#2016-007

Rejected Afghan asylum seekers in the Netherlands:  Migration experiences, current situations and future aspirations 

Katie Kuschminder and Melissa Siegel 

Maastricht Economic and social Research institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU‐MERIT) email: info@merit.unu.edu | website: http://www.merit.unu.edu 

Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG) email: info‐governance@maastrichtuniversity.nl | website: http://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/governance 

Boschstraat 24, 6211 AX Maastricht, The Netherlands Tel: (31) (43) 388 44 00 

Working Paper Series 

UNU-MERIT Working Papers ISSN 1871-9872

Maastricht Economic and social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology UNU-MERIT

Maastricht Graduate School of Governance MGSoG

UNU-MERIT Working Papers intend to disseminate preliminary results of research carried out at UNU-MERIT and MGSoG to stimulate discussion on the issues raised.

RejectedAfghanAsylumSeekersintheNetherlands:

MigrationExperiences,CurrentSituationsandFutureAspirations

KatieKuschminderandMelissaSiegel

MaastrichtGraduateSchoolofGovernance|UNU‐MERIT

January2016

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Abstract

AfghanshavebeenacentralasylumseekinggroupinEurope,andspecificallytheNetherlandssincethe conflict in Afghanistan escalated in the 1990s. Many of the Afghan asylum seekers in theNetherlandssince2001receiveanegativedecisionontheirasylumrequest,however,donotleavetheNetherlandsandcontinue to live irregularly.Thispaperprovidesadescriptiveexplorationofthe experiences of Afghanmigrants with regard to their journeys to the Netherlands andwhilelivingirregularlyintheNetherlands.Thepaperisbasedon47interviewsconductedwithAfghansliving irregularly in the Netherlands and 11 key stakeholder interviews, which were conductedfrom 2013‐2014. The findings discuss the complexity of Afghanmigrationmovements includingroot causes and transit experiences, the factors influencing the destination choice of theNetherlands,receptionexperiencesandfutureaspirations.

KeyWords:Irregularmigration,Afghanistan,TheNetherlands

JELClassification:F22,J13,J15

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Introduction

Afghanscontinuetobeoneofthelargestasylumseekingpopulationsinindustrializedstates,thirdin2014afterSyriansandIraqis,witha65percent increase inclaimsfrom2013(UNHCR,2015).From2007‐2012thenumberofAfghansseekingasylumin industrializedstatesannuallysteadilyincreased,withadecreasein2013,andariseagainin2014.ThecurrentinstabilityinAfghanistanindicates thatmigration fromAfghanistanwillnotdecrease inthenear future,particularly in thecaseofasylumapplicationsinindustrializedstates(KoserandMarsden,2013).

In addition to the predicted rise in Afghan asylum seekers, the majority of emigration fromAfghanistan is irregular (Loschmann et al., 2014).Within theneighbouring countries of Iran andPakistan,Afghanshavebeenmovingacrossborderswithoutdocuments forcenturies for familialreasons and livelihood opportunities (Monsutti, 2008). More recently, in a survey conducted in2011 with household members of current migrants from Afghanistan that were primarily inPakistanorIran,86percentofthemigrantshadmigratedirregularlyfromAfghanistanwithoutanydocuments (MGSoG,2014).Clearly, asylumseekersalsomigrate furtherafield thanPakistan andIranand it isreasonabletoassumethemajoritymigrate irregularly.Although irregularmigrants,Koser(2005)suggeststhatasylumseekersshouldbeexcludedfromthewiderirregularmigrationdebatesandthattheirprotectionneedsshouldnotbeoverlookedduetotheirirregularstatus.

Thispaperexaminesthereasons,decisionmaking factors,processesandexperiencesof irregularAfghanmigrantsintheirmigrationfromAfghanistanand/orIrantotheNetherlands.Itisimportanttonotethatallrespondentsinthisstudywererejectedasylumseekers.Thiswasnotarequirementforparticipationinthestudy,whichsoughttobeinclusiveofallformsofAfghanirregularmigrantsin the Netherlands, however, the only Afghan irregularmigrants thatwere foundwere rejectedasylumseekers.Thisprovidesauniqueelementasallrespondents in thisstudydidnothave therighttostayintheNetherlandsastheirclaimforprotectionwasrejected.Itis,however,importanttoalsounderstandtheprocessesandexperiencesofthosethatdonotreceiveasylumorprotectionasthesemigrantsmaycontributetogrowingirregularstaypopulationsindestinationcountries.

Asecondkeyelementthatisuniquetooursampleisthatoverhalfoftheparticiantswereformerunaccompaniedminors (UAMs).AnUAM isdefinedby theUnitedNationsHighCommissionerofRefugees (UNHCR) as “a person who is under the age of eighteen years, unless, under the lawapplicabletothechild,majorityisattainedearlierandwhoisseparatedfrombothparentsandisnotbeingcaredforbyanadultwhobylaworcustomhasresponsibilitytodoso”(1997:1).UAMsarefrequentlydefinedas‘childrenatrisk’andareapopulationofconcerntotheUNHCR(Vervlietetal.,2014).Again, itwasnotaspecificobjectiveofthisstudytohavesucha largeproportionofformerUAMsincluded inthesample,however, theresultingmixedsampleof formerUAMs(whoalsohadasylumclaimsrejected)andadultrejectedasylumseekerspresentauniqueopportunitytomakecomparisonsbetweenthemigrationprocessesandpatternsofthesetwogroups.

The focus of this paper is thus on patterns and processes of irregular migration and entry ofAfghanstotheNetherlands.Wespecificallyinvestigatetheirdecisiontomigrate,thereasonsorlackthereof for their destination choice of the Netherlands, the routes taken in their migration(includingtransitcountries),experiencesintransitcountries(includinginstancesofexploitation),experiencesintheNetherlands,andtheirfutureaspirations.

