GARDEZ (SW) – Sudden rise in insecurity and unemployment in recent years have led to a fresh wave of migrants seeking safe life through the routes of irregular migration.
Noor Wali Etemad is a 27-year-old resident of Paktia province. After completing his higher education, he decided to migrate to European countries due to poverty and insecurity in his hometown.
In conversation with Salam Watandar, he said he did not have the money to travel to European countries on a regular basis. Poverty, he said, forced him to migrate irregularly with some of his friends. According to Wali, he and his companions first went to Iran via Baluchistan, and from there to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Italy and eventually to France.
Enduring an array of problems and difficulties in different countries, Wali said he and his companions faced crippling thirst and hunger during the journey.
According to him, 30 people traveled on the thorny routes in a vehicle, which only had the capacity of 10 people. Noor Wali said he and his fellow travelers have also encountered thieves and robbers on this perilous route. He added that when they left Turkey, the smugglers had transported up to 150 people in a boat with a capacity of only 30 people, and there was a 95% chance that the boat sinking.
“I have traveled in that boat myself, it had a capacity of 30 people only. But, smugglers were moving between 140 and 150 people with it. Going across the water in such a situation has a 95% chance of death, in fact a 100% chance of death, I saw it with my own eyes”, he said.
Dodging death multiple times, Wali did eventually reach France, but he has not been able to get a job yet. He said that a number of Afghan migrants face many challenges due to their unfamiliarity with the customs and language of European countries, some of whom have even suffered from mental disorders.
Obaid Marhouni, head of the department of migrants and returnees in Herat, said war, poor security, unemployment and economic hardships are some of the factors driving Afghan youth to migrate abroad irregularly. Irregular migration has put the lives of many young people at risk of death, he said.
Marhouni urged young Afghans not to be deceived by human smugglers, and to work in their own country to improve their living conditions.
On the other hand, social affairs experts say that some of the outdated prevailing customs and practices in Afghanistan have also caused many young people to migrate irregularly.
Sahel Mangal, a social affairs expert, said that if awareness is raised against such customs and traditions in the society, the irregular migration of young people will be reduced to a large extent.
In Afghanistan, it is not only young people who travel to European countries because of the war, but millions of Afghan men, women and children, are living a painful life as refugees in Iran and Pakistan.
ENDS
