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2. The Afghan Refugee Camps in Pakistan

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Condemned to Repeat?
This chapter is in the book Condemned to Repeat?
551Aristide R. Zolberg, Astri Suhrke, and Sergio Aguayo, Escape from Violence: Conflict and theRefugee Crisis in the Developing World(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 254.2The unquestioned acceptance of the politicization of humanitarian aid is well shown byits absence from the agenda and from discussion at an international symposium held in 1987on the domestic and foreign implications of the Afghan refugee crisis. The symposium at-tracted some 180 participants from twenty countries who were directly and indirectly in-volved in the refugee issue. See “The Crisis of Migration from Afghanistan: Domestic andForeign Implications,” Summary of the Proceedings of an International Symposium, co-sponsored by the Refugee Studies Programme and the Department of Ethnology and Prehis-tory at Oxford University, 29 March to 2 April 1987, Oxford.2The Afghan Refugee Camps in PakistanPakistan was one o fthe most generous and compliant asylumstates o fthe 1980s. A fter the Soviet invasion o fA fghanistan in1979 and during the ten years o fSoviet occupation, Pakistanhosted over three million Afghan refugees and resistance fighters. TheAfghan refugee camps, situated close to the Afghan border, served adual purpose as a refuge for victims of conflict and as a sanctuary inwhichmujahideen(“Warriors in the Way o fGod”) could rest, recuper-ate, and recruit new combatants. Zolberg, Suhrke, and Aguayo dubbedthe Afghans in Pakistan “the world’s most effective refugee-warriorcommunity.”1One of the striking features of this case is that aid organizations recog-nized aspects of the dual role of the camps, yet there was little debate con-cerning the ethical issues this raised or the implications for the safety ofthe refugees. Instead the aid community, journalists, and academics alikeexhibited broad tolerance of the ambiguous camp functions.2Pakistan as a Military SanctuaryThe Afghan resistance movement of the mujahideen had all the necessarycriteria for an armed insurgency. A loyal support base inside Afghanistanprovided food, shelter, information, and recruits to the resistance; the ter-rain of Afghanistan favored guerrilla warfare; ideological unity in Islam in-
© 2017 Cornell University Press, Ithaca

551Aristide R. Zolberg, Astri Suhrke, and Sergio Aguayo, Escape from Violence: Conflict and theRefugee Crisis in the Developing World(New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 254.2The unquestioned acceptance of the politicization of humanitarian aid is well shown byits absence from the agenda and from discussion at an international symposium held in 1987on the domestic and foreign implications of the Afghan refugee crisis. The symposium at-tracted some 180 participants from twenty countries who were directly and indirectly in-volved in the refugee issue. See “The Crisis of Migration from Afghanistan: Domestic andForeign Implications,” Summary of the Proceedings of an International Symposium, co-sponsored by the Refugee Studies Programme and the Department of Ethnology and Prehis-tory at Oxford University, 29 March to 2 April 1987, Oxford.2The Afghan Refugee Camps in PakistanPakistan was one o fthe most generous and compliant asylumstates o fthe 1980s. A fter the Soviet invasion o fA fghanistan in1979 and during the ten years o fSoviet occupation, Pakistanhosted over three million Afghan refugees and resistance fighters. TheAfghan refugee camps, situated close to the Afghan border, served adual purpose as a refuge for victims of conflict and as a sanctuary inwhichmujahideen(“Warriors in the Way o fGod”) could rest, recuper-ate, and recruit new combatants. Zolberg, Suhrke, and Aguayo dubbedthe Afghans in Pakistan “the world’s most effective refugee-warriorcommunity.”1One of the striking features of this case is that aid organizations recog-nized aspects of the dual role of the camps, yet there was little debate con-cerning the ethical issues this raised or the implications for the safety ofthe refugees. Instead the aid community, journalists, and academics alikeexhibited broad tolerance of the ambiguous camp functions.2Pakistan as a Military SanctuaryThe Afghan resistance movement of the mujahideen had all the necessarycriteria for an armed insurgency. A loyal support base inside Afghanistanprovided food, shelter, information, and recruits to the resistance; the ter-rain of Afghanistan favored guerrilla warfare; ideological unity in Islam in-
© 2017 Cornell University Press, Ithaca

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Maps ix
  4. Acknowledgments xi
  5. Abbreviations xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. 1. Humanitarian Action and Responsibility 17
  8. 2. The Afghan Refugee Camps in Pakistan 55
  9. 3. The Nicaraguan and Salvadoran Refugee Camps in Honduras 83
  10. 4. The Cambodian Refugee Camps in Thailand 114
  11. 5. The Rwandan Refugee Camps in Zaire 155
  12. 6. Humanitarian Action in a Second-Best World 216
  13. Appendix: Documents from the Rwandan Refugee Camps 247
  14. Index 277
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https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801468643-006

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. Maps ix
  4. Acknowledgments xi
  5. Abbreviations xiii
  6. Introduction 1
  7. 1. Humanitarian Action and Responsibility 17
  8. 2. The Afghan Refugee Camps in Pakistan 55
  9. 3. The Nicaraguan and Salvadoran Refugee Camps in Honduras 83
  10. 4. The Cambodian Refugee Camps in Thailand 114
  11. 5. The Rwandan Refugee Camps in Zaire 155
  12. 6. Humanitarian Action in a Second-Best World 216
  13. Appendix: Documents from the Rwandan Refugee Camps 247
  14. Index 277
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