Afghanistan 2007

In photos: Author Khaled Hosseini in Afghanistan

18 September 2007

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Hosseini visited Afghanistan in early September and saw first-hand one of the UN refugee agency&;s largest and most complex operations. During a 10-day trip, the best-selling author visited UNHCR projects and met returnees in the northern provinces of Kunduz, Baghlan, Balkh, Parwan and Kabul. Hosseini, a former Afghan refugee now settled in the United States, noted that it would take time and effort for Afghanistan to provide returnees with adequate infrastructure and services. He urged the international community to remain committed to Afghanistan and to give the country time. Hosseini could not visit the south and parts of the east, where insecurity is impacting on the ability of UNHCR to assess needs and provide assistance to those who need it the most. Since 2003, UNHCR has helped more than four million refugees return to Afghanistan. This year, some 300,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan. More than 900,000 remain in Iran and two million in Pakistan.

Khaled Hosseini flies kites with children at the Samangan caves in Balkh province.

Khaled Hosseini hears from village elders in Baghlan province about the conditions his community is facing. This cluster of 24 families in Darkhat has no drinking water, medical facilities or schools.

Many of those returning are widows with small children. This woman is one of thousands of beneficiaries of the UNHCR shelter programme in Pul-i-Khumri, northern Afghanistan.

Khaled Hosseini hears how refugees returning from Iran and Pakistan get mine awareness training, medical assistance, legal aid and a start up cash package when they arrive in UNHCR centres.

Khaled Hosseini spoke to Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the conditions he had witnessed in the returnee settlements during his visit.

Khaled Hosseini tours a UNHCR shelter project with humanitarian project officer, Alex Mundt, in Kunduz. Those living here returned from Iran three years ago.