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Afghan New Year signals new returns, new challenges
21 Mar 2005 Afghanistan and Iran are celebrating naw roz today, marking the end of a harsh winter and a new season of activity. This year, many Afghans are expected to follow in the footsteps of the over 1 million who have returned home from Iran, seeking a better life in their homeland. -
Missing for two years, runaway boy finally back in Kabul
17 Mar 2005 In 2003, 11-year-old Jawad Hameed ran away from home, travelling some 400 km from Kabul to Islamabad. He slept in the park until he was moved to a shelter run by an Afghan women's association. He was reunited with his family this week, thanks for efforts by UNHCR and its Pakistani partner, SHARP. -
UNHCR rushes to shelter Afghan refugees battered by rains in Pakistan
7 Mar 2005 The UN refugee agency has sent more than 800 tents to provide emergency accommodation to Afghan refugees whose mud houses collapsed when snow and rain hit Malgagai camp in Balochistan province. UNHCR has also started the year's repatriation season from Pakistan to Afghanistan. -
Census teams seek out Afghans across Pakistan
2 Mar 2005 Reaction to the first-ever full census of Afghans, currently underway in Pakistan, has so far been very positive. Half-way through the exercise, the 2,600 census-takers seem to be overcoming the huge logistical challenges, which have included unexpected snowstorms in a drought-ravaged province. -
Swiss helicopters flying for UNHCR end Aceh mission
1 Mar 2005 The three Swiss Super-Puma helicopters generously put at the disposal of UNHCR in mid-January to help out with the UN's tsunami relief operations in the Indonesian province of Aceh, flew their last mission on Sunday 27 February and are now packing up to return home. UNHCR has expressed its gratitude to the Swiss government. -
2,000 government workers set to begin census of Afghans in Pakistan
22 Feb 2005 The UN refugee agency and Pakistan are mounting a two-week nationwide census of Afghans living in Pakistan in a bid to provide the first comprehensive picture of Afghans who arrived in Pakistan in several waves since their country was engulfed in civil strife 25 years ago. -
Another 1 million Afghan refugees are likely to return home by 2006
17 Feb 2005 High Commissioner Ruud Lubbers says he expects another 1 million Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan in two years, but urges planning for those who intend to remain in Pakistan and Iran. -
Afghans returnees take first step towards self-sufficiency
14 Feb 2005 UNHCR is funding and supporting projects to generate income for vulnerable Afghan returnees like widow-headed households or large families with no means of supporting themselves. In the north for example, selected returnees are given materials, tools and sometimes training to make carpets and rear poultry. -
Census of Afghans in Pakistan to begin on February 23
9 Feb 2005 The UNHCR-funded census will record all Afghans who arrived in Pakistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The information gathered will give UNHCR and the authorities the first firm figures and profiles of Afghans in the country and their repatriation intentions.