Afghan migrants in Iran in modern times

• Authors: Joanna Modrzejewska-Leśniewska

Title variants

PL

Afgańscy migranci w Iranie. Sytuacja współczesna

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

For many decades Iran was a destination of economic immigration for Afghans. There, they could earn money to provide for their families at home. Since the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, Iran also became a place of refuge for some 3 million Afghans. Their situation was changing according to the changes in the internal and international position of Iran. Sometimes the Iranian authorities were sympathetic; other times they were fiercely unsympathetic and keen to remove the Afghan "guests." So, the Afghans in Iran could not be sure how long they would be allowed to stay there, if the Iranians would be willing to support them, and if they would have work to provide for their families. This state of uncertainty of the Afghan community was worsened by an outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both the Iranian and Afghan healthcare systems are unable to effectively deal with the problem. And the economic collapse in Iran affected primarily the foreigners there of whatever stance, in this particular case, the Afghans. The main aim of the article is to present the changing and unstable situation of Afghans in Iran in recent years. The analysis covers areas such as their legal status, education, family life, or the right to work. It also takes into account, to a limited extent, the internal situation of Iran, which undoubtedly influenced the situation of Afghan migrants. Based on the analysis of the available materials, it can be concluded that the position of the Afghans in Iran was and is strongly dependent on the situation of Iran and the good or bad will of the Iranian authorities. At the same time, due to the complicated situation in Afghanistan, Afghan migrants find themselves in a hopeless situation and are "doomed" to stay in Iran.

PL

Od dziesięcioleci Iran był dla Afgańczyków państwem zapewniającym miejsce pracy. To właśnie tutaj Afgańczycy znajdowali możliwość zarobienia pieniędzy, za które byli w stanie utrzymać swoje rodziny w kraju. Od chwili radzieckiej interwencji w Afganistanie w 1979 r. Iran stał się również miejscem schronienia dla około 3 mln afgańskich uchodźców. Sytuacja afgańskich pracowników i uchodźców ulegała zmianie w zależności od sytuacji wewnętrznej, jak i międzynarodowej Iranu. Stosunek irańskich władz do nich bywał przychylny, by wkrótce zmienić się radykalnie w stronę niechęci i prób pozbycia się afgańskich "gości". Tym samym Afgańczycy w Iranie nie mogli być pewni, jak długo będą mieli prawo tam przebywać, na jaką pomoc ze strony Irańczyków liczyć oraz czy nadal będą mieć pracę pozwalającą im utrzymać rodziny. Stan niepewności społeczności afgańskiej jeszcze bardziej pogłębił wybuch pandemii COVID-19, gdyż ani irański, ani afgański system opieki zdrowotnej nie są w stanie sobie z nią poradzić, a wobec załamania gospodarczego w Iranie pierwszymi ofiarami stali się cudzoziemcy niezależnie od ich statusu - również Afgańczycy. Głównym celem artykułu jest przedstawienie zmieniającej się i niepewnej sytuacji Afgańczyków w Iranie w ostatnich latach. Analiza dotyczy takich obszarów, jak: status prawny, edukacja, życie rodzinne czy też prawo do pracy. Uwzględniono tutaj także, oczywiście w ograniczonym zakresie, sytuację wewnętrzną Iranu, która niewątpliwie wpływała na położenie afgańskich emigrantów. Na podstawie przeprowadzonej analizy dostępnych materiałów można stwierdzić, że położenie Afgańczyków w Iranie było i jest bardzo mocno uzależnione od sytuacji Iranu i dobrej lub złej woli irańskich władz. Jednocześnie, ze względu na skomplikowaną sytuację Afganistanu, afgańscy emigranci znajdują się w sytuacji bez wyjścia i są "skazani" na pobyt w Iranie.

Keywords

EN

Afghanistan; Iran; migration; Afghanistan; Iran; migration

PL

Afganistan; Iran; migracja

• Publisher: Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia z Polityki Publicznej
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 4(28)
• Pages: 9-30

Dates

published

2020-11-18

Contributors

author

Joanna Modrzejewska-Leśniewska

• Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie, Kolegium Ekonomiczno-Społeczne

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9554-6473

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Identifiers

DOI

10.33119/KSzPP/2020.4.1