KABUL (TCA) — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said this week that the number of Afghan refugees returning home from Iran has doubled recently as Iran’s currency loses its value against the US dollar unprecedentedly, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.
IOM statistics show that between 8,000 and 10,000 undocumented Afghans return home from Iran every day.
IOM says the main reason behind the increase of returnees from Iran is the economic crisis in Iran that has loomed following new US sanctions on Tehran.
“429,845 refugees from Iran and 23,301 refugees from Pakistan have been deported or voluntary returned,” said Kazim Elham, head of border returnees department at IOM.
The Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said the number of returned refugees has increased unprecedentedly in recent weeks.
“When the currency loses its value, refugees cannot afford their daily expenses there, so they decide to return to Afghanistan,” said Islamuddin Jurat, head of the ministry’s Communication and Public Relations Department.
An Afghan refugee who has returned from Iran last month said the money a refugee gains form working in Iran is only enough for his living costs and that he cannot save the money for his family.
IOM statistics show that 514,405 Afghans returned home from Iran and Pakistan from January 1 to August 25, and 492,343 of them returned home from Iran.
Statistics show that Iran still hosts 2.14 million Afghan refugees.
