GHAZNI (SW) – Young Jamela was member of a desperate and poor family from Ghazni that sought refuge in Pakistan seeking escape from hardships and crippling poverty in her home country.
She had no prior knowledge about Pakistan except some vague references about relative low prices of food items there. Now, she recalls that phase of her life in Pakistan as the worst period ever when she experienced hopelessness in an extreme form.
The young former refugee said she and other female members of her family used to weave carpets day and night, but no positive change would come in their life. “We were living a very tough life without any knowledge about the future. All of us were working, but there was no improvement in our economic state. We were hopeless, tired and always missed friends”.
Her mother, Gul Dasta, said the family starved many nights, and continued to work with immense troubles.
During shifting from one rented home to another, this Afghan refugee family got to know a man who promised to provide residence and job. This man employed Jamela’s family at a carpet weaving unit, but would take away the large chunk of income. Such a situation continued for years, and no one came for the rescue of bounded refugee family.
“We went [to Pakistan] illegally, stayed there for years in rented homes, and kept weaving carpets for the owner of a house, but he would not pay us the surging dues of our labor”, Gul Dasta said.
According to Abdul Khaliq Ahmadi, head of the directorate of refugees and repatriates, more than 500 Afghan refugee families have returned from different countries to Ghazni this year so far. He said these repatriated families are faced with economic hardships. He added the local administration has provided some aid to these families, but it is not sufficient.
Mohammad Arif Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor, said in this regard that the repatriated families’ persistent troubles can only be resolved through job creation for them. He said policies and plans should be formulated to create jobs by utilizing the expertise and experiences of the repatriated families.
The International Organization for Migration has been active in helping such families. Enamullah Kohar, an official at the IOM in Ghazni, told SW that at least 300 repatriated former Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran have been identified and supported. “We have enrolled children in schools, some have been admitted to hospital for treatment while food aid is also distributed”.
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a mechanism which is developed by the Afghan government’s High Commission to combat trafficking and smuggling. The purpose of this mechanism is to help government and NGOs to identify, refer, assist, and protect the VoTs and prosecute traffickers in a coordinated manner as outlined in the Afghanistan TiP Law 2017.
Article 9 of the National Referral Mechanism states that the victims of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of migrants shall be supported as followed:
• Provision of specialized services (health, psychological, legal counseling, livelihoods, education and residence).
• Information on the legal process for the cases of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of migrants.
• Ensuring the health and well-being of families of victims of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of migrants.
• Maintain the confidentiality of victims' cases of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of migrants and assuring them.
• Not harming victims of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of migrants during criminal investigations.
• Respect for the legitimate demands of victims of trafficking in human beings and trafficking of migrants.
Human trafficking – which has been labeled by human rights activists as modern-day slavery – is a phenomenon that has many victims in many countries. Efforts have been expedited to fight this social menace in Afghanistan, and these efforts have yield positive results.
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