KABUL (SW) – “He wished to go to Europe, but never returned”, this is an excerpt from the words of a sister (Mina) who has lost her brother (Noor Ahmad) to irregular migration.
Mina told Salam Watandar that her brother had been living in Turkey for 10 years and wished to eventually go to Europe. She added that her brother left Afghanistan due to insecurity and lack of job opportunities.
Before his tragic death, Noor Ahmad never wanted to return to Afghanistan when he was living in Turkey. His family engaged him to a girl in order to encourage him to stay in Afghanistan, however, it wasn’t helpful.
Mina said her other brother, Ghulam Ahmad Qarluq, had been a member of the security forces in Ghazni province for eight years. A year ago, Ghulam Ahmad Qarluq was killed in Ghazni, leaving behind just the two of his sisters, their children and his wife.
Mina added that she and her three children lived with her mother’s family in a rented house in Kabul, and all the family’s expenses were paid by her two brothers. After the killing of Noor Ahmad, she and her family were left homeless because her two brothers were the only breadwinners of their family.
The dejected sister said that she has heard different stories about the killing of Noor Ahmad with some saying he was killed by the thieves in Turkey. But, after a while, she was informed that Noor Ahmad was killed by a Syrian man.
Narrating the tale of her brother’s mysterious murder, she said: “A message arrived on his phone from a girl saying that she was an Indian girl and seeking job. She usually texted him at the night saying that she wanted to meet him. She gave him an address and asked him to come alone, but my brother did not go. Finally, one night my brother with 5 other people went there, but the girl told him that she had told him before to come alone. Once again, she sent a message inviting him for a meeting by the beach. He with his friends went there and they were sitting in a chair. He suddenly received a message on his phone to look back. When he looked, a masked man shot him in the head. The murderer fired seven bullets from which one was shot in his heart and the six other in his left hand.”
Mina added that when the killer tried to shoot Noor Ahmad’s friend, a Turkish boy threw himself at the killer; the killer of his brother was arrested there.
Mina said her brother’s killer claimed that Noor Ahmad was harassing his sister, that is why he killed him, but Noor Ahmad’s neighbors rejected the killer’s claim. The neighbors told the court that they have thought Noor Ahmad was a Turkish man. It has been 9 years that he was their neighbor and they found him as a good man.
Sayed Abdul Basit Ansari, media adviser to the Ministry of Refugees and Returnees, said that the ministry has launched various public awareness programs for those who intend to migrate irregularly. These programs are peddled through media and social media.
Ansari said that most of the Afghan refugees seeking to escape from violence and poverty want to go Europe. He said that at the end of each year, the European Union announces the number of asylum applications that are received from each country. He added that since the beginning of 2020, about 500,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from various countries.
He urged people not to migrate irregularly because irregular migration is not the solution for their problems; instead, it increases their problems.
Sayed Shir Hossain Honaryar, coordinator at the Migration Information Centre, said the agency offers free counseling to those who plan to migrate irregularly.
It is worth noticing that insecurity, lack of job opportunities and poor economic situation in Afghanistan are some of the reasons that force many young Afghans to migrate irregularly on regular basis.
ENDS
