CPTnet
January 10, 2002
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN: The refugee business

by Doug Pritchard

[Note: Pritchard and Stoltzfus are currently in Kabul, Afghanistan.]

"I was a hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35.)

Pakistan is host to the largest refugee population in the world. About 2.5
million Afghan refugees are currently housed in camps along Pakistan's
western border, with the greatest concentration around Peshawar in the
northwest. From a distance, the refugee issue seemed simple--care for them
until they can go home. But it is not so simple.

Pakistan has rightly complained about the burden of caring for these
refugees over the past 23 years of the conflict in Afghanistan. Donors from
the UN, governments, and charities have been generous at times, but most
hope that the refugees will return home soon. Pakistanis have mixed
feelings.

"Yes, the refugees have depressed the local wage rate and hurt the incomes
of Pakistani day labourers," said a man at an Afghan organization, "But if
the refugees go home, the economy of northern Pakistan will collapse. The
refugees bring in foreign aid money to this region, they are a source of
cheap labour for the booming carpet industry, and their relatives abroad
send remittances here. Pakistani employers, landlords, and employees in aid
organizations depend on the refugees."

A recent study of the mental health of Afghan women refugees found them to
be significantly better off than Pakistani women. Researcher Dr. Patricia
Omidian said, "We repeated the study a number of times because we did not
expect that result. We believe it comes about because Afghan women in the
refugee camps have more reliable access to food, health care, and education
than Pakistani women, and they feel they have more options in their lives."

The aid provided to Afghans irritates Pakistanis who feel the great needs in
their own country have been ignored by donors. One Pakistani church leader
said, "Foreign missionaries have stepped on our heads to get into
Afghanistan. The West has spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan and what
have they got? Terrorists, emigrants, and one single church congregation in
Kabul, and their building was destroyed 20 years ago."

Even with the financial aid to Afghans inside and outside their country,
Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Life
expectancy is 43 years; one quarter of children die before the age of five,
and the adult literacy rate is 32%. Nevertheless, an aid worker said,
"Afghans have an extremely strong faith in God and in themselves. The
unanimous goal is to go home in peace and security and build the country
again, with their bare hands, piece by piece."