The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is expected to receive 500,000 additional Afghan refugees, due to their escape amid the Taliban’s takeover.
“In terms of numbers, we are preparing for about 500,000 new refugees in the region. This is the most pessimistic scenario,” said UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner, Kelly Clements.
“Remember that more than 2.2 million Afghans are already hosted by Iran and Pakistan, and that flight is sometimes not only the last resort but also the only option people have to survive and enjoy the most fundamental human rights, ”she added.
Iran and Pakistan also hosted 3 million other Afghans with various statuses, many of them undocumented, according to UNHCR’s data.
The UAE Air Force evacuated 39,000 people, including Afghans and other citizens from Afghanistan since the start of August.
Clements stressed, “We know that increasing insecurity and violence have displaced more than half a million Afghans only in this year, 80 percent of them are women and children.”
Noting that the plan provides for a call for funds of USD 299 million (254.4 million euros) to finance this year the activities of UN agencies, including the UNHCR, the World Food Program, and the United Nations Fund for children (Unicef), as well as NGOs with which the United Nations collaborate with.
According to UNHCR data, more than 558,000 Afghans have been forced to move inside Afghanistan this year, joining the estimated 2.9 million Afghans who were already internally displaced across the country by the end of 2020, according to the UNHCR.
Recently, Airbnb offered free housing for 20,000 Afghan refugees who left Afghanistan in recent days after the Taliban’s takeover, knowing that many Afghans went to the airport in Kabul in hopes to save themselves.
Angelina Jolie, as a Special Envoy for UNHCR, created an Instagram account for the first time in order to defend Afghans, saying “Like others who are committed, I will not turn away. I will continue to look for ways to help.”
All her activity on Instagram for the moment is dedicated to Afghan refugees, and she got to reach 10 million followers in only one week.
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