War and poverty are considered major reasons for the migration of Afghan people to Iran. He is a representative of the Afghan parliament, has worked as a journalist in Herat, and has also been the editor-in-chief of a private television station.

In light of the situation of Afghan migrants in Iran and the topic of this issue, the monthly magazine Khat-e-Solh decided to have a conversation with Habib-ul-Rahman Padram, the representative of Herat in the Afghan parliament. According to this member of parliament, due to the lack of research on the statistics of Afghan migrants to Iran, there is still no definite number in this regard.

He emphasized the problem of war and mentioned that “war is like a fire that burns and destroys everything, and leaves behind only ashes.” He said, “The people of Afghanistan are very patriotic. History testifies to this. But for the sake of preserving their lives, finding work, and feeding their families, they are forced to migrate.”

According to the statistics available to the research committee of the Afghan parliament, how many Afghan citizens have migrated to Iran so far and in which years did this migration begin?

There is still no specific statistics available to the parliament regarding the number of Afghan citizens who have migrated to Iran, as investigations have not yet been conducted. The migration of Afghans to Iran began with the communist revolution in 1978 and unfortunately, due to ongoing internal wars that have lasted for decades and continue to victimize the people of Afghanistan, it is still ongoing.

Internal wars and the subsequent attack of America on Afghanistan are among the main reasons for the start of the wave of migration of the Afghan people to Iran. Besides these reasons, what other reasons are pulling the people of Afghanistan towards Iran?

“May God never enter any land into war, especially civil wars. War, like fire, burns and turns everything into ashes. It destroys everything. Unfortunately, the suffering people of Afghanistan have lost everything due to decades of external and internal wars. Aside from war, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, followed by internal wars, then the American invasion, and another problem, poverty. Poverty caused by war and widespread and deep insecurity that has once again arisen from war in this land. These are among the main reasons for the migration of the people of Afghanistan towards Iran.”

Some claim that the people of Afghanistan are indifferent to the conditions of their own country and that is why they choose to migrate. How do you evaluate this claim?

The people of Afghanistan are very patriotic. History testifies to this. However, in order to protect their lives, find work, and feed their families, they are forced to migrate and accept the most difficult conditions in Iran. They accept the most menial jobs just to feed their children or at least keep them safe.

What are the conditions of employment for Afghan citizens in Iran and how much is their inappropriate living and residency situation followed up and informed about in Afghanistan?

Given that governments in Afghanistan have often been dependent on regional and global powers, and considering the decades of internal war in Afghanistan, the issue of Afghan migrants and refugees has not been a priority for governments and has not been addressed as it should be. However, in the post-Taliban government that has formed in Afghanistan, with the significant growth of media, whether visual, verbal, or written, and in the realm of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, etc., public opinion and free media have paid much attention to this issue. The dark aspects of this issue have been brought to light and today, public opinion is very aware of the issue of migrants, especially Afghan migrants, in Iran.

Can public opinion, civil society, and especially the media be independent from the relationships between the two governments in this area of information and awareness?

Although the government of Afghanistan, due to its strong dependence on the Iranian government, has not been able to address the issue of its migrants from the position of an independent and powerful government as it should and could. However, public opinion, free media, and social networks have addressed this issue and today the issue of migrants, especially within Iran, is in a more enlightened space. Although the situation of Afghan migrants is unfortunately also un-Islamic and inhumane. They suffer in the worst conditions and are still subjected to humiliation and insults as Afghan migrants residing in Iran.

Thank you for the time you have given to the peace process.