UN: 8 Million Afghans 'Don’t Live in Their Homes'

ISLAMABAD — 

The head of the United Nations refugee agency estimates eight million Afghans do not live in their homes, fleeing deadly conflict, poverty, unemployment and a worsening drought in Afghanistan.

U.N. High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, who concluded a visit to the turmoil-hit country and neighboring Pakistan on Sunday, called on donors to urgently increase and sustain support for Afghanistan’s complex and rapidly evolving displacement crisis.

“We estimate, if you take all categories of Afghans, that there are nearly eight million Afghan people, that do not live in their homes, either as internally displaced or in different categories of people in neighboring countries and further beyond, including in Europe,” Grandi said.

Speaking at the state-run Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad (ISSI), the UNHCR chief painted a grim picture of the security situation in Afghanistan in the wake of repeated terrorist attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the country.

“They [Afghans] are worried they are afraid they are getting frustrated even those with jobs, with purpose, are becoming extremely worried about the future, and security weighs heavily on this perception that they have of their own country,” Grandi observed. 

The UNHCR chief noted the Afghan government’s capacity to implement policies to resettle returnees continue to be “relatively week, or rather patchy” and he emphasized the need for host nations to ensure voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees.- Read More

UN: 8 Million Afghans 'Don't Live in Their Homes' - VOA News