Since the Taliban’s return to power late last summer, tens of thousands have fled the country. In Turkey, undocumented Afghan migrants are struggling to access health care, including coronavirus vaccines.
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, all foreign aid has been suspended, bringing the country to the brink of famine. The United Nations World Food Program estimates that only two percent of Afghan population They have enough food to eat.
As civilians continue to flee the country, they face more obstacles in countries such as Turkey, where illegal immigrants cannot access basic services, including health care, especially in light of the ongoing Corona epidemic.
Corona made matters worse
The Corona pandemic has compounded the situation of undocumented immigrants, according to reports issued by the Voice of America (VOA). People who are officially registered and granted refugee status can access health care in Turkey. However, thousands of undocumented migrants in the country are unable to access health services, including vaccinations and basic medical treatment.
The United Nations estimates that there are about 300,000 unregistered Afghan migrants living in Turkey and more than 120,000 registered Afghan refugees. However, unofficial estimates indicate that the number of unregistered Afghan immigrants may be much higher than the authorized number.
The country hosts 4 million registered refugees, most of whom are Syrians, with a total of 3.7 million people, which is the largest number of refugees in the world hosted by a country.
Economic crisis
Turkey faces many economic problems, and immigrants are the most affected in this country, both socially and economically. Undocumented migrants are often marginalized and risk living in poverty. These problems are becoming increasingly apparent in Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey.
Without official documents, migrants and refugees cannot work in regular jobs and may have great difficulty finding legal housing. In the labor market, the few available jobs usually go to the country’s struggling middle class, while immigrants and refugees face a backlash from the local population. Some immigrants resorted to digging up boxes Garbage, to earn less than the equivalent of $10 a day. In the absence of any regulation or access to medical care, this raises further concerns regarding the health risks of migrants, who have no other options to earn a living.
Ten people in one room
VOA spoke with several refugees currently in Erzurum, in northeastern Turkey, including Muhammad who works for a local dairy company in the city with his friend Islam and several other Afghan immigrants. These refugees live in a small, run-down apartment in the city.
Speaking to VOA, Islam said of their current situation: “We share a room with eight or nine people. Five of them have ID cards, and the others don’t have any documents to prove their identity.”
The refugee continues to approximate the picture of the situation he is living in, saying: “If any of the people who do not have ID cards are infected with the Corona virus, the hospitals refuse to receive them and provide them with treatment. They also cannot get the vaccine. If they contract the Corona virus, the infection will pass to all of us.” .
Many immigrants do not register as formal refugees because they fear arrest and deportation, VOA reported.
Repelling immigrants using ‘violence’
Since the Taliban began their movement to return to power in August 2021, the number of Afghan citizens fleeing has increased to
Turkey via Iran largely. The German news agency (dpa) reported that more than a thousand Afghans were arriving daily in Van province bordering Iran in late July 2021 – several weeks before the Taliban took control.
In response, the Turkish military has reinforced security measures at the Turkish-Iranian border in order to prevent migrants and asylum seekers from reaching Europe. Construction of a new 183-mile concrete boundary wall has begun in Van County, intended to impede more people crossing.
Human Rights Watch accused the Turkish government of violently pushing back migrants at the border. But experts said the increasing number of people crossing the border from Iran raises concerns European countriesThe situation in Afghanistan is getting worse.
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that his country is not ready to accept more immigrants and refugees. He also urged European countries to share the “burden” of those fleeing the violence in Afghanistan.
Voice of America / dpa / em