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TheAfghanContext

Afghanistan has been engulfed in insecurity for the past 35 years. The 2001NATO led invasionresultedinadecreaseinasylumapplicationsfromAfghansinindustrialisedstates,howeversincetherisinginsecurityfrom2008,asylumfigureshaveagainincreased.In2014,thetopfivecountriesprocessingnewAfghanasylumclaimswereTurkey,Germany,Hungary,AustriaandItaly(UNHCR,2014). Further, Afghans are the largest UAM group seeking asylum in Europe. According toEurostat, in2014therewere23,150asylumapplicationssubmittedbyUAMs inEurope,ofwhich5,800weresubmittedbyAfghans,whichisroughly25percent(2015).

For both Afghan UAMs and non‐UAMs, migration to Europe is frequently part of a householdstrategywhereinfamiliesmakecalculateddecisionstosendahouseholdmemberabroad(SchusterandMajidi,2013).Thesereasonscanbeeitherprotectionoreconomicbased,oracombinationofreasons.StudieshavefoundthatintheAfghancontexttheoldestsonisoftensentformigrationtofulfil the responsibility of finding and providing a family income (Hoodfar, 2008). Notions of‘masculinity’areimportantintheAfghancontextandtheroleofthesoninprovidingforthefamily.

An increasingbodyofresearchhasbeenconductedonAfghanUAMs,particularly toEurope.Keyreasons cited for UAM Afghan migration to Europe include: family conflict, violent incidentsincludingkidnapping,thedeathofaparent,orthreatsmadeagainstthefamilyorindividualfamilymembers (UNHCR2010a;UNHCR, 2010).One study conductedby theAfghanistanResearch andEvaluation Unit (2014) stated that inmost instances it is the children that instigate the idea tomigrate, however the decision is made with the head of the family. This study also found thatEuropeancountrieswerefrequentlyselectedastheintendeddestinationastheywereperceivedbythe family to provide greater asylum opportunities (AREU, 2014). Other studies contradict thisfindingandstatethatthedecisiontomigrateisgenerallynotinstigatedbytheminor(Vervlietetal,2014).Boland(2010)foundthatfrequentlythefinaldestinationisnotdecidedpriortomigrationand that children talk to other children in transport hubs along the route to decide their finaldestination.PreviousworkwithAfghanmigrants,andinparticularUAMs,hasarguedthatAfghanstendtowanttomigrateto‘Europe’moregenerallywithlessinformationonparticularcountriesastheirdestinationchoice(UNHCR,2010a;UNHCR,2010).

Migration fromAfghanistan isacomplexprocessthatcan includedifferent triggerswithina longstandingcontextofinsecurity.RecentstudieshavestartedtoprovideinsightintothedynamicsofirregularmigrationfromAfghanistanandthewaysinwhichmigrantsdeterminetheirdestinationchoices.This study contributes to this emerging literature byproviding an overviewof irregularAfghanmigrantsintheNetherlands.

MethodsandRespondentOverview

Thisstudyisbasedonqualitativeinterviewsconductedwith47irregularAfghanmigrantsand11key stakeholders working with irregular Afghan migrants in 2013‐2014. Respondents wereaccessed through a total of eight different entry points that included non‐governmentalorganisations,AfghansintheNetherlands,andpersonalnetworksoftheresearchers.Throughthedifferententrypoints,snowballsamplingwasusedtoobtainatotalof47interviewswithirregular

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Afghanmigrants.ThemajorityofinterviewswithirregularAfghanswereconductedinFarsi/DariandweresimultaneouslytranslatedandtranscribedintoEnglish.ThetranscriptionswereallcodedinNvivoforanalysis.Keystakeholderinterviewswereconductedwithorganisationsworkingwitheitherasylumseekers,unaccompaniedminors,ordirecltywithirregularAfghans.Theseinterviewsprovided further information on the current situation in the Netherlands for irregular Afghanmigrants.

Themajorityofrespondentsweremalewithonly two femalerespondents in thesampleand theaverageageoftherespondentswas26yearsold.Thisisfairlyyoungandreflectsthatthemajoirtyof participans were former UAMs. All respondents in the sample had applied for asylum in theNetherlandsandatthetimeofinterviewhadarejectedasylumclaim.ThemajoirtyofrespondentshadreceivedaremovalorderfromtheDutchGovernmentstatingthattheyhad28daystoremainlegallyinthecountry.Mostrespondentshadlongexceededtheir28daysatthetimeofinterview.Some respondents were working with lawyers to try to appeal their case, while others wereundecidedontheirfutureobjectives.

Within this group of rejected asylum seekers, respondentswere further categorised as: rejectedasylum seekers who arrived as adults (17), former unaccompanied minors (UAM) (26), andindiviudals with asylum claims rejected under the 1F status of the Geneva Convention1 (4). AnindividualisclassifiedasaformerUAMiftheyarrivedintheNetherlandspriortoreachingtheageof18yearsold.TheassessmentandreceptionprocessintheNetherlandsisdifferentforUAMsthanforadultasylumseekers.Thedetailsofthiswillnotbeexaminedinthispaper,however,acentralpoint is thatprior tobecomingadult (18yearsold)UAMsareprotectedandprovided forby thestateregardlessofiftheirasylumclaimbeingrejectedoraccepted.Uponturning18yearsoldandintheeventofarejectedclaimtheyaregivenaremovalorderstatingthattheyneedtoleavetheNetherlandsvoluntarilyorbesubjecttodeportation,asisthecasewithallrejectedasylumseekers.Former UAMs have, therefore, often lived in the Netherlands longer than adult rejected asylumseekers,particularilyiftheyarriveinthecountryatayoungeragesuchas14or15yearsold.

Individualsrejectedunderthe1FstatusareuniqueastheyhavegenerallybeenintheNetherlandsfor over adecade and thus their situation is significantlydifferent than recently rejected asylumseekers. Individualswith1F status are considered ‘unreturnable’ in theNetherlands andarenotdeportedbythestate(ReijvenandvanWijk,2014).Thus,theseindividualsliveinastateoflimbowithoutoptionsforregularisationbutnotbeingreturned.

