Kabul (Fides Service) - Recent elections went off peacefully and the country is also dealing with the difficult question of refugees a problem which has lasted for decades. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR there are encouraging signs for the future in this regard. UNHCR said that this year already 400,000 refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan and Iran and are finding their place in society in their native country from which they fled to escape war.
Since UNHCR started its repatriation programme in 2002 after the fall of the Taleban regime a total 2.9 million Afghans have been repatriated from Pakistan and 1.3 million from Iran: a success for UNHCR involved in one of the largest programmes of this type ever undertaken. It emerged from a census of Afghan presence taken earlier this year that there remain about three million in Pakistan and another 900,000 Iran.
The UNHCR programme guarantees each Afghan assistance for transport, plus the sum of 12 dollars for other expenses. Members of more vulnerable categories are offered temporary jobs and formation courses. One of the problems encountered is that many who left Afghanistan 25 years ago have difficulty in settling again in their original community. UNHCR is also working to produce programmes to facilitate re-insertion and peaceful solution of tensions.
(Agenzia Fides 24/09/2005 Righe: 24 Parole: 249)