Nowhere to run: The Afghan refugees caught in Israel’s war on Iran

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On Friday, June 13, erstwhile Israeli missiles began raining down connected Tehran, Shamsi was reminded erstwhile again conscionable however susceptible she and her household are.

The 34-year-old Afghan parent of 2 was moving astatine her sewing occupation successful northbound Tehran. In a authorities of panic and fear, she rushed backmost location to find her daughters, aged 5 and seven, huddled beneath a array successful horror.

Shamsi fled Taliban regularisation successful Afghanistan conscionable a twelvemonth ago, hoping Iran would connection safety. Now, undocumented and terrified, she finds herself caught successful yet different unsafe concern – this clip with nary shelter, nary status, and nary mode out.

“I escaped the Taliban but bombs were raining implicit our heads here,” Shamsi told Al Jazeera from her location successful bluish Tehran, asking to beryllium referred to by her archetypal sanction only, for information reasons. “We came present for safety, but we didn’t cognize wherever to go.”

Shamsi, a erstwhile activistic successful Afghanistan, and her husband, a erstwhile worker successful the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan earlier the Taliban returned to powerfulness successful 2021, fled to Iran connected a impermanent visa, fearful of reprisals from the Taliban implicit their work. But they person been incapable to renew their visas due to the fact that of the outgo and the request to exit Iran and re-enter done Taliban-controlled Afghanistan – a travel that would apt beryllium excessively dangerous.

Life successful Iran has not been easy. Without ineligible residency, Shamsi has nary extortion astatine work, nary slope account, and nary entree to aid. “There was nary assistance from Iranians, oregon from immoderate planetary organisation,” she said.

Internet blackouts successful Tehran person made it hard to find accusation oregon interaction family.

“Without a driver’s licence, we can’t determination around. Every crossroad successful Tehran is heavy inspected by police,” she said, noting that they managed to get astir restrictions to bargain nutrient earlier Israel began bombing, but erstwhile that started it became overmuch harder.

Iran hosts an estimated 3.5 cardinal refugees and radical successful refugee-like situations, including immoderate 750,000 registered Afghans. But much than 2.6 cardinal are undocumented individuals. Since the Taliban’s instrumentality to powerfulness and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan successful 2021, thousands of Afghans, including activists, journalists, erstwhile soldiers, and different susceptible people, person crossed into Iran seeking refuge.

Tehran state unsocial reportedly hosts 1.5 cardinal Afghan refugees – the bulk of them undocumented – and arsenic Israel targeted sites successful and astir the capital, attacking civilian and subject locations during the 12-day conflict, galore Afghans were starkly reminded of their utmost vulnerability – unprotected and incapable to entree exigency assistance, oregon adjacent reliable accusation during aerial raids arsenic the internet was unopen down for ample periods of time.

While galore fled Tehran for the northbound of Iran, Afghan refugees similar Shamsi and her household had obscurity to go.

On the nighttime of June 22, an detonation shook her neighbourhood, breaking the windows of the family’s apartment. “I was awake until 3am, and conscionable an hr aft I fell asleep, different blast woke maine up,” she said.

An full residential flat was levelled adjacent her building. “I prepared a container with my children’s main items to beryllium acceptable if thing happens to our building.”

The June 23 ceasefire brokered by Qatar and the US came arsenic a immense relief, but present determination are different problems: Shamsi’s household is astir retired of money. Her employer, who utilized to wage her successful cash, has near the metropolis and won’t reply her calls. “He’s disappeared,” she said. “When I [previously] asked for my unpaid wages, helium conscionable said: ‘You’re an Afghan migrant, get out, out, out.'”

The quality outgo of conflict

For each Afghans trapped successful Iran – some those forced to fly and those who stayed successful their homes – the 12-day conflict with Israel has sharply reawakened feelings of trauma and displacement.

Furthermore, according to the Iranian wellness authorities, 3 Afghan migrants – identified arsenic Hafiz Bostani, Abdulwali and Habibullah Jamshidi – were among the 610 radical killed successful the caller strikes.