The largestethnicgroup in thesample isTajiks(61%), followedbyHazaras(16%)andthemostfrequently stated religion is ShiaMuslim (55%), followed by SunniMuslim (34%) and Christain(11%).TheethnicmakeupofrespondentscontainsanoverrepresentationofTajiksandHazarascompared to the populations in Afghanistan, where Pastuns are the majority group with Tajiksfollowing second and Hazaras a much smaller proportion of the population. The majority ofrespondentswereuneducatedwith less than20percenthavingcompletedsecondaryeducation.

1 TheDutchImmigrationServices(IND)assessesanindividualunderarticle1FoftheGenevaConventionashavinga‘seriousreasonsforconsidering’theyhadcommittedwarcrimes,crimesagainsthumanityorothergross violations of international (criminal) law such as serious transnational crimes and terrorism. Since2000,asylumclaimscanberefusedbasedonthisarticle.

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ThemajorityarrivedintheNetherlandsbetween2008‐2011.HalfofthesamplewerefromurbanareasinAfghanistan.

Finally,itisnoteworthythatmanyoftherespondentsinterviewedhadspentsubstantialtimelivinginIran.Tenrespondents livedmostof their lives inIranhavingcometo IranaschildrenwithanadditionalsixthatwereborninIranorcameasbabiesandspentmostoftheirlivesthere.Thus,onethirdofthesamplemadetheirmigrationfromIran,notAfghanistan.

Themajorityofrespondentsarrivedbetween2008‐2011intheNetherlands,withtheexcpetionofthe 1F respondents that arrived in the late 1990s. This means that at the time of interviewquestionsregardingthedecisiontomigratewereonaverage2‐5yearspost‐facto.Oneofthemajorchallengesinresearchingmigrationdecisionmakingispost‐factorealisation,meaningthat“peoplejustifytheirmigrationonthebasisofwhathasoccurredsincetheirmovement”(Skeldon,1994:3).Itisthusdifficulttodisentangledecisionmakingfactors.ThisproblemhaslongbeenacknowledgedinthemigrationliteratureasBedford(1975:30)states:

“Asanumberofresearchershavefound,motivesadducedbymigrantsformovesinthepastmayhide,ratherthanreveal,underlyingcausesofmovement.Notonlydomemoriesgetblurred,butaconcreteobjectiveorsomedramaticeventmaystandout in amigrant’snarrative, rather than the cumulative effectsofhopes and fearswhich areprobably the real causes pushing aman to leave his home for another.Thereissimplynowayofovercomingthisproblem.”

At the same time, migrants post‐facto realisations of their migration experiences and decisionmakinghavevalue inunderstandingtheircurrentperceptionsoftheirsituation.Migrantscurrentsitautions should be viewed within their life‐cycle (Cassarino, 2014), particularily whenconsidering future ambitions and decisions such as return. The results presented in this paperthereforeshouldbeinterpretedwithcautionintermsofpost‐factodecisionmaking,however,arestill of value in representing how irregular Afghan migrants perceive and understrand theirmigrationexpereincesandcurrentsituations.

TheDecisiontoleaveAfghanistan

ThedecisionmakingfactorsformigratingfromAfghanistanareoftenmultipleandcomplex.Fifteenrespondentscitedmultiplereasonsforinfluencingtheirdecisiontomigrate,whereasthemajorityof respondents cited one central reason. The three most commonly cited reasons for migrationwerefirst,problemswiththeTaliban(15respondents),second,familyproblems(10respondents)andthird,problemsthatoccurredlivinginIran(10respondents).

Individuals that cited the Taliban as a central reason for their migration, most commonly hadmigratedasanadult,thatis,theyweregenerallynotUAMsatthetimeofmigration.Onlyonethirdofrespondents (5 individualsof15)citing theTalibanasakey factor influencing theirmigrationwereformerUAMs.ThreemainreasonswerecitedforhavingproblemswiththeTaliban.Thefirstreasonwashavingworked for foreigners, suchas theUSMilitary,or inone casea travel agencyownedbyanIndiannational.Asecondreasonwasthattheyhadafamilymember(mostcommonlyafather)thatworkedfortheAfghanpoliceandthisledtheirfamilytobetargetedbytheTaliban.A

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thirdreasonwasthattheyhaddisobeyedtheTaliban.ThiswasareasonmorecommonlycitedbyformerUAMs.Forexampleonerespondentexplained:

“Onmywaytoschool,theTalibanstoppedmeandaskedmetoquitstudyinginDari,theyaskedmetostudyinPashtun,theytookmybooksandtoremybooksandgavemesomebooks inPashtun. IgotanotherDaribookandkepttheminschool,whileIwasgoing to school Iwas carrying thePashtun bookbut in the school I studiedmyDaribooks.Stilltheystoppedmeandbeatmeonthewaytoschool,thenIdecidedtoleaveAfghanistanandIcamehere.”(FormerUAM,18yearsold)

The second reason of familial problemswasmost frequently cited by formerUAMs (7 of the10respondents).Twokeyfamilialproblemswerefirst, involvingmarriage,andsecond,involvingthedeathofafamilymember.Marriageorrelationshipproblemsincludedthatanindividualwasbeingforcedby their family tomarrysomeonethat theydidnotwant tomarryor that theywanted tomarrysomeonethatwasnotapprovedofbyeithertheirfamilyorthefemales’family.Thereasonforthedisapprovalwasoftenrelatedtoethnicand/orclasslines,suchasonefamilybeingShiaandtheotherSunni.Onerespondentdescribedtheirexperiencesasfollows:

“They suspected the girl, andmadehermarry to her cousin. After hermarriage, shecame to our shop one day; they always came to our shop to order new cloths forceremonies.That day, I huggedher in the shop, I really lovedher, and she lovedmeback.Ididnotdoanything,Ijusthuggedher.Iwasreallyinlovewithher.Whattheydidtomewascowardice;theysaidyoucommittedasinbyhuggingamarriedwoman.Iwasinlove;lovedoesnotcareaboutthesethings.Onthatday,hermother‐in‐lawwaschasingher,shesuspectedher.Sheattackedmewithaknife,therewasasewingknifethere, shewanted tokillme, she cutmyhand,but I couldescape.” (FormerUAM,22yearsold)

Returning to the second reasonof deathof a familymember, exampleswereprovidedof formerUAMsbeingsenttolivewithunclesorauntsthatdidnotlikethemandabusedthem.

