Anti-refugee hostility and the new Iranian president
Masoud Pezeshkian became the ninth president of Iran at a time when the country was in the midst of one of the worst waves of anti-refugee and anti-Afghan sentiment. The most recent spark occurred last month with the news that an Iranian citizen was killed by Afghan nationals in Tehran. Immediately, there were reports of widespread violence targeting refugees.
The public has huge expectations about what the new president can and will do. For Afghans and parts of Iranian society, his government’s policies toward Afghan refugees are an important issue. Following the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, a surge of Afghans fled to Iran. Tensions rose. This is the second time that anti-refugee sentiment has surged, targetting Afghan refugees with widespread violence. The management of Afghan nationals has become one of Iran’s major issues, and, for this reason, was an issue in the presidential elections of Iran. Therefore, an important question is raised: What is the strategy of the new president of Iran towards refugees?
Contribution of refugees to Iran’s economy
Most Afghan workers are engaged in hard labour such as in livestock farming, agriculture, stone-cutting factories, construction, and the sanitation sector, etc., all of which find it hard to recruit Iranian workers for such jobs. In addition, refugees work with very low wages, without insurance, bonuses, or pensions. If Afghan nationals are expelled and Iranian labour is required to fill their jobs, then the number of workers should increase while better wages, insurance and bonuses will be provided. The logical result is the increase of the price of goods and products. Therefore, the presence of the Afghan labour force controls inflation and helps Iran’s economy.
As well, Afghan citizens are the top foreign investors in Iran. In October 2023, Ali Fakhri, head of Iran’s Investment and Economic and Technical Assistance Organization, announced that the total volume of foreign investment in Iran had reached US$2 billion in the first six months of that year and that the No. 1 investor group was Afghan nationals.
The most serious problems facing refugees
Afghans in Iran face many problems and restrictions. Except for rare cases, the Afghans born in Iran cannot get an Iranian birth certificate and, as a result, they are deprived of fundamental rights such as buying land or houses and participating in political processes, even not having the automatic right to domestic travel. Moreover, they face serious problems in getting a SIM card, bank account, driver’s license, health insurance, children’s education, and residence permit renewal.
One problem for newly arrived refugees, some of whom were employees and soldiers of the previous government, is that Iran won’t let them renew their visas, and, as a result, face the possibility of their deportation from Iran and the risk of death at the hands of the Taliban. In addition, eyewitnesses say that physical and verbal violence occurs during the arrest and deportation of refugees without residence documents, while there have also been some cases of people with valid residence permits being arrested and deported.
Reasons for Afghanophobia
Some quarters of Iranian society have a negative attitude to the presence of Afghan refugees in Iran. Therefore, with occasional news or rumours of a criminal incident by an Afghan, we witness a wave of Afghanophobia and illegal collective punishment. Various economic, political, cultural, and social factors intensify anti-Afghan racism. In particular, one factor is increasing poverty in Iran. The deterioration of the economic situation in recent years has caused low-income Iranians to look at refugees as job competitors and to show unhappiness toward the Afghan use of public facilities.
Politicians abusing the situation for their aims, as well as racist tendencies, border tensions, and the political bickering between the governments of Tehran and Kabul have caused waves of anti-refugee sentiments. One example is Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian Parliament and candidate in the recent 2024 presidential election, who took a very harsh stance against refugees.
Possible strategy of the new president
It seems that dealing with the issue of Afghan refugees is a priority of the new president. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the president’s entourage is discussing plans in this regard. During his election campaigns, Pezeshkian announced three measures regarding Afghan refugees:
1. Complete closure of borders;
2. Better management of existing refugees;
3. Negotiating with European countries to accept some of the refugees or pay for the cost of their stay in Iran.
The implementation of those medium- and long-term strategies requires policy-making and will naturally be accompanied by obstacles and challenges. Now, the refugee community is focused on what is expected immediately or in the short-term:
1. Curbing poisonous anti-refugee sentiments and controlling daily anti-refugee violence;
2. Observance of human dignity and human rights in law enforcement and not letting personal crimes lead to collective punishment;
3. Preventing the deportation of soldiers and former government employees who are at risk if they return to Afghanistan;
4- Facilitating the administrative and bureaucratic affairs of refugees who do not have the necessary residency documents.
Considering the personal characteristics of Masoud Pezeshkian, who came from the deprived areas of Iran and has an understanding of people living on the margins, and considering his reformist talk that claims broad-mindedness and respect for international norms, respecting human dignity and human rights values is expected to be in his immediate actions.
*Omid Sharafat is the pseudonym of a former university professor in Kabul and a researcher of international relations.