On June 18, 18-year-old Afghan labourer Abdulwali was killed and respective others were injured successful an Israeli onslaught connected their operation tract successful the Tehranpars country of Tehran. According to the victim’s father, Abdulwali near his studies successful Afghanistan astir six months agone to enactment successful Iran to provender his family. In a video wide shared by Abdulwali’s friends, his colleagues astatine the operation tract tin beryllium heard calling to him to permission the gathering arsenic large explosions echo successful the background.

Other Afghans are inactive missing since the Israeli strikes. Hakimi, an aged Afghan antheral from Takhar state successful Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that helium hadn’t heard from 3 of his grandsons successful Iran for 4 days. “They were stuck wrong a operation tract successful cardinal Tehran with nary food,” helium said.

All helium knows is that they retreated to the basement of the unfinished flat gathering they were moving connected erstwhile they heard the dependable of bombs, helium explained. The shops adjacent were closed, and their Iranian leader has fled the metropolis without paying wages.

Even if they person survived, helium added, they are undocumented. “If they get out, they volition get deported by police,” Hakimi said.

From 1 information portion to another

During the conflict, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett urged each parties to support Afghan migrants successful Iran, informing of superior risks to their information and calling for contiguous humanitarian safeguards.

Afghan activistic Laila Forugh Mohammadi, who present lives extracurricular the country, is utilizing societal media to rise consciousness astir the dire conditions Afghans are facing successful Iran. “People can’t move, can’t speak,” she said. “Most person nary ineligible documents, and that puts them successful a unsafe presumption wherever they can’t adjacent retrieve unpaid wages from fleeing employers.”

She besides flagged that amid the Iran-Israel conflict, determination is nary authorities assemblage supporting Afghans. “There’s nary bureaucracy to process their situation. We dreaded an escalation successful the unit betwixt Iran and Israel for the information of our people,” she said.

In the end, those who did negociate to evacuate from the astir unsafe areas successful Iran mostly did truthful with the assistance of Afghan organisations.

The Afghan Women Activists’ Coordinating Body (AWACB), portion of the European Organisation for Integration, helped hundreds of women – galore of whom fled the Taliban due to the fact that of their activistic enactment – and their families to flee. They relocated from high-risk areas similar Tehran, Isfahan and Qom – the sites of cardinal atomic facilities which Israel and the US some targeted – to safer cities specified arsenic Mashhad successful the northeast of the country. The radical besides helped with communicating with families successful Afghanistan during the ongoing net blackouts successful Iran.

“Our capableness is limited. We tin lone enactment authoritative members of AWACB,” said Dr Patoni Teichmann, the group’s founder, speaking to Al Jazeera earlier the ceasefire. “We person evacuated 103 women retired of our existing 450 members, astir of whom are Afghan women’s rights activists and protesters who rallied against the women’s acquisition ban and fled Afghanistan.”

‘I can’t spell backmost to the Taliban’

Iran precocious announced plans to deport up to 2 cardinal undocumented Afghans, but during the 12-day conflict, immoderate took the determination to determination backmost anyhow contempt the dangers and hardships they whitethorn look there.

World Vision Afghanistan reported that, passim the 12-day war, astir 7,000 Afghans were crossing regular from Iran into Afghanistan via the Islam Qala borderline successful Herat. “People are arriving with lone the apparel connected their backs,” said Mark Cal, a tract representative. “They’re traumatised, confused, and returning to a homeland inactive successful economical and societal freefall.”

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has voiced sedate concerns astir the deteriorating humanitarian concern for Afghans successful Iran, adding that it is monitoring reports that radical are connected the determination wrong Iran and that immoderate are leaving for neighbouring countries.

Even arsenic Israeli strikes came to a halt, tensions stay high, and the fig of Afghans fleeing Iran is expected to rise.

But for many, determination is obscurity near to go.

Back successful bluish Tehran, Shamsi sits beside her girl watching an Iranian quality channel. “We came present for safety,” she says softly. Asked what she would bash if the concern worsens, Shamsi doesn’t hesitate: “I volition enactment present with my family. I can’t spell backmost to the Taliban.”

This portion was published successful collaboration with Egab.

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