Afghanistan, persecuted everywhere: the ordeal in Pakistan of Hazara refugees forced into hiding so as not to be expelled or lynched

LONDON (AsiaNews) – Discriminated four times: as Christians, as Hazaras, as Afghans and as refugees. They are the refugees who fled to Pakistan after the fall of the government in Kabul and the reconquest by the Taliban but, in order to survive, continue to be forced to conceal their identity and religious faith. Their story is told in “Leave no one behind” (leave no one behind), a documentary short film made by the Human Rights Organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

A community divided into several cities. The ethnic minority of the Hazaras has always been persecuted by the Pashtun majority, divided between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mostly of Shiite Islamic faith, part of the community is now scattered and divided among several Pakistani cities, in a dangerous situation and undermined by uncertainty about their future. If they reveal that they are Christians as well as Hazara refugees, they would risk being lynched on the street. An eventuality that is not so unusual in Pakistan.

The story of a mother of 4 children. “Frightened by the Taliban, we fled at night,” says a woman surrounded by four children. Names and faces are obscured, but their anxieties shine through in the words: “We were afraid of being recognized as Hazaras. Then, if they had known that we come from an army family, they would have killed us on the spot”. Soon after their return to power, the Taliban tracked down and massacred those who had collaborated with the international military forces or served the former Afghan government.

The burka on so as not to reveal who you are. “I was afraid, that’s why my daughters and I wore the burqa, while my sons had their faces covered with a cloth, lying on the floor of the car so as not to reveal our ethnic origin”, continues the woman, recounting her escape from the Afghanistan. “I had attended law school for two weeks, but after the Taliban reconquest I had no choice but to leave the university.”

“The Taliban are hunting me.” “Only a few people knew that I was a Christian,” says another man, also with his face obscured. “But my Muslim friends asked me to convert back to Islam. I told them that the matter didn’t concern them, but I was very afraid”. When the Taliban then began to hunt him down because they had learned that he was a Christian, they found only his wife in the house. They asked her: “Where is your husband?”. In an attempt to get an answer from her they tortured her, burning her arms with a hot iron, leaving scars that are still clearly visible months later. “We left with only our clothes on, but when we arrived in Quetta we encountered great difficulties – the man continues – because my uncles know that we are Christians, so they called before us saying not to welcome us as infidels” .

Respect for Hazaras’ rights is an emergency. Professor and analyst Farooq Suleria explains that the Hazaras “are not welcome in Pakistan, they are not welcomed anywhere, but above all both the Taliban and Daesh affect the Hazaras in different ways. For example, the news was circulating – credible – that the Hazaras had been expelled from their homes and their lands distributed to the Taliban who have fought in Afghanistan in the last 20 years”. Their persecution “is a continuous crisis that has lasted for 40 years” and which should be treated by the international community as an “urgent humanitarian issue”.

In reality, their situation is not improving even in Pakistan, where refugees are facing severe financial problems and limited access to resources and opportunities, as well as daily discrimination. Researcher Sabal Gul Khattak adds that many Afghans “receive threatening calls from unknown numbers telling them they know where they are and they will be traced.”

They are denied the rent of a house. “No one is willing to rent their house to them”, continues the expert. “And if they do it is at exorbitant costs, but as people who have been forced to flee they do not have the financial resources necessary to survive in a hostile environment.” A young Hazara Christian couple confirms that the main problem in Pakistan is financial: “Although I studied in Pakistan and was approved by the National Medical Commission, I still cannot work because I do not have a work visa. We survive thanks to donations,” the boy said between the two. “We have received news that in several cities in Pakistan the police have arrested Afghans who were here illegally,” she adds.

What will happen after December? The Pakistani government has granted a visa extension, but, Sabal Gul Khattak specifies, “this measure is valid until December only for those who already have documents. Many have never obtained them. After December nobody knows what will happen”. Prisoners in their own homes, the refugees feel stressed and scared to the point that “every time someone rings the bell we fear it could be the police who have come to expel us because we are without documents”, they say in the video.

“I feel hopeless.” The young man of the couple is moved. “I had come to Pakistan on a scholarship and was hoping for a better future. My plan was to come back and serve my people but after the latest events in Afghanistan we are stuck here. We can’t go back and we can’t even move forward.” As the only solution, Sabal Gul Khattak indicates the need to sign “agreements with countries where Hazara Christians will be safe” because now “they are not safe in Pakistan, that’s for sure. There are asylum laws, we must make use of them in every country”, he concludes.