ThethirdmostfrequentreasonformigrationwasproblemsthatarosewhilelivinginIran.HalfoftherespondentsthatcitedthiswereformerUAMs(5respondents)andhalfwereadultmigrants(5respondents). Respondents faced several challenges in Iran including not having documents,harassment anddiscrimination, and no future opportunities. The situation forAfghans in Iran iscomplexandhasbeenincreasinglynegativesince2001.

Many of the difficulties in Iran had to do with being Afghan and the discrimination faced wasintensifiedwhen theywereundocumented.One respondentdescribed his experiences in Iran asfollows:

“Istartedworking,thereweremanyproblems,IdidnothaveanIDcardinIran,Ialwayshadtoliveinthesameplace,Icouldnotenterthecity.....Iwaslivingandworkinginafactory.Itwasverydifficult;IcouldnotgotothecitybecauseIdidnothaveanydocuments.”(FormerUAM,20yearsold)

AsecondkeychallengeforthoseborninIran,isthattheyhavenorighttocitizenship:

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“Honestly even my father did not even visit Afghanistan. My grandfatherusedtoliveinIraq;whenSaddamHusseincametopowerinIraq,heleftIraqtoIran.Atthattimemyfatherwasjust3,4yearsold.HegrewupinIran,inMashad.Whenmyfathermarried,myparentsmovedtoTehran.IwasborninTehran.ItoldtheINDthatIamAfghan,IamreallyAfghanbutIwasborninIran.”(formerUAM,18yearsold)

AlthoughthesituationsinIranaretroublingandshowaclearsituationofdanger,theymaynotbeissuesperceivedaspersecutionaspertheGenevaConvention.

Two additional reasons cited for migration that were specifically cited by former UAMs wereethnic/religiousbasedproblems(5respondents)andmoredisturbinglybuggery(4respondents).Ethnic/religiousbasedproblemswerecitedbyatotalof6respondents(onenonformerUAMaswell),ofwhichfivewereofTajikethnicityandonewasofHazaraethnicity.Theproblemwasmostcommonlyattributedhowever todifferencesbetweenShiaandSunni religiousbackgrounds.Onerespondentstated:

“My father has problemswith Sunnis. In Afghanistan, it is not theway that only thefather is involved in theproblem; they [also] take revengeonhis children. Ihad thisproblem,whichiswhymyfathersentmehere.”(FormerUAM,20yearsold)

Although thedecisionmaking factorofbuggeryonlyrepresentsninepercentof the sample, thispresentsafairlylargeproportionforsuchaspecificissue.AreportfromtheUSMarinesonPashtunsociologyin2011highlightedtheprevalenceofpedophiliainAfghanistanwhereinyoungboysarerequired to dress up like girls and dance for older men (Goldman, 2011). Most other studiesconductedonUAMfromAfghanistanhavenotraisedtheissueofbuggery(UNHCR,2010a;UNHCR,2010b; Correa‐Valez,Nardone,andKnoetze,2014;BuilandSiegel,2014),however,sexualabusewas raised in one study conducted with UAMs in Sweden (UNHCR, 2010b). The author of thisreporthighlightedthatUAMsgavetwostagedanswerswhereintheyonlyspokemorefreelyoncetrustwas establishedwith the researcher, at which time the issue of buggerywas raised. Thissuggests that instances of sexual abuse may be more prevalent than currently noted in theliterature as the topic is tabooand requireshigh levelsof trustbetween the respondentand theresearcher.Onerespondentexplainedtheirexperienceasfollows:

“BuggeryisprevalentinMazarSharif.Theytakechildrenfromtheirhousestoaplacewheremusicison,theyforcedboys to dance, and theymakeup boys…Severaltimes,thecommanderstookmybrotherandmetotheirplace.Whenwecomplained,they started beating us.We had to go, we had no other choice…They forced us todance,andwearanklets,suchthings.Wewerereally tiredof that life.Wecouldnotlive that way anymore. I escaped one night andwent to Kabul.” (Former UAM, 18yearsold).

It appears that individuals that became involved in thispracticewere either orphans, or soldbytheirparentstooldermenforthispurpose.Thiswasanunexpectedfindinginthestudyandfurtherresearchwouldberequiredtobetterunderstandthissituation.

ItisevidentthatthereasonsformigrationfromAfghanistanorIranarediverseforthisgroupand

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that there are some differences between the reasons for migration between UAMs and adultrejectedasylumseekers.Thedecisionmaking factors leadingtomigrationarenotonlyregardingtheTaliban,poverty,oreconomicconditions,butalsoincludefamilyproblems,challengesinIran,ethnicproblemsandbuggery.

ExperiencesinTransit

Themajorityofrespondentshada transitexperience,withonlysixrespondents comingmoreorlessdirectlytotheNetherlandsbyairand/ortrain.Forinstance,a fewoftheserespondents flewfromKabultoDubai,thentoGermany,andtookatrainfromGermanytotheNetherlands.Forthosehavinga transit experience these ranged froma shortdurationof twoweeksorup to twoyearswiththetransitexperincesmostcommonlybeingbetween6monthsandoneyear.MostmigrantsinitiallywenttoIranorPakistanandthencontinuedtheirjourneyfromthesebordercountries.Themost common countries of transit were Turkey (71%), Greece (65%), and Italy (33%). This isunsurprising given the geographical location of Afghanistan. According to Frontex (2012) theeasternMedittereanisthemostcommonrouteofirregularentryintotheEuropeanUnion.

The poor conditions of Afghans have beenwell documented in Greece and Turkey (Hurd, 2012;Estrin2012). Inbothcountries thereare fewservicesavailable toAfghans.TheUNHCRhasbeenmandatedwithprocessingofAfghanasylum seeker claims inTurkey, however inMay2013, theUNHCR stopped acceptingAfghan asylum claims and froze all existing claims (Al Jazeera, 2014).TheasylumsysteminGreecehasbecomeoverloadedinrecentyearsandduetotheoverloadandbacklogclaimshavealsonotbeenprocessed.ThepoorconditionsinGreecehaveledtheEuropeanCourt of Justice to issue a directive to EUMember states to no longer return asylum seekers toGreeceasisnormallyallowedundertheDublinIIConvention.Inaddition,thereisfrequentabuseofAfghansinGreecebytherightwingextremistgroupGoldenDawnandinsomecasestheGreekpolice(Estrin,2012).

