Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Â鶹´«Ã½ in Pakistan: Afghans forced out of their homeland now homeless

Share
PAKISTAN -

In a Pakistan park meant for children to play in, there are Afghan children struggling to survive.

Living in flimsy tents, without the basics like running water or enough food, with only their mothers for protection – most of them widows.

“My husband was killed by Taliban,†one young mother told Â鶹´«Ã½.

It’s a statement so common among the other women, she said it almost casually. There was more urgency in the follow-up.

“I don’t worry for me. I worry for my children.â€

The estimates only about half of the approximately three million Afghans in Pakistan are registered. The rest are paperless, living on the margins.

These are Afghans with no status. They can’t work. They can’t go to school. They don’t have access to health care.

Then there’s the constant fear of being detained or deported.

The Pakistan government is threatening to end the amnesty that protects foreigners who lack proper documentation. Some 1,500 Afghans, including women and children, have in recent weeks.

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

The mothers in that makeshift tent city know those temporary shelters won’t withstand the elements of a harsh winter. The children though, are mercifully oblivious to the risk. They happily walked 15 minutes to fetch fresh water as their daily chore.

I saw them laugh as they washed dishes in a small bucket and dutifully remembered to take their shoes off before going inside their tent.

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

One girl was so fascinated by correspondent Genevieve Beauchemin asking questions, she could not stop staring. When photojournalist Stéphane Brisson demonstrated the features of his camera, he too was met with wide-eyed wonder.

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

Kids are kids. For their mothers, there is constant anxiety.

The influx that started in the late 1970s when Afghans were driven out by the Saur Revolution, then the USSR’s invasion, has ebbed and flowed over the years. It intensified in 2021 when the Taliban reclaimed power.

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

When faced with threats and an uncertain future in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, economic hardship in a neighbouring country was the preferred option — a choice both obvious and brave. But in that park in Pakistan, the trade-off looks just as cruel.

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

(Rosa Hwang / Â鶹´«Ã½)

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone’s backyard.

The owners of a North York condominium say they are facing a $70,000 special assessment to fix their building's parking garage. '$70,000 is a lot of money. It makes me very nervous and stressed out of nowhere for this huge debt to come in,' said Ligeng Guo.

Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.

The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.

Local Spotlight

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.