Allies left to deal with Afghan refugee crisis

Europe finds itself under great pressure to shoulder the burden of the US' debacle

The United States' hasty withdrawal in Afghanistan not only produced a large number of refugees with an unknown future, but it has also left its European allies struggling to deal with the imminent wave of refugees.

The Kabul International Airport, which is located 5 kilometers from the city center, has been in utter chaos since the Taliban entered the capital Kabul on Aug 15, with thousands of Afghans in hope of leaving the country crowding the perimeter of the airport.

However, as the initiator of the chaos and the one responsible for the current worsening refugee crisis in Afghanistan, experts said the US is trying to distract people's attention by calling on allies to accept a large amount of refugees.

About half a million Afghans have been internally displaced by violence this year alone, with the vast majority of Afghans unable to leave the country through regular channels, according to a statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Facing a large Afghan refugee inflow, the US cannot accept them on a large scale, with its domestic economy under great pressure and the government also facing criticism domestically on the Afghanistan issue, said Zou Zhiqiang, a researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University.

"The US can easily restrict the inflow of refugees from the Middle East by relying on its geographical advantages, and force European countries to face greater pressure and shoulder the burden," he said.

This situation is similar to the Syrian civil conflict, which created a refugee crisis that has not been handled well to this day.

"This time, the US once again called on its allies to accept refugees and the international society to share the responsibility," Zou said. "This is fundamentally a way of evading its own responsibility."

Principle of responsibility

Refugees include those displaced by the war, translators and logistics personnel hired by the US military, and people who want to leave Afghanistan due to economic factors.

But the US said it would only receive about 10,000 Afghan employees who have served the US military.

Ding Long, a professor from the Shanghai International Studies University, said a principle of "whoever causes the trouble is the one responsible" should be followed when assisting Afghanistan, though the international community can also provide humanitarian aid.

"As the instigator and the country directly responsible for the chaos in Afghanistan, the US, as well as the Western countries, can't just leave the mess to the Afghan people and neighboring countries," he said.

"This will make Afghanistan's independence and self-reliance even more distant in the foreseeable future, and put a heavy burden on the regional security and development."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Aug 21 urged all countries, especially European ones, to take in some refugees.

However, Zou said more European countries would be unwilling to accept large numbers of Afghan refugees due to a recurrence of the refugee crisis.

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that Europe alone cannot shoulder the consequences of the situation in Afghanistan, and must anticipate and protect themselves against significant irregular migratory flows.

Given that Western countries are unwilling to accept large numbers of refugees, Zou said it is possible for these countries to provide money to neighboring or third countries so as to host resettlement of refugees to avoid a larger refugee flow.

Turkey has expressed concern and said it could not bail out the European Union by taking in Afghans who worked for Western countries in Afghanistan.

"You cannot expect Turkey to take on the responsibility of third countries," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Aug 22, adding that his country is hosting around 5 million refugees and "cannot support an additional migratory burden".

Agencies contributed to this story.