The Fall of Kabul is arguably one of the biggest failures at state-building in Modern history. While many point out that the quick fall of the Afghanistan regime proves their lack of legitimacy, others consider the U.S-Taliban peace deal the main culprit behind the fall of the government. Regardless, the current crisis and the political panorama in the country has caused many Afghan citizens to flee to neighbouring countries and claim asylum. While some Afghan citizens and their families who provided help to Western allies (such as the US, Canada, the UK, France and Germany) are to become refugees in those nations through resettlement programs, others remain in hiding in the country under threat of death. But for those who fled, one question remains: what comes next for Afghan refugees?
In an aim to answer that question, the McGill Research Refugee Group hosted a talk as part of their Fall Speaker Series, “Afghanistan Now and Beyond: Refugees and Displacement After US Withdrawal”. The conversation included three Afghanistan citizens who discussed the challenges for Afghan refugees at the time and provided an insight into what’s to come for Afghanistan under the Taliban regime.
One of the biggest challenges to Afghanistan refugees, as mentioned by Dr. Ali Karimi, is the lack of biometric identification among Afghans. When seeking asylum in a foreign country, especially in the Global North, authorities often require identification to verify the asylum seeker’s identity and process their refugee request. For many Afghans, providing authorities with a piece of ID is next to impossible, making an already strenuous process even more burdensome.
According to Dr. Karimi, at least 50% of Afghans do not have any type of identification (2021). While other sources estimate different percentages (such as 1 in 3), it’s not possible to give a concrete number given the large black hole on registration records, whether for marriages, births or any other vital statistics. Because of this, the former Afghan government did not have an accurate picture of how many citizens they had, and neither did the international community. This made it easier for the country’s elite to embezzle funds and get away with corruption, undermining the government’s legitimacy even further.
Historically, Afghans have an inherent sense of resistance to identification papers given the violent conscription background attached to young men obtaining ID. Until 1970, women in Afghanistan were forbidden from possessing ID, and today, only 42% of women have them. The lack of identification leaves them in an even more vulnerable situation since it renders them invisible to the state and the international community, with 8 in 10 displaced women not possessing ID, compared to only 1 in 10 men. Considering that Afghanistan was under Western control for decades, the lack of biometric identification among Afghan citizens is the product of the failure of the state. The government’s unwillingness to offer official undeniable identification perpetuates a vicious cycle of state violence against its people.
While Prime Minister Trudeau has pledged to accept 40,000 refugees from Afghanistan, most of them will be Afghan citizens who rendered their services to Canada and their relatives. Many others remain in limbo, awaiting the UNHCR or the Canadian government’s decision while in a third country, and it may take months — if not years —before refugees are successfully resettled into Canada. Given the structure of the Refugee Convention, Canada is seldom the first country to process an asylum seeker’s request; the refugee must ask for asylum in the first “safe” country they step in. Then they might be considered for resettlement in Canada due to vulnerability. Between existing delays in the system, overflowing requests, and lack of proper documentation, it is impossible to estimate when refugees will finally be admitted into Canada and how many of them will arrive at all.
Narjes Hashemi, PhD student at McGill University working with Afghanistan refugees, mentioned two additional challenges: mental health and academic integration. While Canada might be the final destination for many refugees, they have had to go through multiple resettlements before being admitted into the country. The exhaustive bureaucracy and a lengthy legal process take a toll on many refugees’ mental health. As Hashemi highlights, it can have repercussions in their ability to integrate into society.
Academic integration is another obstacle many refugees struggle with. Many Afghans’ skills and work experience get dismissed when they’re applying for jobs, which causes refugees to accept jobs unsuitable for their skillset and become severely underpaid. For non-English speakers, learning a new language while applying for skilled jobs is a next to impossible task. For young people, the prospect of continuing with their education in Canada is daunting. According to Hashemi, Afghan refugee youths have the highest dropout percentage among all refugees in Canada. This is likely because many of them have been displaced multiple times and have had numerous interruptions in their studies, which discourages them from pursuing higher education.
When wondering what’s next for Afghan refugees, remembering the resilience and strength of its people, especially of their women, gives hope for their future. Sofia Amiry, a current PhD student at McGill University, grew up under the Taliban regime and was given access to an education through an underground system: women banded together secretly with parents in order to school girls, under risk of death. As one of the speakers, Amiry mentioned that even when the West controlled Afghanistan, women were not given rights; they fought for them.
The Afghan people have survived many wars and conflicts, and they’ve found ways to survive regardless of their circumstances. As Afghans enter societies in other countries, there is no doubt that their resilience and spirit accompany them. However, given the way many Afghans fled the country — in cargo planes with no luggage, no identification, or money — they are very vulnerable and need strong support from the international community. As the Taliban continues to solidify its power, the international community must be ready to amplify Afghan voices and give asylum to those who ask for it. Given the West’s role in the country’s fall, protecting refugees and giving them special consideration when processing asylum requests is the very example of the bare minimum. While one cannot accurately predict the fate of Afghanistan or Afghan refugees, the road ahead will involve considerable challenges. One can only hope both the international community and governments are ready to take them on.
Edited by Aakanksha Mathur
