KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — It looks like a place for people who are fleeing. But the rows of tents in this humble transition centre are instead one of the last stops for former refugees as they return from Pakistan in search of a normal life.
The return of millions of refugees is seen as one of the great success stories of post-Taliban Afghanistan. More accurate than any poll, aid workers like to say, this flow of people is tangible evidence that Afghans themselves think their country is improving.
The reality is more complicated, with long-time hosts Iran and Pakistan both putting pressure on refugees to go home. But whatever the reason, an estimated five million people have been repatriated in barely six years.
It's a staggering figure and it takes a visit to a transition centre such as the one in Kandahar province - which has handled 10 per cent of all returning refugees - to recast that flood of people into individual terms.
Mohammed Ibrahim returns to his tent yesterday at a refugee transition centre in Kandahar. The 60-year-old came back to southern Afghanistan with his family this week after fleeing the Soviets 25 years ago. (OIiver Moore/The Globe and Mail)
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They come by bus and shared taxi and can take a full day to cover the few hundred kilometres between the Pakistani city of Quetta and Kandahar.
Tired and hungry, they show up at any time of the day or night to knock at the gate in the turquoise-painted wall of the compound. The facility, which is funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is open on a 24-hour basis and there are two shifts of staff to receive them.
One of the recent returnees is Mohammed Ibrahim. A genial 60-year-old with an earring and only patches of brown left in his snowy beard, he said yesterday that he fled his homeland 25 years ago, during the Soviet invasion. This week he came back with his wife and two daughters. "The problem was inflation and joblessness in Pakistan, nothing to do," he said. "I have two skills: I'm a good cook. I can cook lunch for 100 or 200 people in an hour; and I'm a carpenter. I'm looking for any help I can get."
New arrivals such as Mr. Ibrahim are checked by medical staff and given the necessary vaccinations. His family will also receive a small amount of money to set them on their way, anywhere from $93 to $112, depending on how far they must travel. And, in classes segregated by gender, they learn about the dangers of drug use and land mines.
"Some of them do have information before on mine awareness," said Akhtar Mohammed Shahab, 60, a grandfatherly man with twinkling eyes who uses gory drawings and video to teach the men about munitions. "Some don't have any information at all. But everyone can use more."
The transition centre for this province had been located in Daman, a district that wraps around the south and east of Kandahar, and was relocated to the edge of the city barely three weeks ago. It is run by Afghans operating under the umbrella of the UNHCR, whose Global Appeal last year received $5-million in funding from the Canadian International Development Agency. Staff have set up 160 olive-green tents, each less than nine square metres and each intended to house an entire family.
People are moved quickly through the centre, only in rare cases staying more than 24 hours, and staff are gearing up now for the usual summer rush. Based on past experience, former refugees will start to pour in as early as next week and the spike will continue until October. Others have not waited and a steady stream has been turning up since the new centre opened. There were about 30 families there yesterday. One of them was headed by Mohammed Essa, 35, who arrived on Tuesday with his wife and three children after fleeing to Pakistan 15 years ago.
"We can see that Afghanistan is now progressing. It's getting better and better," the black-bearded man said, his fierce face softening when asked about his family. "I don't have any specific job to do here. I will just do daily labour."
A tide of humanity
After fleeing the Russian invasion, infighting between Afghan warlords, and the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, thousands of Afghans are now returning to their homes, attracted by increased stability and forced out of refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan.
To Britain: 22,532
Canada: 15,535
U.S.: 8,831
India: 9,700
Iran: 920,248 joined existing refugees (2003 to 2006)
As of Nov., 2007, about 1.5 million Afghans had returned from Iran. An estimated 600,000 to 700,000 Afghans remain in Iran.
Pakistan: 1,084,248 joined existing refugees (2003 to 2006)
Between 15,000 and 20,ooo of these people crossed the border between Sept. 11 and Oct. 1, 2001.
As of Nov., 2007, Almost 3 million of the refugees returned from Pakistan. 2.6 million Afghans remain in Pakistan, including one million in 74 long-term camps.
TONIA COWAN/THE GLOBE AND MAIL; SOURCE: AFGHAN CONFLICT MONITOR, UNHCR, CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT
