The Migration–Development Nexus: Afghanistan Case Study
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2435.00218 |
| Author | Leila Jazayery |
| Published date | 11 February 2003 |
| Date | 11 February 2003 |
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© 2002 IOM
International Migration Vol. 40 (5) SI 2/2002
ISSN 0020-7985
* University of Oxford, UK.
The Migration-Development Nexus:
Afghanistan Case Study
Leila Jazayery*
ABSTRACT
This paper looks at the relationship between migration and development in
the context of Afghanistan. It begins with a brief outline of the historical and
political background to the refugee crisis of the past two decades, and looks
briefly at the society and economy of Afghanistan. The history and pattern
of aid flows are described and analysed in the next section, followed by
consideration of migration and refugee flows over the past two decades, and
of remittances and diaspora activities. Repatriation and reconstruction are
covered in the following two sections. The penultimate section looks at
lessons to be learned for policy making in Afghanistan in the future, and is
followed by concluding observations.
A cautionary note on data on Afghanistan: although the recent months have
seen a surge of interest and writing on Afghanistan, there has always been
a shortage of data on the country. Much writing on Afghanistan, both by
journalists and a few academics during the 1980s and 1990s, relates to politics,
given the Cold War context of the conflict at the time. Most other data
available on Afghanistan tend to come from aid agencies involved in the
country. While this provides the bulk of information and data on aid and
refugee issues – as reflected in the sources used in this paper – it has little
to offer on other aspects of life in Afghanistan, especially on recent history
and economy.1
232 Jazayery
INTRODUCTION: OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY
OF THE CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan was formally established as a state in the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, to serve as a buffer between the British and Russian empires.
From the mid-eighteenth century the territory later known as Afghanistan was
ruled by the Pashtun Durrani, to which Afghanistan’s last king, Zahir Shah,
belonged. Shah reigned from 1933 to 1973, and was overthrown by a coup d’état
led by his cousin and ex-premier President Mohammad Daoud. Growing
opposition to Daoud’s Government culminated in a coup in 1978, by the People’s
Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), leading to the establishment of the
first Marxist regime in Afghanistan. The first wave of refugees fleeing
Afghanistan began after arbitrary detentions and executions by the PDPA of
non-leftist intellectuals, other figures, and members of the religious community.
Internal differences within the PDPA threatened the new Marxist regime’s
survival and the Soviet Union sent 80,000 soldiers into Afghanistan in December
1979 – claiming the intervention had been requested by the PDPA. The presence
of the Red Army was seen by Western powers as an escalation of the cold war,
to which they felt compelled to respond. Millions, and later billions, of dollars,
arms, and other support was offered to resistance forces – which came to be
known collectively as the Mujahideen – operating within Afghanistan and later
from Pakistan. The ensuing escalation of fighting throughout the country led to
large outflows of people into the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran.
After Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1986, the Soviet Union began the
process of extricating itself from Afghanistan. Former secret police chief
Najibullah was installed as president in 1986. By February 1989 Soviet forces had
left Afghanistan. Although Najibullah’s Government was not expected to last
without the presence of the Red Army, it remained in power until 1992. The
survival of Najibullah’s Government and the continued fighting led to further
large flows of refugees out of Afghanistan.
In April 1992 Mujahideen forces marched into Kabul and deposed Najibullah’s
Government. Failure to reach agreement over the composition of a government,
led to the outbreak of renewed fighting at the end of 1992. The civil war of 1992-
1996 saw many tens of thousands killed and renewed outflows of refugees from
areas throughout Afghanistan, composed both of repatriated and new refugees.
Meanwhile, the Taliban emerged and became nationally and internationally
recognized in November 1994. Many Taliban, mostly Pashtuns from Kandahar,
had at one time or another studied in Pakistani religious schools (madrasah). Led
by Mullah Mohammad Omar, they proclaimed that the unity of Afghanistan
should be re-established in the framework of Shari’a (Islamic law). They swiftly
swept through many parts of Afghanistan, establishing themselves with virtually
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