-
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan causing the initial displacement of over three million Afghan refugees into Pakistan and Iran (Afghanistan-Pakistan).
-
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).
-
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).
-
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).
-
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 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).
-
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).
-
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).
