KABUL - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has helped Afghan returnees living in Bamyan to better reintegrate with the local community.

Through its national reintegration strategy in high return areas of Afghanistan, UNHCR Field Office Bamyan has implemented six projects in Shashpool, Bamyan this year. These projects have benefited 211 families, out of which 112 are landless returnees who originated from different areas in Bamyan and who lived for many years in the Bacu refugee camp in Pakistan.

One of the refugee returnees is Shaik Safar, a 34-year-old construction worker who moved to Shaspool in the winter of 2004. He lived in Bacu for eight years.

“We built this house by ourselves. UNHCR then helped us with blankets and other materials we needed. The PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) gave us a window, a door and beams,” said Mr. Safar.

Mr. Safar’s story is similar to Sultan Hussein’s, a 55-year-old-labourer who also moved to Shaspool in the winter of 2004 after living in Bacu refugee camp for two years.

“UNHCR supported me to build a house. I used the money that I had earned to build a room,” said Mr. Hussein.

Shashpool high return area was granted to the returnees based on the Presidential Decree 104 of 2004. The then-Governor of Bamyan Province identified land in Shaspool for a returnee settlement. Later, 35 local landless families from the surrounding areas were also given plots in a block of Shaspool settlement.

In addition to assistance with the construction of shelter, UNHCR also implemented projects such as the construction of internal roads as a cash-for-work (CFW) initiative, distribution of solar lights, water pipe scheme and community training and hygiene promotion as well as coexistence workshops. The projects were well-participated by the community.

“People here are open-minded particularly with regard to education, they are willing to learn,” said Jawad Wafa, Assistant Protection Officer in UNHCR Field Office Bamyan.
According to him, community mobilization during the implementation period between returnees and the local population who live around the settlement was a challenge, but the coexistence workshops and sport activities helped to bridge the gap between the two communities, and now are able to work and live in peace together.

The community has benefited a lot from UNHCR’s projects. The solar power project has provided electricity to the area, and now many people can enjoy the television. The community soon will also be able to access clean water through a water pipe scheme project, whereas now people rely on water from the river for daily activities.

“We presently fetch water from the river for washing, and use filtered water for cooking,” said Mr. Hussein.

UNHCR will financially subsidize the community to purchase fuel for generators to provide water access to the community for four months. It will also help set up a water management committee that comprises residents in the settlement to sustainably administer the use of water.

Owning shelters has boosted hope for a future, and the community hopes that security will improve so that their children can enjoy a brighter future. “