This publications synthesises results from a three-country research project on Afghan transnational networks and sustainable reintegration conducted by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) in 2004-5. The project generated case studies in nine locations across Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. It focused on transnational networks because this approach takes account of the diversity of migrant situations beyond the nation-state framework, and recognises that migrants retain links with their country of origin as well as developing new social relations, thus going beyond the notion that migration is a single event. The synthesis highlights that:
- Migration and the formation of transnational networks are key livelihood strategies for the people of Afghanistan; a simple distinction between political and economic causes, associated with involuntary or voluntary migration, cannot do justice to the complexity of these migration flows.
- Migration is an ancient phenomenon in the region, not simply a response to poverty or war and a cultural model, not merely an act of flight followed by integration into the host country or eventual repatriation.
The relevant governments and the international assistance community should work towards:
- policy prescriptions to manage population movements to the benefit of all involved, rather than straightforward repatriation initiatives, and to improve the economic and security situation in Afghanistan.
- establishing bilateral labour migration frameworks that provide clear legal rights for Afghan labourers and increase awareness of the labour and other contributions made by Afghans to the Iranian and Pakistani economies.
