European authorities knowledgeable of the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan are warning that up to three million Afghani migrants “will make their way to Europe in the foreseeable future.” So said Sybille Schnehage, a German long-time aid worker in Afghanistan in an interview with German television station WDR. She continued:
I always ask people: Why don’t you go to Saudi Arabia? They are Muslims. This is your culture. The answer is always: No, Germany is better.
Conditions in the Afghan countryside are worse even than those in the cities, where at least some effort has been made in recent years to alleviate poverty. Rural Afghanis, she says, have “no jobs, no money, and no prospects,” and so Germany and the rest of Europe beckon.
A similar warning has been sounded by Mikael Ribbenvik, head of the Swedish Migration Board, who says he also expects an increase in Afghan migrants trying to reach Europe and his home country Sweden. Says Ribbenvik:
Afghanistan is being thrown into a very precarious situation and regardless of the scenario, it will be very bad.
Around five million Afghanis have already been displaced internally within the country as the Taliban fights to regain control there. This has prompted Sweden and some other European countries to discontinue deportations back to Afghanistan, leaving the illegal Afghani nationals in place in Europe. In at least one case, the European Court of Human Rights has legally blocked Austria from such deportations.
Others in Europe are warning against the halting of deportations. In an August 5 letter to the European Commission, officials from Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, and Germany said:
Stopping returns sends the wrong signal and is likely to motivate even more Afghan citizens to leave their home for the EU. This is why we urge you and your teams at the Commission to intensify talks with the Afghan government on how returns to Afghanistan can and will continue in the coming months
Reuters reports that since 2015, around 570,000 Afghans have requested asylum in the EU, 44,000 in 2020 alone. Afghanistan was the second most important country of origin for Europe-bound migrants last year, exceeded only by Syria.
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