Ramin Sharafudin
“Islam has no borders” – Ayatollah Khomeini Founder of the Islam Republic of Iran and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution against the last monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza.
It is often considered that there are three waves of Afghan Influx into Iran. The Afghan Presence in Iran was not properly felt until the first wave of Afghans fleeing to Iran after the Soviet Invasion in 1979. The second wave came around Post-Soviet withdrawal in 1989, which left Afghanistan with a factionalised government, militias (military force engaging in terrorist activities) forming along ethnic lines (people dividing in respect of their ethnicity) fighting for control, known as ‘Jang-e-Daakhili’, translates ‘internal conflict’. The last and current wave is a result of Taliban activities (1990s) which witnessed the exodus of the ethnic Shia group, the Hazaras, who were fleeing ethnic and religious persecution.
In 1998 scores of Hazaras, Uzbeks and Tajiks were rounded up many times in execution squares and executed in many cities, most notably Mazar-e-Sharif. Under the then pre-text, Iran was a growing safe haven for the Shia community, hence many felt they would undergo less discrimination where similarity in culture and language already existed. However, following the recent global outcry of brutality towards Afghans in Iran, it has raised some flags as to the treatment of escaping refugees.
The spread of an anti-ethnic rhetoric is not unique to Iran but is a recurring issue spanning centuries, plagued across borders. It has been a catalyst for policy change as evident with French attitudes towards African migrants, and at the heart of a social justice movement, with Kurdish movements against Turkey a prime example. Such as these examples, the Anti-Afghan rhetoric spread in Iran through structural violence and discriminatory policies has in turn legitimised and led to hate crimes against them. For example, Forced Repatriation, whereby the Afghan Diaspora in Iran are often against their will sent back to the same villages they fled from and the issue of Iranian women who marry foreigners cannot pass on their citizenship to their children, hence the marriages remain unregistered; thus leaving the family and future offspring stateless and furthering those anti-ethnic sentiments that have caused friction between the two historic nations. However, there has been a recent global outcry and social movement against the brutality Afghans face in Iran, taking root from the murder of Afghan refugees in a burning car caused by Iranian Police in June.
Supposed Justification
There is a common justification for mistreating Afghans, reducing the blame to Iran’s struggling economy. Adding to this the exhaustion of Iran’s resources by Afghan migrants, yet this fails to highlight the living conditions of many Afghans, documented or undocumented. Some do not have access to running water or electricity, work opportunities are becoming increasingly inaccessible and healthcare is discriminative to Afghan refugees. The situation of the Afghan Diaspora in Iran has worsened with the reclassification from ‘refugee’ to what the government calls ‘migrants’, making it easier for repatriation or forced deportation of Afghans, back into Afghanistan. Logistically, refugees are more expensive in comparison to migrants. However, this reclassification affects their living standards as migrants do not have access to education, healthcare and social services. Most importantly, if migrants do not report their presence, it is considered illegal; however if they report their presence, then they will face deportation (even if they were born in Iran or have married an Iranian national). In essence, the reclassification implicated that without the Taliban, Afghans are safe and need to return to their homeland; little do they know that the Taliban are only one facade of a bigger problem.
In terms of public policy, repatriation and reclassification reduces the economic costs of the government and also placates the frustrated low income class. Iranians complain they experience economic damages due to Afghan workers. There is growing resentment with the low class who are angry at the unemployment rate and lack of housing. The media portrayal serves as an ‘instrument’ to further isolate and ostracize Afghans, notably IRIB who are tasked to warn people not to give jobs and encourage Afghans “refugees” to repatriate. This propagated rhetoric indirectly sets a theme of intolerance, making Iranians think Afghans are unwanted and incites a culture of discrimination. Such discrimination leaves a lost community of mostly second generation Afghans, who are stateless. With Afghanistan not being able to afford them and Iran refusing their stay, the Afghan people are left in limbo, with no sense of identity or rootedness to hold close.
Though there are many issues facing Afghans in Iran today, this essay wishes to clarify that Iran is going through financial problems which cause such relationships with Afghans to worsen; still, this is no justification for the inhumane treatment of Afghans. As such turbulent problems have been discussed, we look to the new generation of Iranians and the Afghan diaspora to educate themselves and improve their relations to ensure and afford each other a prosperous and healthy future. One way of moving forward would be to cease backing of the Taliban near the Iranian border and in southern Afghanistan. The proxy war in Iran breeds a spread in instability thereby causing more refugees and displaced individuals fleeing to the Iranian border. With growing social tensions and poor conditions, we have to ask ourselves who do Afghans have to turn to in a foreign land that is Iran?
The views expressed in this entry are the author’s own and may not reflect those of other authors for Diaspora Writes.
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