having been responsible for the unravelling of the USSR. Kushka, the Soviet Union’s southernmost town, was the launching post for the Soviet ground invasion of Afghanistan. ......