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Invasion: Beginning
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan causing the initial displacement of over three million Afghan refugees into Pakistan and Iran (Afghanistan-Pakistan). -
Period: to
Afghan Refugee Movement
Since 1979, over three decades, a steady flow of Afghans have been leaving the country for other nations but most end up in Pakistan and Iran (Afghanistan-Pakistan). -
Time Passes...
The number of refugees coming from Afghanistan had been increasing since 1981; by 1990 there were over 3.8 million refugees in Pakistan and Iran (Afghanistan-Pakistan). -
Terror Strikes
In 1989 the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan leaving a power vacuum; consequently the different terrorist organization of the Mujahideen battled in the country causing even more civillian displacement (Afghanistan-Pakistan). During this time the Taliban would emerge as one of the most prominent organizations of terror (Hayes). -
The Taliban
Since emerging in force the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan, capturing cities and the violent discrimination caused hundreds of thousands more refugees to pour into Pakistan (Afghanistan-Pakistan). -
The War on Terror Begins
The terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four aircraft; destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon (Hayes). Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were harbored by the Taliban, and from this the U.S. began the war on terror; unfortunately this caused even more civillians of an already war-torn Afghanistan to flee as refugees (Afghanistan-Pakistan). -
U.S. Defeats Taliban, Refugees Begin Returning
The Taliban is officially destroyed in 2002 due to major offensives by the U.S. (Hayes). After the country became safer the UNHCR began helping Afghan refugees return to the country; between 2002 and 2007 an estimated 3.8 million refugees returned to Afghanistan (Afghanistan-Pakistan). -
The Situation Today
Afghanistan remains an unstable and unsafe country today (Afghanistan-Pakistan). Refugees returning have lessened lately due to increased conflict and very few job opportunities within Afghanistan (Afghanistan-Pakistan).
