On Aug. 30th, the last of the U.S. military troops withdrew from Afghanistan leaving the Taliban in control for the first time in nearly 20 years. This marked the end of the war in Afghanistan, the U.S.’s longest war in history. With the Taliban in power, Afghans have begun to migrate to other regions to find safety.
The troops were “leaving between 100 and 200 Americans and tens of thousands of American’s Afghan allies to face a future of uncertainty and danger,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Afghan refugees are looking to Europe, Canada, South Korea and their neighboring countries.
According to The Washington Post, “So far, more than 104,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan by the U.S. and its allies since Aug. 14, the Pentagon said.” With the large number of Afghan migrants relocating, nations around the world are making accommodations to handle this new issue.
The United Kingdom is welcoming migrants into their borders. According to The Washington Post, “the United Kingdom has confirmed it is taking in 20,000 Afghan refugees over the next five years.” Other nations have agreed to accept Afghan refugees, some of these countries include: Canada, U.S., Australia, South Korea and Germany.
The European Union is struggling to welcome migrants and prohibit Afghan refugees from entering their country. Switzerland, Poland and Austria have enforced border security in response to the Afghan migration across Europe.
According to Euro News, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that “Afghanistan’s neighbors should accept the refugees instead.” The EU is hesitant to accept migrants in fear of a repeat of the 2015 Syrian migration crisis.
Turkey is no longer taking migrants into their country and has started building defense to keep Afghan migrants from coming into the country. According to Reuters, “Afghans who manage to make the weeks-long journey through Iran on foot to the Turkish border face a three-meter high wall, ditches or barbed wire as Turkish authorities step up efforts to block any refugee influx into the country.”
Neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Iran have received an influx of migrants over the past few weeks as Afghan people are eager to leave the country. However, these countries are not able to handle more migrants within their borders.
According to BBC, “Officials in both countries have said that any refugees that do arrive will have to stay in camps near the border until they can return to Afghanistan.” Other countries such as Uzbekistan, Uganda and Kosovo have agreed to temporarily house migrants until further accommodations can be made. These countries will also help with the transfer of the refugees.
According to The Washington Post, Afghanistan people are “landing in foreign countries around the world to rebuild new lives and contend with anti-migrant attitudes.” Migrants struggle to relocate, but may also face more problems starting a new life.