Back in 1980, U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a general boycott of the Moscow Olympics to denounce the Soviet Union. They had just invaded Afghanistan to prop up the socialist regime of Kabul. Many nations, including Canada, joined the boycott.
First wave of refugees: 1980s
The Soviet invasion caused the first wave of Afghan refugees as millions flooded into Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan and India. At the same time, Afghans began to resist the Soviets and Kabul government, which birthed the Afghan mujahideen (holy warriors). The U.S. saw an opportunity to oppose the Soviets by supporting the Afghan warriors. Islamic enthusiasts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere, joined with the mujahideen in “short-term mission” service of jihad. Osama bin Laden was one such radical. He started the al-Qaeda Islamic party.
Second wave of refugees: 1990s
After years of bitter fighting, the Soviets finally withdrew in 1989. A few years later the Afghan communist regime fell to mujahideen rule. Now the various mujahideen factions turned on each other, fighting bitterly for control of the country. Many areas of Kabul were levelled to rubble. The conflict between the mujahideen parties brought about a second wave of refugees. From these two waves of refugees, Afghans began to immigrate to Western countries.
Third wave of refugees: 1996 onward
During the 1990s, thousands of young Afghan refugees in Pakistan studied in Islamic schools while their nation was devastated by this strife. They were Taliban (literally: students) who envisioned a purist Islamic state would bring peace to their land. This rag-tag band of young students swept across Afghanistan and marched into Kabul in 1996, establishing their first Islamic state.
This led to a third wave of refugees.
For five years the Taliban ruled Afghanistan with a strict version of Islamic law. Hundreds of Arab radicals (not Afghans) planned foreign terrorist attacks under the auspices of the Taliban regime.
Then came 9/11 which changed the world. The U.S bombed Taliban strongholds. In six weeks the Taliban government collapsed. Hamid Karzai became the president of Afghanistan in December 2001. The psyche of the Afghan refugee in Pakistan transformed overnight, from despair to hope.
Millions of refugees return: 2002 onward
Millions of refugees from Pakistan and Iran, as well as those who had settled in the West flooded back to Afghanistan. The country leaped forward. For the first time ever, the nation freely voted for their president. Children laughed on their way to school. Trades and businesses popped up everywhere, as well as musicians, language clubs, athletics, media networks and more.
Fourth wave of refugees: 2010 onward
As the country prospered, dark clouds rose from within and beyond. Nepotism and corruption, along with too much Western money, fostered rot in government institutions. The Taliban had been pushed out, but they fought back. By 2010 they began to direct audacious suicide attacks and assassinations, which shattered the notion of tranquility, especially for internationals and Afghan Christians. More Afghans fled.
With the crisis of ISIS in Syria, Afghans joined the wave of other refugees flooding into European countries. This created a “refugee highway” through Turkey and Greece to Western Europe. Churches and ministries in Europe magnanimously welcomed these refugees. This unexpected love drew many Muslims to learn more about Jesus the Messiah and the Christian faith.
Fifth wave of refugees: today
In all this conflict and trauma, nothing was more shocking than August 15, 2021. The American military wanted out of Afghanistan after their longest war in history and having spent billions. They negotiated with the Taliban, keeping the Afghan government at bay. As the Taliban blitzed across Afghanistan in 2021, the government and military collapsed, falling like dominoes.
The Taliban see their victory as a blessing from God. The war is over. Crime has decreased. Peace has come (for now). Afghans have (almost) survived a winter of hunger and a shattered economy. But girls after grade six still cannot go to school. Fear rules.
We witnessed the chaos at the Kabul airport as Afghans scrambled to leave. Many evacuees have settled in Western countries, but many are stranded in the Gulf states and elsewhere. Other Afghans fled into Pakistan and Tajikistan, from where they hope to resettle in some Western country.
Call for help
Today, tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are stranded all over the world from these waves of refugees. Some fled Afghanistan as Christians, but many have to faith on the refugee trail, as they were uprooted from their social networks.
Today we know of 100s of Afghan believers in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and many European countries. The European church has welcomed many of them, some who joined the Christian community in Europe. Afghan Christian refugees are doubly vulnerable. They cannot return to Afghanistan, nor can they integrate in their present countries of asylum. At the same time, as Christians, they often face harassment from Muslim neighbours and family members, who themselves are refugees. Many are stranded in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey and the Gulf Arab states with no hope of ever being accepted as permanent residents there.
These refugees desperately need protection.
