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Afghan transnational networks: Looking beyond repatriation

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This paper synthesises results that have emerged from AREU's three-country research project on Afghan transnational networks and sustainable reintegration. It draws on the findings of nine case studies - three in Afghanistan (Herat, Faryab and Jalalabad), three in Pakistan (Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta) and three in Iran (Tehran, Mashhad and Zahedan)- conducted by AREU and its research partners in 2004-05 which demonstrate that migration and the formation of transnational networks are key livelihood strategies for the people of Afghanistan.(1) The study also highlights that migration is an ancient phenomenon in the region - it is a way of life and not only a response to war and poverty. This must be kept in mind when governments raise the need to stem its flow, recognising that more realistic policy prescriptions will involve managing population movements to the benefit of all involved.

Other important findings relate to the complexity of motivations behind migration and the decision to remain in host countries. Afghans have continued to make constant journeys back and forth as part of what is a dynamic process that leads to complex social adjustments. It is a cultural model, not a simple act of flight followed by integration or assimilation in the host country, or return to the country of origin. In fact, repatriation in the Afghan context does not imply the end of migratory movements, especially in more recent years. The probability of further departures, at least of some household members, is high due to the use of migration as a strategy to secure livelihoods. Factors which induce asylum-seeking are not necessarily the same as those which perpetuate migration and discourage return to Afghanistan. Migrants have woven networks of contacts that make it easier to move between different countries. Addressing the original causes of flight does not constitute a guarantee to bring current migratory movements to an end, as the factors sustaining transnational movements of Afghans have come to form more or less stable systems.

The push factors in both Iran and Pakistan (such as more restrictive policies towards Afghans, police harassment, withdrawal of welfare facilities and closure of schools) appear less crucial in further migration choices by Afghans than the pull factors of economic opportunities and services available in those countries. Most Afghan refugees who left during the 1980s originated from rural areas, and while in Iran and Pakistan, many went through a process of urbanisation. In many cases they lost their agricultural knowledge and while acquiring other skills they developed new expectations of the level and types of services necessary for a good quality of life. For many of them, return to their village of origin is not an option. There is also evidence that attitude towards repatriation differs between genders and generations: women and youth appear less willing to return. This is related to perceptions among women that security is not good in Afghanistan and that their spatial mobility would be limited, while for youth it relates to access to education, employment as well as diversions. Kinship is an important source of support to Afghans in exile as well as returnees, but it does not account for all ties of solidarity. To spread risk, Afghans have developed diversification strategies in their types of cooperation, social relations, spatial residence, income-generating activities, and - very often - political affiliations. In formulating appropriate responses to Afghan population movements, the governments of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, along with the international assistance community, should work towards:

  • Establishing bilateral labour migration frameworks that provide a clear legal identity and rights for Afghan labourers in Iran and Pakistan.

  • Acknowledging the reality that not all Afghans will choose to return, and making appropriate legal arrangements for these cases within their host countries.

  • Implementing economic development strategies and policies which will create quality employment in urban and rural areas of Afghanistan.

  • Supporting the Afghan government to invest in health and other social services.

  • Improving security, and the perception of security, in Afghanistan.

  • Creating a formal but flexible credit system in Afghanistan to contribute to the reconstruction of the Afghan economy.

  • Increasing knowledge and awareness of the contribution, both in labour and otherwise, of Afghans to the Iranian and Pakistani economies.

  • Improving access to passports and visas for Afghans.

  • Continuing to uphold the refugee status and protection of the most vulnerable Afghans abroad.

Notes

(1) Case studies by: Collective for Social Science Research (CSSR), 2005, Afghans in Karachi: Migration, Settlement and Social Networks, Kabul: AREU; CSSR, 2005a, Afghans in Peshawar: Migration, Settlement and Social Networks, Kabul: AREU; CSSR, 2005b, Afghans in Quetta: Settlements, Livelihoods, Support Networks and Cross-Border Linkages, Kabul: AREU; University of Tehran, 2005a, Return to Afghanistan? A Study of Afghans Living in Tehran; University of Tehran, 2005b, Return to Afghanistan? A Study of Afghans Living in Mashhad, Kabul: AREU; University of Tehran, 2005c, Return to Afghanistan? A Study of Afghans Living in Zahedan, Kabul: AREU, G. Habibi, 2006, , Kabul: AREU; E. Stigter, 2004, The Kandahar Bus Stand in Kabul: An Assessment of Travel and Labour Migration to Pakistan and Iran, Kabul: AREU (unpublished); E. Stigter, 2005a, Transnational Netwoks and Migration from Herat to Iran, Kabul: AREU; E. Stigter, 2005b, Transnational Netwoks and Migration from Faryab to Iran, Kabul: AREU. Also see: E. Stigter and A. Monsutti, 2005, Transnational Networks: Recognising a Regional Reality, Kabul: AREU; I. Christoplos, 2004, Out of Step? Agricultural Policy and Afghan Livelihoods, Kabul: AREU; J. Grace and A. Pain, 2004, Rethinking Rural Livelihoods in Afghanistan. Kabul: AREU; A. Pain and S. Lautze 2002, Addressing Livelihoods in Afghanistan, Kabul: AREU.

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