Respondents reported that their stays in Turkey were quite short of generally a few days to alongerdurationof3‐4months.SeveralrespondentsstatedthattheydidnotgooutatallinTurkeyandjustwaitedfortheirsmugglertoarrangetransporttoGreece.Someoftherespondents,ontheotherhand,weregivendocuments to travelwithin Istanbul.Respondents travelledbyboat fromTurkeytoGreece,whichwascommonlyanarduousjourney.Itwasreportedthatboatswerefilledtoover‐capacityandpeopledidnotalwaysmakethecrossingalive.

ThemajorityofrespondentscitednegativeexperiencesinGreecesuchas:beingabused,livingonthestreet,onlybeingabletohavefoodonceperday,beingarrestedbypolice,andmaltreatmentinprison.SomerespondentswereabletostayinchurchesthatofferedsupporttomigrantsandothersstayedinparksthatwerecommongatheringplacesforAfghanandIranianmigrants.Churchesalsoprovidedmeals,whichwasessentialformanyoftherespondents.

TheconditionsinGreecewereashockformanyoftherespondents:

“Suddenlyyoufindyourselfamongacommunitywhodoesnotrefrainfrommurder,drugs,anykindofcriminalacts,sexualharassment.Youfindyourselfinthemiddleof this community while you used to living with your family, your mother, your

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mother always took careof you. Suddenly youare in this kindof community thatyouhavenotevenhadanyexperienceofhowtogetalongwiththisnewcommunity,suddenlyyoulostyourway.”(FormerUAM,21yearsold)

Surviving in Greece was cited by many as a key challenge of the journey, especially whenrespondents did not have any options for funding their onward journey. In Greece somerespondentshadashortstaywiththeirsmuggler,howeverforthemostpartindividualswereleftbytheirsmugglerandhadtofindanothersmugglerandresourcesfortheonwardjourney.Insomecases, upon arrival in Greece, smugglers would demand more money in order to continue thejourney.

Afewrespondentswereabletogetdayworkinagriculturewhichassistedtoprovidethemsomesmall funds. Most commonly this money was used for onward migration. Respondents alsomentioned the option that smugglers would bring them onward if they could get 10‐15 otherpeopletocomeaswell.Essentially,themigrantwasthencoercedtobecomeasmuggler:

“Sometimesyoutransferanotherasylumseekerinatruck;youactasthesmugglerto earn some money to move to another country. There are many people whostartedbytransferringonemigranttoearnmoneyfortheirjourneybutafterawhiletheybecameprofessionalsmugglersandstayed inGreeceandrun theirbusiness.”(RejectedAsylumSeeker,25yearsold)

None of the respondents in the sample stated that they engaged in such activities, however,respondents reflected that they were considering this if they became desperate enough. Thissuggeststhattheextremevulnerabilityofmigrantsmayleadtofurtherwideningandstrengtheningofsmugglingnetworks.

A small number of respondents who were either famillies or UAMs at the time of their stay inGreece reported receiving assistance in Greece from UN organisations. These respondents weregiven a place to live, food from church groups and pyscho‐social assistance. In addition, a smallnumber of respondents received assistance from other individuals in transit. For instance, onerespondentreceivedassistancefromanAfghanheapproachedonthestreet:

“They[thesmugglers]stoppedatagasstation;theyletmeout,andtoldme,“Waithere,someonewillpickyouupfromhere.”Ikeptwaitingthereforalongtimebutnothing happened. Iwas scared; I did not have a phone,money. I did not knowanyonethere.Isawaprivatecarthere;Iwentandspokewithhim.Hehadblackhair;IguessedthatheshouldbeTurk,Moroccan,amigrant,insum.Speakingwithhim, I foundthathewasalsoanAfghanwho lived in Italy.HewasonhiswaytoFrance. I askedhim ifhe cangivemea ride to somewhere.Heaskedmedoyouhavepassport, Irepliedbacktohim,“Yes”. I liedtohimbecause if I toldhimthetruthhewouldneverhelpme.AttheborderofFranceandSwitzerland,Ithinkitwas Switzerland; the police stopped us and asked for ID. The guy showed hisdocument,butIdidnothaveanydocuments.ThenIwasarrestedbyFrenchpolicethere.”(FormerUAM,19yearsold)

Althoughthisrespondentwasdetainedbythepolicehewasreleasedthenextday.Hethenwentto

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Paris,andeventuallyconnectedwithanothersmugglerwhobroughthimtotheNetherlands.

Italywasthefinalprimarycountryoftransit.RespondentsthatwenttoItalytendedtogoeitherinavan, truckor inacontaineronaship.Thesemethodswerealsohighrisk,although inadifferentwaythantravellingtoGreece,inthatrespondentsfrequentlytravelledinrefrigerationcontainers.Uponarrivaltheywereinstructedbythesmugglerstomakealotofnoisesothattheywouldbeletoutofthecontainers:

“The smuggler had told us, ‘When you off‐load, make noise so that the drivernoticesandopensthedoor.’Westartedwithotherguystohitthedoorandmakenoises, finally the drivers stopped at some point; I guess it was restaurant orsomething, when he opened the door, we, 3, jumped out of the truck and ran.”(FormerUAM,20yearold)

Fromthismethod,somerespondentswerealsocaughtbythepolice.OneformerUAMstatedthatwhenhewasdetainedby thepolice: “Theyputourhandsunderamachine, itwas like scanning.Thentheytoldmeandtwootherguysthatsinceyouare16yearsoldwewouldnotdeportyoutoGreece”(Former UAM, 21 year old). The practice of X‐raying the left hand as a part of an ageassessmentisacommonpracticeinEurope(Keunenetal.,2013).

