October 2023
What has happened to the thousands of children who fled Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul 2021, and what awaits those forced to return? At Samuel Hall, we have been documenting post-return outcomes for 14 years. This latest collaboration with UNICEF Innocenti seeks to amplify the voices of Afghan children who recount difficult journeys, hardship, and neglect as well as resilience.
Thousands of Afghan children have been forced to return to Afghanistan to a situation either similar to or worse than the one they left. One 17-year-old boy we spoke to said, “To me, coming back to Afghanistan means struggling with life and living a poor life because there are no employment opportunities and a proper governance system to support you.”
Samuel Hall led the data collection at one of the most challenging times in the country’s history - after the fall of Kabul - and a team of scholars authored the final report. Our combined efforts underscore the urgent need for child-sensitive interventions and a call to uphold the rights of Afghan child migrants, first and foremost as children who need access to safer pathways both in and out of Afghanistan. No child, no adult, should be forced to return to Afghanistan at this time. UNHCR has made clear that those who do not wish to return to Afghanistan should not be forced to return.
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