A Voice for the Voiceless

Since April 21, 2007, ninety thousand Afghan refugees have been forcibly removed from Iran.  As a result of Iran’s toughened stance on illegal immigrants, thousands of Afghanis, mostly men, have been arrested and put on buses to Herat, Afghanistan.  While most of the deportees were single men, almost 22,000 have been families.  Some have been separated from their spouses and children, and in some cases, some children have been deported alone.

Afghanis comprise the second largest refugee group in the world. Millions left their home during the Soviet invasion and more left Afghanistan during the Taliban regime that followed.  Since 2001 and the fall of the Taliban, 3.5 million Afghans repatriated and returned home.  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees described three ways refugees are returning from Iran.  First, voluntary repatriation; where registered refugees are given a repatriation package ($100 (US)/person or $500 (US)/family of five) to facilitate the relocation process. Second, spontaneous return; where unregistered (and therefore illegal) refugees chose to return to Afghanistan.  They are given time to gain proper certification to return.  The third method is deportation; where illegal refugees are forced to return.

Since 2002, 860,000 refugees have left Iran and returned to Afghanistan.  However, 915,000 Afghani refugees still reside in Iran. Some entered illegally.  Some entered with a visa that has now expired.  Some are legal refugees who lack the proper papers and therefore are deemed illegal by the Iranian government.

Beginning on April 21, Iran began its new two pronged strategy to decrease the number of Afghani refugees. The first prong is to provide incentives, such as repatriation packages or facilitating illegal refugees in getting the proper return papers, to encourage refugees to return.  The second prong is to crack down on illegal immigrants by arresting and deporting them. 

Iran and Pakistan are homes of largest population of Afghani refugees. Currently, Iran spends approximately $7 billion a year to support their Afghani refugee population.  While the UN agrees that Iran has the right to address the matter of illegal immigrants in their countries, but appeals that it is done in a humane manner.

For more information please see:

BBC:  “Expelled from Iran – Refugee Misery”  8 June 2007.

UNHCR:  “Return to Afghanistan”  30 May 2007.

            The protesters gathered in response to the seizure of their land by a member of the royal family. The perpetrator, Sheik Hamad bin Mohammed Salman al-Khalifa, is the cousin to the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifaa. Two years ago, the Sheik built a 500 meter wall to protect his alleged territory. This enclosure has not only given the Sheik disputed land, but also prohibited local fishermen from accessing the sea.
            The villagers protested the action. They gathered and held signs displaying their disgust. The Associated Press reported that some of the signs stated that “Bahrain’s lands are not for sale.” According to the head of the district municipal counsel’s report, the crowd had gathered civilly, when the riot police fired the rubber bullets. The tear gas rendered some of the crowd unconscious.

            According to the Police Captain’s report the crowd rioted without an exact purpose. They tried to harm the police. The rioters used danger weapons such as sticks, gasoline bombs, golf balls, and slingshots to injure the police. The police had to fire rubber bullets to quiet the crowd and prevent further havoc.
            Bahrain rarely blocks peaceful protests, as long as the crowd consents to certain requirements. In this case, the protesters got permission to gather, and yet the police fired on the anti-seizure land protesters quickly.
            A possible reason for the quick and strong response by the police is because the Shiite majority is being ruled by a Sunni ruling family.  The government’s fear is that this rally was actually related to the protest on 21 May 2007, where Shiites sought more rights for themselves through greater democratic reform. In that riot, one man was injured by police to dissipate the crowd. Shiites make up 60 percent of the population of the nation, and have long complained about being discriminated against by the Sunnis.

Al-Jazeera. Bahrain Police Fire on Protesters. 10 June 2007.
Alalam News. Bahrain Police, Opposition Clash. 21 May 2007.
Associated Press. Anti-riot police clash with demonstrators protesting land seizure. 9 June 2007.
Gulf Daily News. Riots ‘orchestrated.’ 10 June 2007.