Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit Case Study Series Second-generation Afghans in Iran: Integration, Identity and Return Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi Diana Glazebrook Gholamreza Jamshidiha Hossein Mahmoudian Rasoul Sadeghi April 2008 Funding for this research was provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the European Commission (EC) i AREU Case Study Series © 2008 Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the publisher, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Permission can be obtained by emailing [email protected] or calling +93 799 608548. ii Second-generation Afghans in Iran: Integration, Identity and Return About the Research Team (in alphabetical order) The research team members for the Second-generation study conducted in 2006-7 also carried out the Transnational Networks study in Iran in 2005-6. Both of these studies were commissioned by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Demography of the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, and Adjunct Professor, Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute, Australian National University. Abbasi- Shavazi’s PhD study focused on immigrant fertility in Australia. He has conducted several studies on Iranian fertility transition as well as the Afghan refugees in Iran, and has published extensively on these subjects. He directed the project on Transnational Networks among Afghans in Iran in 2005, and prepared a country report on the situation of International Migrants and Refugees in the Iran in 2007. Diana Glazebrook has a PhD in anthropology from the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (RSPAS), ANU, and is currently a Visiting Fellow in RSPAS. She has conducted field-based research, and published on the subjects of West Papuan refugees from Indonesian Papua living as permissive residents in Papua New Guinea, and Hazara refugees from Afghanistan living as temporary protection visa-holders in Australia, and living in Iran. Gholamreza Jamshidiha is an Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Tehran. He has conducted a survey and published papers on the determinants of Afghan refugees in Golshahr, Mashhad. Hossein Mahmoudian is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Demography in the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Tehran. He conducted his PhD research on demographic and social characteristics of Muslim women in Australia, and has published papers on fertility, migration and women’s issues. Rasoul Sadeghi is a PhD student in the Department of Demography, Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Tehran. He has conducted his MA research on ethnicity and fertility in Iran, and is now planning to work on social adaptation of Afghan migrants in Iran for his PhD thesis. About the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) The Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) is an independent research organisation headquartered in Kabul. AREU’s mission is to conduct high-quality research that informs and influences policy and practice. AREU also actively promotes a culture of research and learning by strengthening analytical capacity in Afghanistan and facilitating reflection and debate. Fundamental to AREU’s vision is that its work should improve Afghan lives. AREU was established in 2002 by the assistance community working in Afghanistan and has a board of directors with representation from donors, UN and other multilateral agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Current funding for AREU is provided by the European Commission (EC), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and the governments of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Funding for this project was provided by UNHCR and EC. iii Acknowledgements In 2005, a little over one million (1,021,323) documented Afghans remained in Iran 33.4 percent (341,157) of whom were second-generation, that is, those aged between 15 and 29 who were either born in Iran, or arrived in Iran as children and were subsequently raised and educated in Iran. The figure above excludes a substantial number of undocumented Afghans in Iran. Second-generation Afghans comprise a particular demographic whose experiences and aspirations while not homogenous within the Afghan population, is different from their parent’s generation. Education, occupational skills, family dynamics, and economic prospects of the second-generation Afghans in Iran have inspired different values and economic aspirations as compared to the first generation, and thus, the former has different perspective towards life in either of their host- or home society. The main objective of this research is to deepen our understanding of the situation of the second-generation Afghans Iran. Conducted in the cities of Mashhad, Tehran, and Isfahan this study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the second-generation Afghans by examining their integration in the host society, their identity, as well as their willingness and perceptions about returning to Afghanistan. This report highlights the findings of the study which was conducted during July-November 2006. The results have considerable policy implications for the governments of Iran and Afghanistan as well as the UNHCR who have been negotiating about the repatriation of Afghans in Iran since 2001. We owe many thanks to those who have made contributions to the implementation of the project. The Faculty of Social Sciences as well as the office of Vice Chancellor for Research Affairs of the University of Tehran provided institutional support. This report is the result of a fruitful collaboration by all team members who have been involved in ongoing research about the situation of Afghans in Iran. We would like to acknowledge the useful contribution and helpful assistance of Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi and Hajieh Bibi Razeghi throughout the study. Hamideh Jamshidiha has made significant contribution to the project in the translation of the manuscript and early draft of this report. Our final thanks and appreciation go to our interviewers (Mohammad Javad Mohaghegh, Afifeh Mohagheghzadeh, Zohreh Hosseini, Hossein Ali Karimi and Halimeh Mirzaie), our key informants in Tehran and Isfahan (Seyed Nader Mousavi and Mohammad Ali Haidari), and to our respondents whose efforts and participation were invaluable in collecting the data for this project. This research program was initiated in 2006, with funding provided by the European Commission (EC), administered through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the AREU. We would also like to appreciate the AREU’s support team particularly Dr Paula Kantor and Ms Mamiko Saito for their valuable support and comments during the process of this project. Mohammad Jalal Abbasi Shavazi Project Director Tehran, April 2008 iv Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................ 1 1. Introduction............................................................................. 3 1.1 Demographic background of Second-generation Afghans in Iran ...................3 1.2 Brief history of Afghans in Iran...........................................................4 1.3 Iranian government policy towards Afghans ...........................................5 2. Study Context........................................................................... 8 2.1 Selection of fieldsites .....................................................................9 2.2 Selection of respondents..................................................................9 3. Characteristics of the study sample ...............................................11 3.1 Social and demographic characteristics .............................................. 11 3.2 Education.................................................................................. 14 3.3 Employment............................................................................... 21 4. Social networks and familial relationships.........................................29 4.1 Socialising in the public domain ....................................................... 29 4.2 Socialising with Iranians................................................................. 31 4.3 Family life and marriage ................................................................ 35 5. Identity ..................................................................................42 5.1 The Iranian state’s identification of Afghans ........................................ 43 5.2 Identification of Afghan-ness, and Afghanistan ..................................... 44 5.3 Perceptions of “homeland”............................................................. 48 5.4 Effects of Iranian education and socio-cultural milieu on the identity of second- generation Afghans ........................................................................... 52 6. Returning to Afghanistan .............................................................54 7. Summary of key findings..............................................................67 8. Recommendations .....................................................................72 Bibliography................................................................................75