Afghan refugees recently returned from Pakistan said they did not have own houses and have to live rental houses which is difficult for them to pay rent.
Although repatriation of Afghan refugees via Spinboldak has been declined now comparing to the past but families that retuned in the past three months complained against high rent of homes and unemployment.
Some of these people said they left their wealth and assets in Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan empty hand and currently their economic condition were not good and did not have the ability to pay rent.
Abdul Haq, one of the returnees, said he returned from Lower Pakhtonkhwa to Kandahar province and until now looking for work.
He said: “It has been a month since I moved from Pakistan. I’m still unemployed, I’ve rented a house for 8,000 afs, we are only paying for that, where did I get the money for other expenses?”
Mohammad Yar, another Afghan who returned from Pakistan, said: “When we came, we have been given the rent of a house for two months after which we received no help, we have been given 5,000 afs aid but we pay 10,000 afs rent, we should be provided work opportunity or house rent for one or two years.”
They complained the weather is cold and the economic situation is deteriorated due to which they could not find work and return home empty hand.
Nida Mohammad, another youth who have the responsibility of his family on his shoulders, said: “From the past two weeks we have come, our uncle give us a house and sometimes he provide us some support, my father is not alive, we are brothers and sisters here, we are looking for a work and will get the pay whatever it is.”
He asked government and aid providing organisations to provide them with the support.
But officials of the Refugee and Repatriation Department said the problems of returnees had been discussed by different government authorities and efforts had been taken to control the rent rate of houses in Kandahar city. Mawlavi Niamatullah Ulfat, deputy head of the Repatriation Department, said efforts were underway to reduce the houses rents and talks with a number of welfare organisations were underway in this regard.
“We have held meetings in this regard and efforts were underway to reduce the rate of rents, we also talked with welfare organisations to help returnees in paying the homes rents.”
It is pertinent to mention that currently around 10 families on daily bases return from lower Pakhtonkhwa to Kandahar and other southern provinces.
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