Europe fears Afghan refugee crisis after Taliban takeover

3 years ago 345

HANGEDIGI – From above, the caller borderline partition separating Turkey from Iran looks similar a achromatic snake winding done the barren hills. So acold it lone covers a 3rd of the 540-kilometer (335-mile) border, leaving plentifulness of gaps for migrants to gaffe crossed successful the dormant of night.

Traffic connected this cardinal migration way from cardinal Asia to Europe has remained comparatively unchangeable compared to erstwhile years. But European countries, arsenic good arsenic Turkey, fearfulness the abrupt instrumentality of Taliban regularisation successful Afghanistan could alteration that.

Haunted by a 2015 migration situation fueled by the Syrian war, European leaders desperately privation to debar different large-scale influx of refugees and migrants from Afghanistan. Except for those who helped Western forces successful the country's two-decade war, the connection to Afghans considering fleeing to Europe is: If you indispensable leave, spell to neighboring countries, but don’t travel here.

“It indispensable beryllium our extremity to support the bulk of the radical successful the region,” Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said this week, echoing what galore European leaders say.

European Union officials told a gathering of interior ministers this week that the astir important acquisition from 2015 was not to permission Afghans to their ain devices, and that without urgent humanitarian assistance they volition commencement moving, according to a confidential German diplomatic memo obtained by The Associated Press

Austria, among the EU’s migration hard-liners, suggested mounting up “deportation centers” successful countries neighboring Afghanistan truthful that EU countries tin deport Afghans who person been denied asylum adjacent if they cannot beryllium sent backmost to their homeland.

The hopeless scenes of radical clinging to craft taking disconnected from Kabul’s airdrome person lone deepened Europe’s anxiousness implicit a imaginable exile crisis. The U.S. and its NATO allies are scrambling to evacuate thousands of Afghans who fearfulness they’ll beryllium punished by the Taliban for having worked with Western forces. But different Afghans are improbable to get the aforesaid welcome.

Even Germany, which since 2015 has admitted much Syrians than immoderate different Western nation, is sending a antithetic awesome today.

Several German politicians, including Armin Laschet, the center-right Union bloc’s campaigner to win Angela Merkel arsenic chancellor, warned past week that determination indispensable beryllium “no repeat” of the migration situation of 2015.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that “Europe unsocial cannot enarthrosis the consequences” of the concern successful Afghanistan and “must expect and support ourselves against important irregular migratory flows.”

Britain, which near the EU successful 2020, said it would invited 5,000 Afghan refugees this twelvemonth and resettle 20,000 Afghans successful coming years.

Besides that, determination person been fewer factual offers from European countries, which too evacuating their ain citizens and Afghan collaborators, accidental they’re focusing connected helping Afghans wrong their state and successful neighboring countries specified arsenic Iran and Pakistan.

Europe “should not hold until radical basal astatine our outer border,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johanson said.

EU Council President Charles Michel acknowledged the challenges facing Europe erstwhile helium visited Madrid connected Saturday to circuit Spain’s exigency hub for Afghan refugees.

“Partnerships with third-party countries volition beryllium astatine the bosom of our treatment successful the European Union. We person to follow strategies that guarantee migration is imaginable successful an orderly and accordant fashion," helium said. "We request to find that equilibrium betwixt the dignity of the European Union and the capableness to support European Union interests.”

Greece, whose scenic islands facing the Turkish seashore were the European constituent of introduction for hundreds of thousands of Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and others six years ago, has made wide it doesn’t privation to relive that crisis.

Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said Greece won’t judge being the “gateway for irregular flows into the EU,” and that it considers Turkey to beryllium a harmless spot for Afghans.

Such speech makes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spot red. His state already hosts 3.6 cardinal Syrians and hundreds of thousands of Afghans, and helium has utilized the menace of sending them to Europe for governmental leverage.

“Turkey has nary duty, work oregon work to beryllium Europe’s exile warehouse,” Erdogan warned successful a code Thursday.

The Turkish president talked astir migration from Afghanistan successful a uncommon telephone telephone with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis connected Friday, and besides is discussing the contented with Iran.

Attitudes toward migrants person hardened successful Europe pursuing the 2015 crisis, fueling the emergence of far-right parties similar the Alternative for Germany, the biggest absorption enactment successful parliament up of Germany's parliamentary predetermination adjacent month.

Even successful Turkey, migrants from Syria and Afghanistan, erstwhile treated similar Muslim brethren, are progressively viewed with suspicion arsenic the state grapples with rising ostentation and unemployment.

Acknowledging the public’s “unease” astir migration, Erdogan noted however his authorities has reinforced the eastbound borderline with Iran with military, gendarmerie, constabulary and the caller wall, which has been nether operation since 2017.

AP journalists adjacent the Turkish borderline with Iran encountered dozens of Afghans this week, mostly young men, but besides immoderate women and children. Smuggled crossed the borderline astatine nighttime successful tiny groups, they said they near their state to flight the Taliban, unit and poverty.

“The concern successful Afghanistan was intense,” said 1 young man, Hassan Khan. “The Taliban captured the full of Afghanistan. But determination is nary enactment successful Afghanistan, we were compelled to travel here.”

Observers accidental determination are nary indications yet of immoderate wide question crossed the border. Turkish authorities accidental they person intercepted 35,000 Afghans entering the state illegally truthful acold this year, compared with implicit 50,000 successful each of 2020 and much than 200,000 successful 2019.

UNCHR estimates that 90% of the 2.6 cardinal Afghan refugees extracurricular of the state unrecorded successful neighboring Iran and Pakistan. Both countries besides big ample numbers of Afghans who near successful hunt of amended economical opportunities.

By comparison, astir 630,000 Afghans person applied for asylum successful EU countries successful the past 10 years, with the highest numbers successful Germany, Hungary, Greece and Sweden, according to the EU statistic agency.

Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said it’s not a forgone decision that the Taliban takeover volition effect successful a caller exile crisis.

“I would pass against a self-fulfilling prophecy,” helium told AP. Afghans are “scared, bewildered but besides hopeful that a long, agelong warfare volition beryllium implicit and possibly present they tin debar the crossfire.”

He said overmuch depends connected the Taliban allowing improvement and humanitarian enactment to continue.

“If you would person a illness of nationalist services and if determination would beryllium a large nutrient crisis, determination volition be, for sure, a wide question of people,” Egeland said.

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Ritter reported from Rome. AP reporters Suzan Fraser successful Ankara, Turkey; Renata Brito successful Barcelona, Spain; Lorne Cook successful Brussels; Frank Jordans successful Berlin; Elena Becatoros successful Athens, Greece, and Angela Charlton successful Paris contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's sum of Afghanistan astatine https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan and of migration astatine https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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