'I've never been to Afghanistan': Six million deportees forced to start over under the Taliban

Nearly six million people have been forced to return to Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in August 2021, according to the UN's Refugee Agency. This massive influx includes nearly a million people who crossed the border from Pakistan and Iran this year alone. Many of these deportees are forced to start anew with little more than the clothes on their backs and the clothes on their backs.

Nazia, a 35-year-old woman, is one such deportee. Her family was among the eight sisters and their offspring whose entire family was deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan. She crossed the border, known as Zero Point, where she feels a glimmer of hope, "It feels good to be in my own country," she says. However, she laments the dire living conditions, "But I've never been to Afghanistan before and many people here don't even have enough bread to eat."

The UN and human rights groups are concerned that the security sweep is not limited to undocumented migrants but also includes registered Afghans. In the desolate landscape of tarpaulin and plastic shelters near the border, the UN and aid agencies provide temporary refuge for these returnees. Many have never set foot in Afghanistan for decades, and some like Nazia have never been there at all.

The returnees face numerous challenges. Zarina, Nazia's sister-in-law, expresses her worry about the future of women and girls in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has barred them from most public activities. Some returnees are deeply terrified, with one former security guard who was deported from both Iran and Pakistan stating that he fears for his life and that of his family. The returnees also face financial hardship due to the steep cuts in foreign aid worldwide.