Afghans Begin New Exodus, Often At Great Cost Convulsed by war
and civil strife for decades, Afghanistan has experienced some
of the largest ebbs and flows of migration anywhere in the
world. It began with the Soviet invasion in 1979, which sent
millions of Afghans fleeing to Iran and Pakistan. When the
Taliban were driven from power in 2001, many Afghans began
returning home. Now, the country has hit another milestone: For
the first time since 2002 and the beginning of the current war
in Afghanistan, the country has a negative migration rate — more
Afghans are leaving than returning. The uncertainty of what
Afghanistan will look like after 2014, when the NATO forces
leave, has many Afghans heading for the exits, or at least
trying to, and some are paying huge sums of money to get out any
way they can. Aziz Momand is a 30-year-old taxi driver in Kabul.
Sitting in his road-worn Toyota Corolla wagon in the center of
the city, he explains his desire to leave. "I have concerns that
2014 is arriving and people tal