ItisnoteworthythatsomeformerUAMswereunawareofthecountriesthattheytransitedthroughand the routes they took to reach the Netherlands. For themost part, respondents stated beinghighlydependentuponthesmugglerwithlittleawarenessregardingtheirsituationandfeelingthattheylackedtheabilitytoprotectthemselveswiththesmuggler.Severalrespondentsreportedbeingbeaten by the smuggler during parts of the journey. One respondent stated: “When you aretravellingwithasmuggler,yourlifeisinhishands,whateverhedoestoyou,killsyou,youdonotknow anyone else, wherever he takes you, you have to go.” (Former UAM, 20 year old). Thevulnerabilityofminorsisakeyissueofconcernintheirmigrationjourneysandraisesconcernsastohowminorscanbeprotectedintransitcountries.

DestinationChoice:Whenandhowaredestinationschosen?

This section examines the destination choice of the migrants, including when the decision wasmadetocometotheNetherlandsoranotherintendeddestination,andhowthedecisionwasmade.We find that as noted by Pinkerton and Koser (2002), destination choice is commonlymade intransitattheadviceofothermigrantsandsmugglers.

Twenty‐onepercent(10)oftherespondentsintendeddestinationwastheNetherlands.Sixoftheserespondents made the decision to come to the Netherlands prior to departure. Of these sixrespondents, fourmade the decision based on a network tie in theNetherlands, one had familymake the decision for them, and one person chose the Netherlands as they had read about thecountryandbelievedithadagoodhumanitarianreputation.AlloftherespondentsthatchosetheNetherlands because of a network tie did not actually have contact with the network tie uponarrival.Oftentheyhadnocontact informationforthispersonandwerejusttoldbyfamilytofindthemuponarrival.TheotherfourrespondentsthatchosetheNetherlandsdidsointransitbasedoninformationthattheyreceivedfromothermigrants.Onerespondentstated:

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“Honestly, I did not know anything about NL; the smuggler told me that I wouldtransfer you to one of the European countries from Greece. In Greece, I heard frompeople thatNL isagoodcountryandhasgoodpeople; I reallydidnothaveany ideaabout NL. I talked with the smuggler along the way and told him, “I heard positivethingsaboutNL,IwouldbethankfulifyouwouldtransfermetoNL.”Thesmugglerdidso andbroughtme to Schiphol and leftme alone.” (RejectedAsylumSeeker, 36yearold)

Nineteen respondents had an intendeddestination thatwas not theNetherlands, ofwhich17 ofthese respondents (89%) choose the intended destinationwhile in transit based on advice fromothermigrantsandsmugglers.Twelveof theserespondentswere trying tomigrate toSweden. ItappearsthatSwedenwascommonlysuggestedasagoodcountrytomigratetoasoneformerUAMstated(20yearold):“I justheardinGreecethatSweden isabettercountryandtheyunderstandasylumseekersproblemsbetter”.

Themajority of these 19 respondents that had other intendeddestinationswere arrested in theNetherlandswhile in route to other destinations. For one respondent theywere trying to get toCanada, but the smuggler never came to give them their ticket, and thus they instead claimedasylum in the Netherlands. For respondents trying to reach Sweden, Finland or Denmark, theNetherlandswasthusintendedasatransitcountryandnotthedestination.

Itisalsostrikingthat14respondentshadnointendeddestinationatall;expressingthattheywereonlytryingtoleaveanditdidnotmatterwheretheywent.Onerespondentexplainedthisas:

“Ijustwantedtogotoasafecountry,tobuildourlife.ItdidnotmatterformetogotoGermany,BelgiumorNL.Ihaveneveraskedsmuggleraboutthecountryofdestination,theyspokeinadifferentlanguage.”(RAS,family,30yearsold)

ExactlyhalfoftherespondentsthathadnointendeddestinationwereformerUAMs.

Intotal18respondentsstatedthatthedestinationwaschosenbythesmugglerandthattheywerenot involved in the decision. Thirteen of these respondents were former UAMs, suggesting thatformer UAMs aremore vulnerable in determining their destination choice. A total of 12 formerUAMsseemedtohaveverylittleawarenessofwheretheyweremigratingatanygiventime.SomeoftheseformerUAMswereunsureastoiftheirfamilymembersthatarrangedtheirmigrationhadchosen their destination or if the smuggler chose the destination. One former UAM stated: “Thesmuggler tookmehere, Idonotknowwhotold themtobringmetoNL.”(FormerUAM,18yearold).

ThissectionhashighlightedthreekeypointsregardingthedestinationchoiceoftheNetherlands.First,onlyone‐fifthoftherespondentsactuallyintendedtomigratetotheNetherlands,highlightingthat theNetherlands isnot itselfacentral intendeddestination.Second,Swedenwasan intendeddestination for 13 respondents (12 decided on Sweden in transit, and 1 respondent decided onSwedenpriortodeparture),andFinlandandDenmarkeachforonerespondent.Therefore,32percentofthesample,almostonethird,gotstuckintheNetherlands,whichwasintendedasatransitcountry to theirdestination.Thispresents an interestingpictureof theNetherlandsasa ‘transit’

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country as opposed to a ‘destination’ country. Furthermore, there is also evidence as to theimportanceofnetworksandaccess to informationprovidedbyothermigrantsand smugglersenroute. The information received primarily in Greece and Italy was that Sweden was the mostdesirablecountry,which iswhysomanyrespondents intendedtomigratetoSweden.Third, it isstrikingthat30percentofrespondentshadnointendeddestinationatthetimeofdeparture.Thishighlights the role of smugglers in making decisions regarding destination choice, as therespondentswerenotevenintendingtogettoEurope,butwouldhavegonewhereverthesmugglertookthem.ThemajorityofrespondentsinthissituationwereformerUAMsandthisalsostressesthevulnerabilityofminorsinthemigrationprocess.

