By Benyamin Bariz Kashmir Khan
HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): As the number of Afghan migrants being deported from Iran is increasing, a group of young people in western Herat province has voluntarily launched a campaign 鈥淐onvoy of solidarity and support鈥, transporting more than 2,000 returnees from the Islam Qala border to Herat city.
Quddos Khatibi, one of the organisers of the convoy, said that over 300 private vehicles took part in the spontaneous public initiative with great enthusiasm.
According to him, these youths also brought dry bread, drinking water and fruits with them as a small gesture to ease the fatigue of the returnees who had just arrived from Iran.
He added that, during this campaign, more than 2,000 returnees who had recently come back from Iran were transported free of charge from the border area to Herat city, covering a distance of 120 kilometres.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ismail, a vehicle owner who had gone to Islam Qala to assist the returnees, said that the migrants were in dire condition and called on everyone to offer support as much as they could.
At the same time, officials in Herat said that the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) of the province has been providing systematic health and humanitarian services for eight consecutive days at the Islam Qala crossing to meet the urgent needs of the Afghan returnees from Iran.
Speaking to reporters, Maulvi Ahmad Rashid, head of the ARCS representative office in Herat, said that during this operation, hot meals (lunch and dinner) are being prepared and distributed daily for 6,000 returnees.
He added that Red Crescent volunteer teams are actively present at the site, assisting newly arrived returnees with registration, referrals to health centres, and other necessary services.
He further noted that two mobile health teams from the Red Crescent are also operating on-site. In addition to conducting medical check-ups and prescribing medicine for over 200 individuals, they have provided services such as injections, wound dressing, health education, malnutrition assessments, and maternal and child healthcare to hundreds more.
This comes as the forced return of Afghan migrants to the country has increased significantly in recent days. Local sources in Herat reported that, in the past 24 hours alone, over 38,000 Afghan migrants entered the country through the Islam Qala border crossing from Iran.