……many Afghan refugees have been purged out of Iran, the majority of whom have attempted to journey back to their home country. Afghanistan, however, is in no position to receive them. With already 64% of the population living in multidimensional poverty following the recent takeover of the Taliban, Afghanistan is considered one of the poorest countries in the world, and simply does not possess the resources necessary to support a torrent of exhausted refugees. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative, Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, “families returning through Islam Qala will move onwards to communities where basic services are already under pressure,” spoken at a press briefing on March 10; “Any significant increase in returns would place additional strain on health, nutrition, water and child protection services that children and families rely on.”
While Afghanistan continues to reluctantly accept its nationals, other countries do not. Countries such as Turkey and Pakistan are actively taking precautionary measures, such as the prohibition of open-door immigration policies and border sealing processes, to avoid widespread resource depletion that has been seen to cause national strain. Absorbing a massive wave of refugees is already costly; however, considering President Trump’s recent humanitarian aid cuts, along with war-related pressures, countries can only rely on their own current resources and state of infrastructure to provide for the return of their nationals.