AFGHAN EXTERNAL MIGRATION MOVEMENTS IN THE HISTORICAL PROCESS

Abstract

Afghan immigration, which has continued uninterruptedly for the last half century, has become an integral part of the country's historical identity. Political and economic instability which has been going on for nearly fifty years, foreign intervention and drought and famine caused by climate change, are the most important factors triggering Afghan migration. The unending war and instability in Afghanistan for more than forty years have seriously affected the living conditions of the Afghan people, forcing them to migrate internally and externally. Afghanistan is one of the countries that produce the most migration due to the internal conflicts, which it has been experiencing for the last forty years as a result of economic crisis and poverty. Especially during and after the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan and the civil war in the country, more than 6 million people of Afghanistan had to migrate to neighboring countries such as Iran, Pakistan, the US and the European countries. In this process, there has been a brain drain with the migration of the skilled and educated people that the country needs most. The foreign aid made to the newly established administration after 2001 could not implement useful projects to ensure the safety of the people and to improve the economy. On the other hand, despite the great foreign aid made to the newly established administration after 2001 could not implement useful projects to ensure the safety of the people and to improve the economy due to corruption and governance problems. For the above mentioned reasons, since the people’s trust in the state cannot be fully ensured, the safety of life and property constitutes the most basic reasons for out-migration. However, after the fall of the Kabul government in August 2021 and the Taliban’s return to power, there was an increase in emigration. In this study, the factors that have caused an increase in external-emigration of people from Afghanistan mainly after 1979, the reasons for the majority of the Afghan migrants preferring Iran, Pakistan and Turkey as their destinations, and the major policies of these countries towards Afghan immigration were examined.