For decades, millions of Afghans fleeing war, persecution, and poverty have sought refuge in neighboring Iran.
Now, many of them face deportation after Tehran recently vowed to expel the 5 million Afghans it said were living “illegally” in the Islamic republic.
Afghan refugees and migrants say the September 27 announcement has triggered a surge in abuse against members of the sizeable Afghan community in Iran, including harassment and assault.
On October 6, a video posted on social media appeared to show a group of Iranian men and boys armed with sticks attacking the homes of Afghans in the northern city of Ghazvin. The authorities said 19 of the alleged attackers were arrested.
Other videos released in recent weeks, which RFE/RL was unable to verify, purportedly show groups of Iranian civilians beating up Afghans.
“We are worried that the situation in Iran has turned very hostile against Afghans,” Parwana, an Afghan refugee who lives with her family in Tehran, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “They are throwing stones at the windows of houses where Afghans live. They shout, ‘Afghans should leave our country and return to their homeland,'” added Parwana, who only gave her first name.
Sweta, another refugee who lives in the Iranian capital, says she has also observed a recent surge in the number of physical and verbal attacks against Afghans. “I witnessed Iranians beating young Afghan boys publicly even when they hadn’t done anything wrong,” Sweta, who also only gave her first name, told Radio Azadi.
History Of Abuse
For years, human rights groups have documented widespread violations against Afghan refugees and migrants in Iran, including physical abuse, detention in unsanitary and inhumane conditions, forced payment for transportation and accommodation in deportation camps, forced labor, and forced separation of families.
Mired in an economic crisis amid skyrocketing inflation and rising food prices, Iran has often expressed alarm at the number of undocumented Afghans on its soil. Officials have often blamed Afghans for insecurity and unemployment in Iran.
Tehran has also complained that it has received little financial help from the international community, despite hosting millions of Afghans since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
Iran’s plans to deport undocumented Afghans also come amid its worsening ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Taliban militants have engaged in deadly clashes with Iranian border guards in recent months amid a dispute over cross-border water resources.
In a statement released on October 14, some 500 Iranian activists urged the authorities “not to exploit the country’s current problems and drag us into the abyss of racism and hatred.”
“Let’s not allow people to sow seeds of hatred, violence, discrimination, and xenophobia,” it said.
An estimated 3.6 million Afghans have fled their homeland since the Taliban seized power in 2021, with many fleeing persecution and the devastating humanitarian and economic crises plaguing the war-torn country.
Around 70 percent of them have moved to Iran, according to the United Nations, although hundreds of thousands have been deported.
The United Nations has said that more than 3 million Afghans live in Iran. Out of them, around 1.3 million have visas or refugee status. Tehran has claimed that a significantly higher number of Afghans live in the country.
Last week, Tehran said more than 1 million Afghan refugees registered for new biometric cards, giving them access to banking services and SIM cards.
Deportations
Iran has intensified the deportations of Afghans since announcing its plan to expel all undocumented migrants.
Local Taliban officials in Afghanistan’s southwestern province of Nimroz say that Tehran has deported over 150,000 Afghans in the past three months.
Afghans who were recently deported told Radio Azadi that they were mistreated and harassed by Iranian border guards. “They did not give us bread or water during the two days that they imprisoned us,” said Abdul Salam, who illegally entered Iran two months ago and found a job as a laborer in the southeastern city of Zahedan.
“They held us in a room and then took us outside,” he added. “They left us in the scorching sun from morning to evening. We couldn’t get up. When we stood up, they kicked us in the back.”
Afghans who still reside in Iran say they live in constant fear of deportation or violence.
“I’m afraid to leave my home because many Afghans have been subjected to beatings in the markets and on the streets,” an Afghan refugee who requested anonymity due to fears of retribution told Radio Azadi.