Reactions to Germany’s revised commitment to accept Afghan refugees

Most of these refugees are people who have been waiting for months in Pakistan to be transferred to Germany.

The German Foreign Ministry, which has accepted requests from some Afghans at risk, has sent emails to Afghan asylum seekers in Pakistan rejecting their requests following recent events in the country, the report said.

Refugees: We are shocked

Some Afghan refugees whose asylum applications were rejected by the German Foreign Ministry told RFE/RL that they were shocked by the ministry’s response.

One Afghan refugee said he and his family travelled to Pakistan after receiving a confirmation email from Germany, hoping to be transferred to the country one day.

He did not want to be named in this report due to the sensitivity of the issue. He said he and his family had been in Pakistan for 10 months until they finally received a negative response a few days ago.

He was forced to return to Afghanistan, where he said he and his family were in danger:

“This situation has hit us very hard, and unfortunately it is very difficult to make up for it, both economically, socially and psychologically, and unfortunately we have seen a very severe blow, our minds have been completely destroyed, but we are not returning to normal every moment. We remember the same message they gave us, and it was a very unpleasant message.”

Another asylum seeker said he had been waiting for a positive response to his asylum application in Germany for a year and a half, but now, after receiving a negative response from Germany, he was living in misery in Pakistan.

Speaking to Radio Azadi, he asked not to be named in the report due to the sensitivity of the issue, adding: “The recent developments have had a negative impact on our hard work, the humiliation, the waiting and the money we spent, that is, everything wasted, a year, a year and a half, two years, half a year of our time was wasted and we could not reach our destination.”

The German government has rejected a request from Afghan refugees, whom it had pledged to transfer 1,000 per month by the end of 2022 after the Taliban returned to power.

German Interior Minister Nancy Huisser said that smaller numbers of refugees had been transferred to Germany in line with promises made, according to German news channel Erdi. He cited more security checks as the reason for the move.

The German Interior Ministry said that there are currently 3,022 Afghan refugees waiting in Pakistan, and Germany has pledged to accept them.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan for the second time in August 2021, there has been an increase in asylum applications from vulnerable Afghans to migrant-friendly countries, including Germany.

Many refugees claim to face security threats from the Taliban government due to their work background in the deposed Republic of Afghanistan.

These refugees also face challenges in third countries such as Pakistan, where they fear the Pakistani government is also deporting Afghan migrants and is uncooperative in renewing their residency documents.