Recent Afghan Refugees

In 1996, after the Pashtun-dominated Taliban rose to power, ethnic minorities and opponents of the Taliban suffered persecution and fled to Pakistan. For many Afghan refugees, persecution continued in Pakistan, where they were threatened and in some cases killed. The Tajik-dominated government in northern Afghanistan collapsed in 1998, bringing social services to an end and putting unaccompanied women and children at great risk.

Since 1999, the United States has admitted those refugees who entered Pakistan after 1996 and who are considered to be in special need of protection by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These UNHCR-referred cases can be divided into two categories: Those that include a male head of household in the family and those that are classified as “women-at-risk,” or “WAR,” cases.

In the first category are refugees who have been victims of state torture as the result of their political affiliation, race, religious beliefs, or membership in a particular group. Men outnumber women in these cases, and about half cite political persecution as the primary reason for their flight to Pakistan, while a quarter cite race. Of this category of refugees, more than half are Tajik. The majority are educated and speak Dari. The average age of the men is 42, and the average age of women is 32.

The second category, the WAR cases, represents nearly two-thirds of the 4,256 Afghan refugees who have been approved for resettlement since 1999. They are women who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took over and who are considered by the UNHCR to be at special risk as a result of their gender and a dangerous combination of factors: the loss of a husband or male support, the highly repressive social strictures imposed on women and girls by the Taliban, and the lack of any means to support themselves and their children. Since 1999, nearly 2,800 Afghan WAR cases in Pakistan have been approved for U.S. resettlement.

The WAR category is largely made up of single women and widows with small children, but it also includes other groups: Married women who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse; women and children who have been subjected to economic exploitation, such as virtual bonded labor, in exchange for food and shelter; and aged and ailing women with no means of support.

The great majority of the WAR cases have suffered human rights abuses. They have experienced physical and sexual abuse, the persecution and loss of family members, detention, forced marriage, harassment, destruction or loss of property, and landmine injuries. One quarter of the women and children are in need of medical attention for a variety of ailments, including stress-related high blood pressure, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical injury or disability, impaired hearing, vision loss, and a variety of cardiac, kidney, respiratory, and gastrointestinal problems.

Two-thirds of refugees approved for resettlement in the WAR category are children. During the early war years in Afghanistan, more than one-quarter of combatants were under 18, and toward the end of the war, children may have constituted nearly half of the combatants. Many WAR cases have had children forcibly inducted into the forces, causing great trauma to the children and their families.

The average age of among WAR cases is 35. The percentage of Tajiks (nearly 70%) among these cases is even higher than it is for other recent Afghan refugee groups. Most WAR cases are from urban areas, and more than half are from Kabul. Urban professionals make up more than half of the cases; of these, nearly a third are highly trained professionals (primarily doctors, engineers, and lawyers). The rest are mostly teachers, but there are also clerks, office administrators, skilled craftswomen, service workers (maids, beauticians, and cooks), technicians, academics, journalists, and artists. Among rural women, the majority are skilled workers in embroidery, carpet weaving, and agriculturally related occupations.

Two-thirds of refugees approved for resettlement in the WAR category are children. During the early war years in Afghanistan, more than one-quarter of combatants were under 18, and toward the end of the war, children may have constituted nearly half of the combatants. Many WAR cases have had children forcibly inducted into the forces, causing great trauma to the children and their families.

In the last two years, certain trends are noticeable among the WAR caseload. In 2000, about one-third of the cases were widows, but by 2001 the number increased to more than half. It is also important to note a downward trend in the literacy rate among this group, from 90% to around 70%, as well as comparable declines in the number of educated and professional women. In contrast to earlier groups of WAR refugees, more recent cases belong to the middle and lower socioeconomic classes and are arriving in the United States with less education and fewer economic and social resources.

Like other Afghan refugees, WAR cases have spent an average of 4 years in refugee camps. Unlike other groups, however, only a small minority of WAR cases has relatives in the United States who can provide initial resettlement assistance.