Iran crimes against Afghan migrants must be accounted for
https://arab.news/b5d8u
Refugees-- symbols of strength but hardship, products of the decisions made by invaders and sometimes, their own governments. Ever since the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, millions of Afghans have fled to neighbouring countries for mere shelter, for a safe home.
Earlier this month, a gruesome video went viral on social media where a car carrying Afghan migrants in the Yazd province of Iran was shot at by Iranian police, killing at least three and leaving five brutally burnt. At least one of the five injured was seen handcuffed to a hospital bed in a video.
This has sent rage waves across the globe where protests are even now being held, and graffiti reads: ‘I can’t breathe’ and ‘Afghan lives matter’ in the wake of the movement sparked by the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis.
Yazd province’s deputy governor, Ahmad Tarahomi, stated to Iranian media that the police fired on the vehicle which they ‘suspected’ was carrying drugs and undocumented migrant workers after it crashed through a checkpoint. After its wheels were hit, the car continued to drive on its wheel rims, causing a spark that ignited the fire
This incident comes just months after a river drowning incident where 45 Afghan migrant workers were forced at gunpoint by Iranian police to jump into a river along the two countries’ border, drowning many. Iran denied the incident took place on Iranian soil.
The incidents in Yazd province and of last month have further ignited the long asked question: Just how gruesome is the treatment of Iran’s sizeable Afghan community in Iran?
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on June 8 promised a thorough investigation to the country’s enraged population. But it begs the question: What happened to the commitment by both the Iranian and Afghan governments to investigate the river drowning incident last month?
Sohail Shaheen—the spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban—said he agrees with what the protesters are saying. When asked if the Taliban had strongly condemned the incidents and whether they were reminding the people in government of their promised investigation, he said:
“We share decent relations with Iran but we not only strongly condemn it, but want the Kabul regime to fulfil its promise of investigating the river drowning incident and make it public and punish those who are responsible.”
The incidents in Yazd province and of last month have further ignited the long asked question: Just how gruesome is the treatment of Iran’s sizeable Afghan community in Iran?
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on June 8 promised a thorough investigation to the country’s enraged population. But it begs the question: What happened to the commitment by both the Iranian and Afghan governments to investigate the river drowning incident last month?Naila Mahsud
On 16 June, Iranian officials issued a warning to Kabul about the many protests taking place across Kabul and the Afghan diaspora.
“We have warned the Afghan ambassador in Tehran that such actions, insults and offences are intolerable,” said Abbas Mousavi, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry.
As of this year, 310,000 Afghan migrants have come back home from Iran according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Afghan migrants have had a history of being discriminated against and humiliated in countries that they expect to take refuge in especially in the southern part of the world.
These heinous actions against people most affected by decades of war must not go unnoticed or be unaccountable anymore. And perpetrators, be they from any country, should not be acceptable to any person of conscience. In the wake of this, the UNHCR must take strict notice of the atrocities against Afghan refugees in Iran.
– Naila Mahsud is a Pakistani political and International relations researcher, with a focus on regional politics and security issues. She tweets @MahsudNaila
