KABUL (SW) – Viral videos of harassment and persecution of Afghan refugees in Iran has sparked outrage and anger.
The reports of ill-treatment, beatings, and torture of Afghan refugees in Iran have provoked strong criticism and reactions. A number of citizens on social media have denounced the inhumane treatment of Afghan migrants in Iran. According to them, the beating and torture of Afghan refugees in a country with a common culture and language is not new, and Afghan refugees have been suffering from the cruel actions of Iranian border guards for years.
Farhad Darya, a well-known Afghan singer, wrote in a Facebook protest letter that a number of Afghan migrants are being humiliated, insulted and tortured, as well as sexually harassed.
He called on the Iranians not to allow their hostile and inhumane policies to destroy the dignity of a number of other human beings. Farhad Darya’s protest letter reads: “As a human being and a citizen of this planet, I am ashamed to watch your inhumane acts against these broken and homeless birds (refugees). If we can not be good neighbors, at least we can be good people.”
On the other hand, a number of other social media users in Afghanistan have posted that Iranian border guards use violence against Afghan migrants through racism and authoritarianism.
Forough Tabesh, one such user wrote on Twitter: “Like all human societies in our region, Iranian society is facing a moral crisis. Racism, violence, violation of human dignity and oppression of human beings in any form show the failure of the collective morality of a human society. The fight against racism must be the priority of the Iranian people.”
A number of Afghan refugees living in Iran also speak of their plight in the country. They say they can not roam freely because of insults and humiliation. “The situation for Afghans here is very bad,” said Mohammad Jan, an Afghan refugee in Iran. “Police severely abuse us, many are imprisoned, tortured or detained. We can not leave the house.”
“Our request to the Islamic Emirate is to create more jobs (in Afghanistan) and send a delegation to settle the issues of refugees (in Iran),” said Naqibullah Rasekh, another Afghan refugee in Iran.
Officials from the Ministry of Refugees and Returnees of the Islamic Emirate consider Iran’s treatment of Afghan refugees to be against international law and emphasized that efforts are ongoing to improve the living conditions of the refugees.
“There is no doubt about this,” Abdulmutallab Haqqani, spokesman for the Ministry of Immigration and Repatriation of the Islamic Emirate, told Salam Watandar. “Videos posted on social media are very painful as the Afghans are treated in violation of national and international law. “We are trying to resolve the problems through diplomatic means.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate has also said that it has summoned a number of Iranian officials in Kabul in connection with the mistreatment of the Afghan migrants by Iranian border guards.
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