A year after fleeing Afghanistan in the face of the takeover of power by the radical Islamic Taliban, ‘former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani predicts a large movement of refugees from his country. “Millions will try to flee Afghanistan,” Ghani told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. According to the report, most of the refugees would try to get to Germany.
Ghani, who lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates, also said that he still considered himself the legitimate head of state of Afghanistan – and would therefore appreciate being welcomed by the German government. “If they are interested in solutions, I have a lot of in mind,” Ghani said.
Ghani said he was convinced that the majority of refugees were heading for Germany. Whether they make it to Germany depends “also on the traffickers”. These are “part of a criminal network”. The possibility of getting to Germany is “a question of affordability”.
Ghani explained what he saw as a likely massive movement of refugees by saying that many people in Afghanistan were losing “a sense of belonging” and hope. After 44 years of uninterrupted violence, the people of Afghanistan had had enough of being “a battlefield”, Ghani said. Moreover, the health system in his homeland is currently collapsing due to the pandemic.