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January 28, 2025

Afghan immigrants and the existing challenges in Iran / Amir Razzaghi

During the presidency of Mohammad Daoud, the first president of Afghanistan after the fall of the monarchy system, between the years 1352 to early 1357, we witnessed the migration of Afghan job seekers to Iran. At that time, without any official agreement between the governments of Iran and Afghanistan, individuals seeking work would temporarily and systematically enter and exit Iran without serious obstacles.

In Ardibehesht of 1357 (1978), a coup took place in Afghanistan by the pro-Soviet socialist leftists, which resulted in nothing but suffocation, civil war, massacre, suppression of opponents, and disregarding their rights. It also became the catalyst for the migration of a portion of the Afghan people to other countries, including Iran and Pakistan. This migration continues to this day.

A few months after the coup in Ardibehesht 1357 in Afghanistan, in Bahman 1357, a revolution with the slogan of neither East nor West and anti-imperialist positions took place in Iran as well. At the beginning, it was expected that there would be some cooperation and interaction between the government of Iran and the system that was in place in Afghanistan, which also had a slogan of anti-imperialism, justice, and equality. However, with the takeover of power by the clergy and the establishment of an Islamic ideological system, this expectation did not come true and during the internal wars between the jihadist forces and the subsequent rise of the Taliban to power, this trend continued.

During this time, we witnessed the invasion of Soviet forces, internal wars, the presence of the Taliban, and an increase in suffocation and ruthless killings in Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic of Iran, which had the dream of exporting the revolution, also entered into a war with its western neighbor, the country of Iraq.

The Islamic Republic government did not prevent the migration of Afghans at this time, as they could have compensated for the labor force in Iran, whose youth were busy with war, and on the other hand, by educating them, they could fulfill their dream of revolution at least in Afghanistan. This approach of the Islamic government of Iran led to a large number of migrants, mostly Shia, from central, northern, and western regions of Afghanistan to migrate to Iran.

The process of migration of Afghans to Iran has been in two forms throughout all these years: one group being illegal and the other group being legal, which has been much smaller in number compared to the first group, have entered the country through its borders.

During the presence of Afghan immigrants (both legal and illegal) in Iran, especially after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, we witnessed their mistreatment and inappropriate treatment and deprivation of their rights such as education, citizenship, etc. These immigrants were always seen as second-class humans and the government and some parts of society were unable to accept the fact that after years of their presence in Iran, Afghan immigrants have become an integral part of Iranian society. According to the theory of social assimilation, their extensive interaction with the host society (Iran) has made their behavior and culture similar to that of the society, and the next generations of these immigrants, who were born in Iran, do not have significant behavioral and cultural differences with their Iranian peers.

Throughout all these years, Afghan immigrants have been referred to as foreign nationals and have faced strict laws from the Islamic Republic government. They have been subject to anger and inappropriate treatment from the government and some parts of Iranian society. The reasons for such treatment, which in many cases have been a violation of human rights, can be attributed to economic poverty, cultural ignorance, and a harsh security-focused approach and legal weakness.

On one hand, the Islamic Republic governments (more or less) have introduced the Afghan immigrant community in a negative light by implementing unethical policies and influencing public opinion through psychological tactics. They have institutionalized anti-Afghan sentiment in society and have marginalized them by restricting access to education and educational institutions and implementing discriminatory laws. They have also exaggerated the deviant behavior of a small number of immigrants in order to lower their reputation in the eyes of the Iranian public. On the other hand, the culture of “us vs. them” among Iranians and the culture of “superiority and belittling of weaker individuals in society” has intensified anti-Afghan sentiment in Iran. From a sociological perspective, Iranian society sees what it wants to be like as “positive otherness” and what it wants to distance itself from and say “I am not that” as “negative otherness”. In fact, when we want to define our identity, we choose a positive aspect of that identity, such

Poverty can also be observed in the economic field; cultural ignorance prevented the recognition of truths and Iranians felt that Afghan immigrants were using their resources, causing problems such as unemployment due to their presence in Iran. This is despite the fact that Afghans had the lowest job positions and the least resources; even at the beginning of their presence, documents show that we sometimes neglected the education of Afghan children. According to Durkheim, the French sociologist, when a society feels weak, it will look for someone to blame for all its failures, but in this case, the wall of Afghan immigrants was not found to be shorter than our own.

It should be noted that for decades, we have witnessed warlords and terrorists around the world, and Afghanistan, as one of the most important bases for warlords and terrorists, is experiencing unrest every day.

The lack of security and peace in this country is a major security and political issue for other countries, especially its western neighbor, Iran. This has created pressure on Afghan migrants to leave Iran and has prevented them from entering the country. The legal and human rights weaknesses and the approach of the Islamic Republic in dealing with migrants in an unethical and inhumane manner have also had a significant impact on this pressure. According to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, citizenship is only passed down from father to child, so a person is not automatically considered an Iranian citizen just by being born in Iran. The children of this group of migrants who were born in Iran and do not have Iranian citizenship fall into two categories: a) those who have Afghan parents, and b) those whose mother is Iranian and father has Afghan citizenship. Both groups face difficulties in staying in Iran and fully utilizing the services provided to citizens. Many of these individuals have grown up in Iran and are currently working in the job market,

Given the previous writings and existing shortcomings in dealing with immigrants, it is necessary for the government and society of Iran, both in the areas of security, politics, and law, as well as in economic, social, and cultural areas, to reconsider. According to the writer, Afghan immigrants should be viewed separately from other nations residing in Iran. Both Iranian society and the actions of the Islamic Republic should distinguish between cultural identity and national identity; meaning that if we emphasize Iranian descent and culture, Afghanis also have this descent and culture, as in the not-so-distant past, Iran and Afghanistan were one unified land and the ancestors of Afghan immigrants were Iranian before the separation and division, and now immigrants are culturally located in Iran.

In the political and security sphere, it is possible to minimize the likelihood of security issues by taking necessary measures, and by amending citizenship laws for Afghan immigrants who are eligible for Iranian citizenship, the right to citizenship should be offered to them, and their human resources should be utilized in economic development and progress, just like other Iranians.

Created By: Amir Razaghi
October 30, 2015

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Afghan immigrants Amir Razaqi Monthly magazine number 54 Monthly Peace Line Magazine