By Banafsha Binesh in TOLOnews, May 31, 2023 at 10:16 PM
The acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in an event held to meet family members of the 18 Afghan migrants who died while being smuggled into Bulgaria, described the sanctions imposed by foreign countries as “cruel”.
“The world countries should listen, they should not pursue their cases under the pretext that these people are being harmed here. They should not damage the Afghan academic figures. They should not evacuate them from Afghanistan,” he said.
TOLOnews interviewed a family of a victim who was seeking to enter Bulgaria illegally.
Naim, 28, was among the 18 Afghan refugees who died in a container while in Bulgaria. Naim was a farmer and only had a basic education.
“He said ‘prepare yourself.’ I asked him, ‘what for?’ He told me ‘our brother has been martyred but we did not tell you,’” said Naim’s father.
“The reason was that he was unemployed and there was no work in Afghanistan. All the people are forced to leave, and they leave the country due to this,” said Naim’s brother.
Relatives of Naim said that he left the country due to severe economic conditions and unemployment.
“He called me one day and said that I made my decision and I am going to Turkey and France. Bring me $200. I told him, one of my sons is in France, I will tell him …This was his last word, I did not give him money,” said a relative of Naim.
The acting FM meanwhile said that Afghanistan is a home for all Afghans “if someone likes the government or not, he/she has the right to live in this country—invest in business and live a dignified life.”
“The sanctions, particularly the economic sanctions which are imposed by the international community on Afghanistan–they have targeted the people of Afghanistan,” said Fazal Rahman Oria, a political analyst.
The bodies of these 18 Afghan refugees were returned to the country on Tuesday.
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-183593
