Journey of Hope 2017 journey-of-hope-2017 | Page 32

RISING
A
layer of fine, tan dust set-
tles over everything in Lokhai village. It
folds itself in the clothing and settles into
the skin creases of the villagers making
everything appear muted. The landscape
is mostly flat and dry with no vegetation.
Low hills do nothing to stop the wind from
stirring the dust and spreading it into every
corner of the village, leaving a dry metallic
taste in the air.
30 | JOURNEY OF HOPE
Lokhai lies just outside of Jalalabad,
the capital city of Nangarhar province
in Afghanistan. The hustle and bustle of
the city does not extend to this village at
the end of the road, and most people are
excruciatingly poor. Those who can, find
work in agriculture or as day laborers —
backbreaking work that pays very little.
In recent years refugees have flooded into
this small village. Some come from the south
to escape clashes between ISIS, or Daesh as
it is called in Afghanistan, but many more
are returning from Pakistan. After decades
of welcoming refugees from Afghanistan’s
several wars, Pakistan is putting pressure
on families to return to their home country.
Many of these people have no homes to
return to.
At the height of the refugee crises nearly
six million people fled to Pakistan, and now
the number is estimated to be anywhere
from 1.5 to 2 million people. Many of those
pressured to return grew up in refugee
villages in or near Peshawar, started families,
and built their lives in Pakistan. Now they
are twice displaced and trying to start over
in crowded villages like Lokhai with very
little resources to help or support them.
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE