ASSADABAD (SW) – Gul Ahmad from Afghanistan’s Kunar province still shivers when he is reminded of his bitter journey to Iran three years ago when he opted to migrate to Germany.
This native young resident of Kunar’s provincial capital, Assadabad, was deported by Iranian authorities three years ago. Sharing the ordeal of that journey, Gul Ahmad told Salam Watandar he was lured by a human trafficker for irregular migration to Germany against $ 6000. However, he was ditched halfway in Iran after horrifying spells of harassment during the journey in the chilling winter.
Gul Ahmad said the trafficker took him and seven more people on a dangerous route to Turkey when they came under fire from the Iranian border guards. Two of them were hit by bullets before the border guards captured them. “We were fired upon, and two of us got hit with bullets. Later, they captured us and put us in a (shipping) container, it was extremely dark, and there was nothing for eating either. They also took away our clothes, bags and mobile phones”.
Lamenting the rough attitude by the Iranian security forces towards the Afghans, he said physical abuse of Afghan citizens was a common phenomenon in detention facilities in Iran. He went on to say the Iranian authorities picked some of these Afghans to go and fight in Syria. “They divided us in different groups, some said others were sent to Syria for fighting, some said they have been transferred to other prisons, but when we tried to call them, their cell phones were off”, he said.
This young man from Kunar said the traffickers took away thousands of dollars from them despite they being deported back to Afghanistan. Gul Ahmad said the Iranian security forces administered addictive drugs to Afghan prisoners. He said though he only spent a week in Iran, but he feels so weak as if years passed when he was there.
Gul Ahmad’s advice to his fellow Afghans who are thinking about migrating is not to be trapped by human traffickers. “Do not listen to the human traffickers, even if he is your father. They would never even pick your calls once you embark on the journey”, he warned.
According to officials in Kunar, at least 26 young man from this province have been deported from Iran and other countries in the past six months alone.
Mohammad Fazel, deputy director for the directorate of refugees and repatriation, said cash support has been made available to these returnees through the World Food Program. He termed the state of Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan as worrisome. He also urged families not to allow their children embark on this thorny path.
The National Referral Mechanism 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 NRM states the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation is bound to deliver services noted below to the victims of trafficking of humans and trafficking of migrants:
- Provision of the ground for returning nationals trafficked by smugglers to foreign countries, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant international bodies.
- Organize an annual work plan and implement it to fight human trafficking and trafficking of immigrants.
- Submitting a quarterly report on its Implementation to the High Commission against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Trafficking of Migrants.
- Carrying out other legal tasks assigned to the Ministry of Refugees by the High Commission against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Trafficking of Migrants.
Mohammad Turab, director justice and secretary for the commission against trafficking of humans and migrants, told SW that efforts are underway in collaboration with the provincial administration to spread awareness. He noted those found guilty of trafficking of humans or trafficking of migrants can face jail term for up to eight years.
According to him, the Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran are particularly faced with serious challenges.
Recently, the international community and the Afghan government have expedited efforts against this social menace.
ENDS