ExperiencesintheNetherlands

UponarrivalintheNetherlandsthemajorirtyofrespondentsidentifiedthemselvesimmediatelytothepolicetoclaimasylum.AsmallnumberofrespondentswerestoppedintheNetherlandsbythepolicewhileenroutetootherdestinations,suchasSweden.AllrespondentsclaimedasylumonceintheNetherlands.Alladultsarereferredtotheasylumseekerreceptioncentersfortheprocessingoftheirclaim.ForUAMs,thereareslightdifferencesdependingontheirage.Childrenunder12yearolds are generally placedwith a foster family under the guardianship of the organisation Nidos(EMN, 2010). UAMs over the age of 12 are placed under the care of the Central Agency forReception of Asylum Seekers (COA)where themajoirty are placed into Child Residence Groups(CRGs).UAMchildrenarepemittedtogotoschoolandmovefreelywithinDutchsociety.Asylumclaims are processed while UAMs are in the Netherlands as minors, however, rejected asylumseekers that areminors cannot be removed from the Netherlands until they are 18 years adult.Thus, UAMs whose claims have been rejected know that when turning 18 they will either bereturned to Afghanistan or become irregular migrants, also termed UAMs that ‘go missing’ or‘dissapear’.

Some respondents stated, however, that they were not informed until they were 18 that theirclaims had been rejected. Upon turing 18, they were immediately transferred to an asylumreception center,wherein from there they received additional information on their asylum case.Severalrespondents,bothformerUAMsandrejectedadultasylumseekersstatedhavingchallengesintheasylumreceptioncenters,suchas:notbeingveryclean,overcroweded,andthehighlevelsofstressandtensioninthecentersimpactingtheirmenthalwellbeing.

At the timeof interview,19percentof therespondentswere living inreceptioncentersandtherestwere living irregularly.Respondentsresiding inthereceptioncentersstatedthat iswasverystessfulanddifficultforthemastheywereunabletoworkandlivedinfeareverydaythatthepolicewouldcomeanddeportthem.ThoselivingirregularlywereeithersupportedbyNGOs,livingwithfriends, or fequentlymoving from place to place. Themajority of respondents received supportfromNGOs,churches,orfriendsintheNetherlands.ItisimportanttonotethattheNGOsprovidingsupport were organisations assisting refugees, asylum seekers and irregular migrants and notAfghan NGOs established in the Netherlands. Respondents had very little interactions with theregularised Afghan population in the Netherlands. Several former UAMs were able to receive

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supportfromfriendstheymetintheCRGsandafewrejectedasylumseekerswereabletoreceivesupportfromfriendsfromthereceptioncenters.

Tenof the respondentswereworking in theblackmarket andof these, eightof the respondentswereworkingindaylabouractivities.Whentheywereabletogetworktheywereeitherpaidfiveeurosperhouror fiftyeuros for theday,however, themainconcernwas thehigh irregularityofthiswork.

Duetothe lackofopportunitiesforinformalemployment in theNetherlands,support fromNGOsandnetworksarecriticaltosurvivalforthemigrants.Onerespondentstated:

“Ilivedfor5,6monthswithdifficulties:beggingtopeople,cryingtothem,askingthemtohostme, there isnoplace foryouwhenyouare illegaluntil I foundthischurch inwhich I live now. They provide housing for illegal people. They provide me withhousing,medical supports, transportation costs, and food.ThankGod.Theyaregoodpeople,nowIfeelbetterthanatthattime.”(FormerUAM,22yearsold)

Akeychallenge is that thesupport fromtheNGOs isgenerally time limited.For instance,severalrespondentsstatedthattheyfeltquitestressedastowhattheywoulddowhentheyhadto leavetheaccomodationprovidedbytheNGO:“Iamlivingonthestreet, if[NGO]wants,theycouldkickmeoutoftheirplace.WherecouldIgothen?”(FormerUAM,19yearsold).

For themost part, formerUAMsweremore likely to havemade friends thatwere able to assistthemascomparedtotheadultrejectedasylumseekers.FormerUAMswereabletomakefriendsintheCRGsandatschool.AlthoughformerUAMsalsoreportedhighlevelsofanimosityandtauntingfrom Dutch students in the schools, somewere also able to make connections with both Dutchstudents and other UAMs. These network tieswere essential for receiving support, primarily intermsoffindinghousing.OnerespondentstatedthatwhenaDutchfriendtoldtheirparentsabouttheir situation, the parent assisted to find accommodation for the former UAM. These types ofsituationswereunique,buthadahighimpactonthemigrant.

IntermsofmaintainingconnectionstoAfghanistanwhileintheNetherlands,thereisafairlyevensplit of respondents thatareandarenot in contactwith their families.For thosewhoarenot incontact it iseitherbecausetheir familieshavemoved,theylosttouch,orarenotabletoaffordtocontact them.Forthosethatare incontactwiththeir family,some lieabouttheirsituation in theNetherlandstomakeitappearmorepositivetotheirfamilies:

“Wouldyou tell your family if youwere inmyshoes? I cannot tell them that I amlivinginEuropebutIsleeponthestreet,IcannottellthemIamlivinginEuropebutI am searching for EUR 1 everywhere. I am actually a beggar here while I amworking because I ask people to let me work for them” (Adult Rejected AsylumSeeker,33yearsold).

Severalof theserespondentsstatedhowever, thattheythinktheir familiescanseethroughtheirlies:

15

“TheyknowthatIdonothavestatus.ItoldthemthatalthoughIdonothavestatus,Ihave a good life here, the government serves us. But mothers always realise thetruth;when her child speaks, she figures out if he is telling the truth or not. Shealwaystellsme,‘Iknowthatyouaretellinglie’”(FormerUAM,20yearsold).

On the other hand, a small number of respondents do tell their families the entire truth. Onerespondentstated:

“Yes,theyareawareofmysituationhere.IsentthemsomephotofromthecampsinwhichIlived.Itoldthem,‘Thesearecampsinwhichyouneedtostayandwaituntilyougettheresult’…Whenmyfamilyseesmycurrentlifeandsituation,theyare really worried. Even my friends, with whom I used to go to mosque, keeptellingmethatyoushouldnotacceptyourweeklymoneyfromCOAbecauseyouarenotsureifthemoneyisHalal.TheysuggestedthatIwork;ItoldthemthatIamnot allowed to work. All of them are worried and unhappy about my life here”(AdultRejectedAsylumSeeker,31yearsold).

