According to a recent Amnesty International (AI) report, "Two decades of civil war and serious human rights abuses have forced millions of Afghan men, women and children to flee their homes and seek refuge..." For more than 20 years Afghanistan has produced the world's largest refugee group ever, at times as high as 6.2 million persons. Currently numbering 2.6 million, Afghan refugees are still the largest displaced population in the world. Over 1 million Afghan refugees live in 203 officially recognized refugee "villages" in Pakistan.

Over one million civilians have been killed by the fighting in Afghanistan, but those that survive face unending hardships. Afghan refugees experience poverty, lack of rights, discrimination, and harassment. Facilities in the refugee villages remain primitive and life is often harsh with a chronic lack of food, medical care and other basic necessities.

As in all wars, the main victims are women and children. Maternal mortality rates among Afghans are among the highest in the world. One fourth of Afghan children do not survive their fifth birthday. Literacy rates are also extremely low, barely above 4% for women. Afghanistan has the lowest UN gender development ranking in the world.

Unfortunately, AI notes, "The end of flight does not mean the end of danger." In Pakistan, armed Afghans who roam the border regions target refugees for intimidation, harassment, or even assassination. They often single out "educated Afghan women, particularly those working for the education and welfare of Afghan women and children refugees."

The United Nations Consolidated Appeal for Afghanistan has identified five areas which need immediate action:

1. Support for the return of refugees;
2. Alleviation of human suffering;
3. Protection and advancement of human rights;
4. Provision of basic social services;
5. Empowerment of Afghan men and women.

Data taken from three Amnesty International Reports from November of 1999: Refugees from Afghanistan: The World's Largest Single Refugee Group; Children Devastated by War: Afghanistan's Lost Generations; Women in Afghanistan: Pawns in Men's Power Struggles. See also the web sites of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and RAWA. All photos on this page courtesy of RAWA.