Finally home?

Land Allocation Site Taki Naki

Steadily over the past years, Afghan refugees have been flocking back into Afghanistan from neighboring countries. Some return to their ancestral homes, but for many, returning to Afghanistan isn’t anything close to coming home. Instead, for many the return turns into one more passage in their search towards life in a secure and peaceful environment. In 2004, a program has been launched by President Karzai with the aim to allocate land for those who have no option to return to their original homes, after they had lost everything when fleeing to Pakistan or Iran. Over twenty sites have already been announced, with five being used as pilot sites to allow the international community and Afghan government to identify best ways of assisting these artificial communities to stand on their own feet.
The organization I am working for is taking part in all this, too. In an attempt to unite various sectors, such as water, shelter, education, child protection and vocational training we try to contribute our share to the secure and peaceful environment its inhabitants are longing for. But fact is that these communities remain a challenge to live in, despite outside support: they are usually situated on these pieces of land that nobody would want to give a penny for anyway; transport to near commercial centers is typically scarce; agriculture not possible due to lack of water; schooling for kids is another challenge, not to mention the unavailability of training and employment opportunities.
Since its inauguration in 2007, several hundred communities have signed up for Taki Naki, but so far, only five have moved out to the site that is about 40 kilometers outside Hirat. It wasn’t difficult to understand why returnee families prefer living in rented houses in Hirat instead of owning a house in Taki Naki: an icy wind is blowing between the flat roofed houses, turning my feet into pieces of ice on the short distance from the car to the house of our interview partner. Inside the house it is cold too, with hardly any heating material available it is impossible to keep these houses anywhere close to warm during the winter months. It hurts my eyes seeing the kids standing bar footed in the middle of the room. While we discuss with the family what type of support we can offer to them, I have to realize painfully that my vocational trainings and support to livelihoods is just not at all what they need and would like to hear in this very right moment. The things I can offer are long term development, whereas people living in Taki Naki lack the most basic items and services to bear the moment. My visit to Taki Naki lies two weeks ago, but I still carry around in my mind pictures from this visit, joint by the question whether these communities will ever by anything else but an emergency. In all this, my respect goes to these families who decided to move out, despite lack of the most basic things and services.

Returnee family in front of their house in Taki Naki; kids inside the house, observing eagerly my discussion with the head of household; baby cloths produced by two girls who have participated in a tailoring course supported by my organization