Refugees Amid Global Conflict Threats [UPDATED July 06]
Returning Home: The Refugee’s Journey Amid Global Conflict
June 22, 2025
Deportation of Afghan refugees
Al Jazeera "INSIDE STORY" July 06,2025
"For decades, tens of thousands of Afghans who have fled war and poverty and sought a better future have crossed into neighbouring Iran.
Tehran has largely been lenient towards the community.
But in recent years, Iranians seem to have grown tired of hosting them, and sentiment towards foreign nationals has hardened...."
The Hidden Current in a Tidal Wave
As of 2024, more than 123 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide—yet something remarkable is happening. UNHCR reports that nearly 1.1 million refugees voluntarily returned to their home countries last year, reversing a decade-long trend of relentless outflows. From Afghan families leaving Iran to Syrian refugees heading back across once-forbidding borders, “home” is calling once again.
History Has Seen This Before
After WWII, millions of displaced persons returned home across war-ravaged Europe. In Asia, the collapse of colonial empires sparked similar return migrations. A lesser-known example? Eelam Tamils who returned to Ceylon from Malaya and Singapore after WWII—nicknamed “Singapore pensioners” or “Malaysian pensioners.” These retirees brought savings, stories, and skills to post-war northern Sri Lanka, re-rooting generations back home.
Return Is Not Always a Choice
- Afghans in Iran and Pakistan face deportation and discrimination, prompting mass returns despite instability at home.
- Syrians cross war-damaged borders, desperate to reclaim homes after regime collapse.
- South Sudanese flee Sudan’s war—ironically returning to their own fragile nation.
- Rohingya in Bangladesh yearn for home, but face barriers to safe, dignified return.
What We’ve Learned (and Often Forgotten)
- Return must be voluntary, not forced.
- Home must be safe and dignified.
- Returnees and communities need support and reintegration.
- Host countries deserve global solidarity.
- The diaspora can be a powerful force for rebuilding.
A Call to Action
To governments: End coercive returns.
To donors: Invest in recovery, not just survival.
To all of us: Remember, returning isn’t the end of a journey. It’s where healing begins.
STAY TUNED FOR FULL REPORT
In solidarity,
Wimal Navaratnam
Human Rights Advocate | ABC Tamil Oli (ECOSOC)
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