The United Nations designated June 20 as the World Refugee Day to commemorate millions of asylum-seekers, including Afghans who have experienced decades of instability and occupation, so they were forced to leave their homeland to get rid of agony and insecurity, especially after the start of US-led war on Afghanistan in 2001.
The day marks the power and courage of people, who were forced to flee conflict and torture. The designation provides an opportunity to create solidarity and promote an atmosphere for others to understand refugees' woes.
The asylum-seekers come from different parts of the globe. They might travel by airplane, boat, or even walk to survive. The common goal of refugees is that all seek security and tranquility.
Iran has shown good neighborliness and generosity in particular when it came to hosting refugees from Afghanistan. Afghan people have suffered from different conflicts and political turmoil such as the incursion by the former Soviet Union in 1979, the Taliban's seizure of power in 1996, the US-led attack on Afghanistan in 2001, and the Taliban's retaking of power in 2021.
Thus, Iran embraced around three million Afghan refugees over several decades; however, as it turns out, there are many more asylum-seekers from Afghanistan in the Islamic country, who have not been numbered so far.
The international community and Afghan authorities have time and again emphasized that the Islamic Republic and Iranian people have shown generosity, when it came to hosting the refugees, while the Iranians have been suffering from economic woes that have their roots in Western pressures and sanctions.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) named Iran as the fourth state in terms of hosting a great population of asylum-seekers.
Last year's reckless withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan caused a reemergence of insecurity in Afghanistan; therefore, millions of Afghans were forced to flee their country once more.
Iran opened border crossings and welcomed many refugees, including a number of academics from Afghanistan's universities, who were settled in residential units of Ferdowsi University in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei underlined that children of all refugees from Afghanistan should be provided with education services in Iran, which is proof that Iranians show hospitality in dealing with asylum-seekers from the eastern neighboring country.
Afghan refugees are allowed to study at Iranian universities. Iran vaccinated many Afghan refugees during the coronavirus pandemic, which was praised by international organizations and authorities of other countries.
Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres described Iran as a very influential country among the UN member states and praised the Islamic Republic for hosting the Afghan refugees generously.
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