KABUL (SW) – Young Khost resident, Mohammad Ayub Jan left for Iran on irregular migration upon friends’ advice as a way out of poverty and war last year.
He was lured into this dangerous journey as his friends sent him beautiful photos of Iran, and pushed him to get in touch with human traffickers for the journey. So, he came to Kabul and from here he went to Nimroz province bordering Iran.
On the journey, he was accompanied by some 400 other people.
Narrating the horrors of the journey, he said two of his companions died of thirst on the way. Although, he seemed sad to lose his companions, he was at least happy to be alive and living with his family now.
He said that while Afghan citizens are doing the hardest work in foreign countries, they are being insulted and humiliated by their employers in addition to not receiving a decent salary.
He regrets that he went to Iran and says that in foreign countries, immigrants who enter illegally are not given any respect. He returned to Afghanistan after his employer did not increase his salary despite the hard labor.
Mohammad Ayub Jan says many Afghan refugees are imprisoned in Iran, and nothing is known about their lives and deaths afterwards. He called on all young people in the country to never think about leaving the country via irregular migration.
Meanwhile, Fariha Jabbarkhail, an adviser at the Migration Information Center, told Salam Watandar that a large number of people call them daily and search for regular migration routes. She said the organization advises and guides such people with ways and means to immigrate legally.
She added the spread of the coronavirus and the closure of international borders have reduced irregular migration.
Mohammad Hashim Halim, the head for department of the immigration and returnees in Khost province, said dozens of migrants who have migrated to neighboring countries have returned to the country after the coronavirus virus spread all over the world.
According to him, the public continues to receive awareness messages about the irregular migration and its dire consequences.
Insecurity, poverty and search for better life are the factors that lead many young people to irregular migration.
ENDS
