Thousands of Afghan children and families are arriving at the Islam-Qala border crossing with Iran in desperate need of humanitarian support, as mass returns from Iran to Afghanistan continue to surge amid economic hardship and regional pressures.
According to UNICEF, as many as 30,000 people have crossed the border on some days, with over 160,000 returnees recorded in June alone. Many arrive with nothing but the clothes they wear, their faces bearing silent testimony to loss, fear, and exhaustion.
“This is one of the most heartbreaking sights I’ve witnessed in my role as UNICEF Regional Director,” said a UNICEF representative. “Families are crossing under intense heat and sand-blown winds, having been uprooted with no time to prepare. They’re hungry, disoriented, and deeply anxious about what lies ahead.”
Among the returnees are thousands of children, many of whom are malnourished, dehydrated, or vulnerable to diseases. Afghanistan remains one of the last countries in the world where polio is endemic, making the arrival of unvaccinated children a major health concern.
UNICEF and partner organizations are racing to respond. At the border, children are receiving life-saving vaccinations, nutrition assessments, and ready-to-use therapeutic food. Safe water is being distributed to prevent dehydration, and sanitation facilities have been set up. Child-friendly spaces offer temporary refuge where young ones can play and rest.
Sixteen-year-old Fatouma was a student in Iran, dreaming of becoming a doctor. Now, returning to a country where girls are barred from education, her hopes have dimmed.
“I don’t know what will happen to me,” she said quietly.
Another child, a young boy who had worked in Iran for several years to support his family, expressed guilt and despair over coming home empty-handed.
“No child should carry that burden,” said the UNICEF representative.
Nine-year-old Sahar sat in a child-friendly space drawing her old home in Iran — two bedrooms and a garden with a single tree. “I miss it already,” she said.
Despite these efforts, the humanitarian needs remain overwhelming. UNICEF is calling for urgent international support to scale up its operations and protect the most vulnerable.
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