Refugee Crisis in Jalalabad
Thousands of Afghan refugees are fleeing
Pakistan and returning to their native country.
Pakistan has encouraged just such a migration
for years claiming the immigrants put a strain
on the country’s infrastructure. However,
until 2015 in the wake of the Peshawar school
attack, they were unable to force any sort of
mass repatriation.
The December 2014 attack on a Peshawar
army school left more than 150 people dead,
many of them children. The Pakistani Taliban
(TTP) claimed responsibility for the atrocity
and the Pakistan government says the group
operates out of Afghanistan.
As such, many Afghans living in Pakistan
have become scapegoats for the attack,
allegedly suffering abuse at the hands of
officials and other citizens. In the face of this
hostility many people are choosing to return
home despite the dangers. Others are being
forced out.
Refugees two times over now, these men,
women, and children are not returning to
an excess of opportunities. The situation in
Afghanistan is bleak - jobs are scarce, cities
are bursting at the seams, and schools are
overwhelmed.
REFUGEES TWICE OVER
Many of the families returning to
Afghanistan settle in Jalalabad, the capital
of Nangarhar Province. The sprawling
metropolitan center has been a hub of trade
for centuries thanks to its strategic location
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at the juncture of the Kunar and Kabul rivers.
The town, with a population of just under
300,000 according to a UN 2015 State of
Afghan Cities Report, lies on the route from
Kabul to Peshawar, Pakistan via the Khyber
Pass.
Here, families are struggling to replace the
basic amenities they left behind in Pakistan.
CAI partners have made concerted efforts
to help them. Currently, there are 13 literacy
and 11 vocational centers in or near Jalalabad,
all of them CAI-supported.
But the children are the ones who suffer the
brunt of deprivation.
CAI-Afghanistan Director Wakil Karimi
provided this update about schools in the
area:
Lokhai Primary School
Funds needed: $3,500
5 TENTS = $1,000
for 308 students
SUPPLIES: Stationary, books,
school bag, uniform, plastic carpet,
portable toilets, blackboard, and
sports equipment.
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE