Afghan migrants return from Iran amid hardship and free transit

Several returnee migrants said the aid helped them forget the hardships of exile and the exhaustion of the long journey.

Mohammad, a deported migrant from Iran, said: "I am happy that we are being transported for free and I am satisfied with our government and people who helped us. Now we can travel freely to our provinces."

Noorullah Nawrozi, another deported migrant, said: "It hasn't even been a day since we returned to the country and we are already on a bus heading to Kabul. With such a crowd, I didn't think we'd be able to leave the camp so soon."

Many deported Afghans said they were left without any money, alleging that Iranian police and drivers confiscated their belongings before deportation.

Ali Ahmad, a deported migrant, added: "We ask the Islamic Emirate to negotiate with Iran to lower bus fares. In Iranian camps, money is forcibly taken from Afghans."

Tolo News quoted Abdul Saboor, another deportee, as saying: "Living in Iran was not possible. Renting a house, going to the hospital for childbirth or treatment was very difficult. Because we are Afghans, medical costs were very high, and sometimes we weren't treated at all."

Others recounted harassment by landlords and authorities in Iran, claiming they were stripped of legal protection and denied refunds of advance rent.

Shoaib, a deportee from Iran, said: "They took me to a real estate office, tore up my contract documents and said, 'You're done.' The police were there and said the landlord had the right to do that since I had betrayed their country. I told them betrayal means killing someone or destroying a city, but I came to work and served this country."

According to Tolo News, statistics from local authorities in Herat show that nearly 750,000 Afghan migrants have entered the country through the Islam Qala border in the past month alone. Most were deported by Iran, while others returned after their residency permits expired. (ANI)