PRC Visits the Afghani Refugees Living in Pakistan

In November 2007, Khadra Mohammed of Pittsburgh Refugee Center visited Afghani refugees living in Pakistan. PRC was able to document the living conditions of Afghani refugees in Peshawar, Islamabad, and Quetta.

Afghanistan has suffered from 30 years of conflict and instability resulting in millions of people forced to flee their home. The majority fled to Pakistan where living conditions are still severe. The displacement of the Afghani refugees is one of the longest duration of displaced populations’ world wide.

Kababian and Khorassan camps are two of the largest camps located in Peshawar. Schools in camps lack space, equipment, and qualified teachers. Homes in camps are make-shift and lack security.

Not all refugees in Pakistan are registered with the UNHCR and many of those who returned to Aghanistan found the living conditions too extreme and unsafe. These refugees elected to return to a state of displacement in Pakistan and thus become urban refugees living in urban slums ineligible to receive any services from the host country or gain lawful employment.

Many children have been orphaned or abandoned and end up living in the streets where they are vulnerable to exploitation such as: prostitution, child laboring, street beggars, garbage collection, etc.

The World Food Program has not provided food for over a decade to Afghani refugees which resulted in many forced to work to provide for their family and have become confined to a life of labor. Some sit for 8-10 hours a day weaving carpets while others dig, mold, and fire bricks from sunrise to sunset.