HERAT CITY (SW) – At the minor age of 14, Noor Agha has embarked on treacherous journey of irregular migration from Herat to Iran four times.
Now residing in the Ansar camp in Herat city, he was deported by the Iranian border guards last week after beating him up.
The bruised wounds of Noor Agha speak volume of what he went through in Iran. Sharing the ordeal, he said raging war and poverty compelled him to join his uncle for irregular migration to Iran. The minor boy said he faced multiple sexual assaults and death threats during that journey three years ago.
He is not the only child who has faced such experiences during irregular migration.
Sulaiman is one year older than Noor Agha. He endured similar sufferings during many trips to Iran. He said that the three months he spent in Iran were the darkest in his life. During this time, Sulaiman worked hard, and said that he was made to work as grown-up laborer.
This skinny little kid said he had lost his father at a young age and had to leave school to earn bread for himself and the family, and for that purpose he left for Iran. Months of difficult work in Iran caused Sulaiman to suffer from chronic back pain at the age of 15.
War, poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan have encouraged many families, youth and even children to emigrate.
Many such children and adolescents are being tortured and tortured in Iranian camps during their migration to Europe, Noor Agha and Sulaiman said.
Malika Rasouli, head of the children's section at the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission in Herat, confirmed such cases of child sexual abuse. She said some of the victims are suffering from psychological problems after the bitter experience.
Ainuddin Aslami, the head of the Ansar refugee camp in Herat, acknowledged the challenges and problems faced by these children and adolescents. He said they have witnessed even more painful cases.
Ahmad Jawad Nadim, head of the Office for Migration and Returnees, said in a chat with Salam Watandar, that since the beginning of the solar year, 2349 children have been deported from Iran. He said investigations are underway into allegations of sexual abuse of these children.
Local authorities vowed the border forces have been directed to deal with human traffickers seriously.
As per the International Organization for Migration, out of every three Afghans, one opted for the experienced migration with 48 per cent heading to Iran, 31 per cent to Pakistan and nine per cent to the Gulf.
ENDS
