Deportation of Afghan children from Iran increased via Nimroz province: Report  

Sep 03, 2023

Kabul [Afghanistan], September 3 : Dozens of Afghan minors are being deported from Iran to Afghanistan via Nimroz province almost daily, according to the head of work and social affairs department in Nimroz, reported TOLO News. 
The deportation of children from Iran has increased since the Taliban seized power  in Afghanistan in August 2021, thousands of vulnerable Afghan families moved to the neighbouring countries of Iran and Pakistan fearing death threats and persecution by the Taliban.
However, according to the experts, the primary reason behind the illegal migration of minors is the increasing poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan, according to TOLO News. 
Mohammad Omar Zubair, head of the Work and Social Affairs department in Nimroz, said that most of these children do not have enough money to go back to their families and relatives in their provinces.  
Zubair added, "The movement of children at the border has increased. Now the institutions are not working, and we are trying to send these children to their provinces."
Shabir Ahmed, 14, was arrested by the security forces of Iran and has now returned to Nimroz when he was planning to go to Iran illegally with his family, reported TOLO News.  
“There were countless people in the camp. There were all kinds of people, underage, old people, hungry, with children, with families, and they didn't even have bread to eat," Ahmed said. 
Moreover, some of these children whole families living in Iran, want the current government to solve their problems. 
Mohubullah, a Ghor resident said, "They arrested us, sent us to the camp, and we had no money. We have been thirsty and hungry for a week."
“They took us from Bandar Abbas and took us to the camp, and now we don't have the fare for a car, and we don't know how to go home,” said Mer Ahmad, a resident of Badghis. 
However, according to the experts, the primary reason behind the illegal migration of minors is the increasing poverty and unemployment in Afghanistan, according to TOLO News. 
Additionally, Mohammod Mahmmodi, a lecturer said, "There is no single mechanism for all-around support that can safely hand over these children to their families."
Nearly three million people in Afghanistan have suffered from malnutrition based on the statistics of the Ministry of Public Health in 2022, as per Tolo News.
Earlier this year, children in Afghanistan asked the Taliban to address the economic problems of their families and provide an education for them, the Afghan news channel reported.
Over 74,000 Afghan migrants have returned to the country from Iran through the Silk Road crossing point in the last month, said Taliban's provincial officials at the Refugees and Repatriation Department of Western Nimroz province.