9000 IDP families sent back to own areas from Kabul in a year

KABUL (Pajhwok): About 9000 internally displaced families were sent back to their own areas from central capital Kabul during the past one year, the Refugee Affairs Department said on Sunday.

Maulvi Abdul Matin Rahimzai, Director of Kabul Refugee Affairs Department, said this while addressing a gathering in connection with sending 210 internally displaced families to their own areas from Kabul.

"Last year, we transferred about 7,500 internally displaced families from Kabul to their areas. Last month, we surveyed another 2,000 families, of which we have transferred 1,168 families, and the process of transferring the rest is underway.”

However, he said still nearly 10,000 more internally displaced families were living in Kabul and they would be sent to their own areas on their turn.

He said the process of sending IDPs to their own areas was coordinated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Kabul Directorate of Refugee Affairs.

Rahimzai said today 210 more families were being  sent to their areas and each of the family was paid 200 dollars for the transportation cost.

According to him, these 210 families are being transferred to Nangarhar, Laghman, Kunar, Paktia, Baghlan and Logar provinces.

Abdul Rahimzai said that the said families will be given an additional aid of 400 dollars in their areas.

Masoom, one of the displaced persons, told Pajhwok that he was happy for being given the opportunity to go to his area, but he said the  families were poor and needed more help.

"We had a very tough life in Kabul, but now that I am going to my area, my house has been destroyed in the fighting, and today I was given 200 dollars as transport cost.”

ma