Ghullam Ali Hussaini once earned $6 daily as a construction laborer in southern Iran, an income that allowed him to rent a modest home and support his ailing brother and mother. That stability has vanished. Last month, he and his family were among the two million Afghans expelled from neighboring countries, returning to a homeland already buckling under severe economic strain. n nNow residing temporarily at a relative’s house after a grueling 1,500-mile journey from Iran, Hussaini expressed deep unease about the future. “I’m not at peace because I couldn’t find a house for myself,” he said while drinking green tea. n nAfghanistan, under Taliban governance for four years, is confronting a dual crisis that is worsening conditions in one of the world’s most impoverished nations. The first challenge stems from the large-scale return of Afghan nationals from Iran and Pakistan, driven by rising xenophobia and political pressure in those host countries. These deportations have triggered a wave of repatriation, with returnees arriving in a nation where over half of the 42 million population already requires humanitarian aid. Many come back without employment prospects or shelter, placing additional pressure on fragile infrastructure and limited resources. n
— News Original —nAfghanistan Faces Deepening Economic Crisis Amid Mass DeportationsnGhullam Ali Hussaini used to make $6 a day as an Afghan construction worker in southern Iran, enough to rent a small house and provide for his mother and sick brother who lived with him. n nBut the job, the house and the certainty of three meals a day are all gone. n nMr. Hussaini and his family were deported back to Afghanistan last month, among the two million Afghans who have been expelled from neighboring countries and whose return is pushing Afghanistan’s teetering economy to the brink. n n“I’m not at peace because I couldn’t find a house for myself,” Mr. Hussaini said as he sipped on green tea at a relative’s home, where his family had taken temporary refuge after a nearly 1,500 mile journey from Iran. n nFour years into Taliban rule, Afghanistan is being hit head-on by two major crises, sending the people of one of the world’s poorest countries further into a seemingly endless cycle of misery, hunger and displacements. n nThe first crisis is the mass return of Afghans, most of whom had been living in Iran or Pakistan. A tidal wave of xenophobia and political pressure in those countries has led to a campaign of deportations and forced returns. Millions of Afghan nationals are returning without jobs — many do not have homes, either — to a country where more than half of its 42 million people are already in need of humanitarian assistance.