Asisevidentintheabovequote,severalrespondentsstatedthattheirfamiliesdonotunderstandthe asylum system. Families offer advice such as going to another country or trying to submit aclaimagainandwaitforapositivereply.

Access to information and advice from trusted networks is clearly critical in decision makingfactorsofthemigrants.Unfortunately,however,itappearsthatmigrantsarefrequentlyill‐advised.Thisifoftennotbecausepeoplearemalicious,butsimplydonotappeartohaveaccesstotherightinformationtoadvisepeopleaccurately.Onerespondenttookadvicefromanindividualtheymetintransitthatwaslaterperceivedasdetrimentaltotheirasylumclaim:

“In Schiphol Imet a guy, I told him that Iwas inGreece and Iwas finger printedthere. He toldme not to say about your finger print in Greece to the IND, if theyfigure itout,theywilldeportyoutoGreece. IrememberedmyconditioninGreecewithoutanyplacetosleep,soIdecidednottotelltheINDaboutmyfingerprint, IwasafraidofbeingdeportedtoGreece.WhentheyfiguredoutmyfigureprintinginGreece,theydidnotbelieveevenmytruestory,whateverIsaid;theythoughtthatitwasalie.Thentheyconsideredmeasaliar.”(FormerUAM,22yearsold)

Inanotherexample,respondentsreceivedinformationthatconditionsinSwedenwerebetterthantheNetherlands,andthereforetried tomigratetotheSweden.Fiverespondentswent toSwedenand tried to claim asylum in Sweden, reflecting that they do not understand the processing ofasyluminEUcountries.TheylefttheNetherlandsduetofearofdeportationorthattheyfeltasylumseekersintheNetherlandswerenottreatedwell.Eventually,allweresentbacktotheNetherlandsfromSweden.

All respondents reported facing several current problems in the Netherlands with the mostfrequentandimportantchallengebeingnothavingstatus.Otherchallengesincluded:mentalstate,therepatriationofficeandfearofarrestanddeportation,language,loneliness,unemploymentandlack ofmoney, missing family and friends in Afghanistan, and overall uncertainty regarding the

16

future.

FutureAspirations

Discussions regarding the future revealed high levels of uncertainty and frustration. However,manyrespondentsstillhavehopetoreceiverefugeestatus:

“One of my challenges here is not having the refugee status. I never look at havingrefugeestatusasthefinalthing;Iratherlookatitasthebeginningofmylife.IfIhadit,I couldplan formy future, I could settlea life, I couldmarry someone, I could study,nowIcannotdoanyofthem.Thisismymajorconcern”(FormerUAM,21yearsold).

Themajorityof respondentshadplans to stay in theNetherlands;however, as illustratedabove,theirkeyconcernwashowtheyweregoingtoliveintheNetherlands.Onerespondenthighlightedthathenolongerthinksaboutthefutureandonlytoday:“HonestlysinceIbecameillegal,Iforgotmydreams;Iusedtohavemanyplansanddreamsforthefuture.SinceIbecameillegal,Ijustthinkabouttodaynottomorrow”(FormerUAM,20yearsold).

This reflects the uncertainty and stress felt by the migrants. Simultaneously, the majority ofrespondents did not see return to Afghanistan as a conceivable option: “If they deport me toAfghanistan, it is likedeath; Idealwith this feelingeverydayevenwhile Iamsleeping” (FormerUAM,20yearsold).

Thestateoflimboisakeychallengeforirregularmigrants,especiallyamongstthisgroupastheyhaveverylimitedlivelihoodopportunitiesandarefullyreliantonNGOs.Inaddition,clearlylivingin the Netherlands irregularly for the majority of this group is not a feasible option. There arehighly limitedopportunities forworking in the irregularsectorandpeopleareunable tosupportthemselves.On theotherhand, there isevidence in theNetherlands thathumanitarianactionsofNGOs, local municipalities, and state employees ‘looking the other way’ allows for continuedsupport to provide to irregular migrants (Leerkes, forthcoming; van der Leun, 2006). However,otherirregularmigrantgroupsintheNetherlandsappeartofaremuchbetterthanAfghansastheyhavestrongernetworksofsupport.ThesituationoftheirregularAfghansisanareaofconcernduetotheirdireneedandhighlevelsofvulnerability.

Conclusion

ThispaperhasprovidedadescriptiveoverviewofthepatternsandprocessesofirregularmigrationfromAfghanistantotheNetherlands.Thesampleconsistsof47migrantsthathaveallbeenrefusedasylumintheNetherlands,ofwhich26respondents(55%)wereformerUAMs.ThereareseveralinterestingfindingsfromthisstudythatcancontributetoourunderstandingsofAfghanirregularmigration.

Theunique compositionof the sample between formerUAMsand adult rejected asylum seekersallowed for comparisons to bemadebetween these two groups.On thewhole, it is evident thattherearenoteworthydifferencesbetweenthepatternsandprocessesofmigrationbetweenthesetwogroups.

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The paper also elicits three central points for further consideration. First, emigration fromAfghanistan continues tooccur irregularly forabroadrangeof reasons.Thedriversaremultipleandcomplex,andoftenoverlapping.

Second, Afghanmigrants acquire significant information in transit countries that influence theirdestinationchoices.Theyrelyoninformationfromothermigrants,andthisstudyhasshownthatSwedenwasaprimaryintendeddestinationbasedoninformationacquiredthroughnetworks.Thishas also highlighted the unique position of the Netherlands as a transit country instead of adestinationchoice.

Finally, it is clear that despite no longer having the right to stay in the Netherlands and thehardshipsanduncertaintiesthatarisefrombeingirregularmigrants,therespondentsinthisstudystill choose to stay in the Netherlands. They live in a state of continuous limbo and uncertaintyrelyingonassistancefromNGOsandothers.Thisraiseskeyquestionsatthepolitical,societal,andhumanrightslevelastohowtobestaddressthisgroup?

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