Fearing deportation, Afghan journalists in Iran call for support

KABUL (Pajhwok): Some Afghan journalists in Iran have expressed their concerns over the Iranian authorities’ decisions to deport Afghan refugees without valid residence documents.

Najaf Ali Raja who introduced himself as journalists and currently lived in Iran alongside his family, said: “High-ranking officials of the Iranian government have acknowledged that refugees who do not have a valid residence permit are considered illegal immigrants and they should leave the country as soon as possible in case of violating the order they will be deported.”

“We the Afghan journalists have been concerned and have uneasy feeling over the possible forced deportation,” he maintained.

Saleha Aini, another lady who introduced herself as Afghan journalist and live in Iran from the past two years said she faced a lot of problems during this period and now the Iranian government decision to expel Afghan refugees made her and her family worried.

She said: “A large number of journalists sought refuge in Iran after the fall of the republican regime in Afghanistan; these journalists are not in good condition.”

Aini said until now no organization supporting journalists has paid the necessary attention to solve the problems of Afghan journalists in Iran

“Journalists are in a desperate situation and are facing many problems,” she said.

Ghulam Asghar Azizi, who introduced himself as journalist, said: “Journalists in Iran, like thousands of other Afghan refugees, are facing many problems such as the lack of residence documents, lack of bank cards, unfavorable working conditions, these are issues that have created problems in our social life.”

He further said: “The restrictions imposed by Iran's administrative have made the situation so difficult for me that even getting bread from the bakery and buy essential items had been made difficult for us.”

Omaid Poya, head of the Afghan Journalists Federation in Iran, acknowledged the problems being faced by Afghan journalists and said Afghan journalist could not work in Iran in their profession, adding all here are busy in hidden hard labour.

He added: “In order to solve the problems faced by journalists in Iran, we have sent letters to some of the relevant institutions and resources supporting the media, and our efforts to raise the voice of journalists will continue, but so far we have not received concrete results from our letters.”

This comes that UNHCR has recently asked Iranian and Pakistani officials to reconsider its decision regarding the arrest and deportation of vulnerable Afghans from their countries.