A joyous reunion
After harrowing journeys across borders on his own, UNICEF safely reunited 12-year-old Matiullah with his family in Afghanistan
TORKHAM BORDER, NANGARHAR, AFGHANISTAN – For many families, migration can offer hope for new economic opportunities. In Afghanistan, some parents even encourage or assist their children to migrate to earn money, even knowing the risks. But when children migrate alone, without family or guardians, it can expose them to harmful care situations, chronic poverty, violence and exploitation.
Thousands of children migrate out of Afghanistan each year.
But last year in 2023, nearly 3,000 UNICEF-supported social workers helped reunite nearly 14,000 children who were separated from their families.
12-year-old Matiullah is one of these 14,000. Originally from Panjshir, his family left Afghanistan in 1996 due to conflict in the country. They resettled in Peshawar, Pakistan, where Matiullah was born and lived with his 11 siblings and his mother. He studied hard, and when he reached grade 7, he started a small online business after school with his brothers. But Matiullah and his family were living in Pakistan without documentation, and in October last year, the Government of Pakistan decreed that undocumented Afghans should leave.
But instead of going home to Afghanistan, Matiullah decided to follow rumours of a better life and more opportunity in Iran. Against his mother’s wishes, Matiullah decided to go there alone.
Undocumented across borders
“I talked to a smuggler, who promised to help me cross the Iran-Pakistan border if I paid,” he said. “I walked for many hours in the desert and slept in crowded and dirty places. I met other children in my situation, and some of them were sick, injured, or got lost.”
He was scared and lonely, but several weeks later, he eventually arrived in Iran.
But Matiullah had no relatives there, no friends, and no documentation. He discovered he could not attend school or get a job. He could not even find a place to stay.
“I was hungry, and my clothes were dirty, and I really missed my mother,” Matiullah said. “I wanted to go back to Pakistan to find her, but the smuggler took all my money, and I had no way of contacting my family.”
He decided to go back to Pakistan and try to find his family, but he was afraid to cross the Iran-Pakistan border again.
“I decided to try crossing through Afghanistan instead, my ancestral homeland.”
Respite at the UNICEF Drop-In Centre
Again, Matiullah braved the elements to walk for days. He entered Afghanistan from Iran, then crossed the country and tried to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan’s eastern Torkham border.
“I had to avoid many checkpoints and mines. I didn’t have food or water or shelter.”
But Matiullah could not re-enter Pakistan because he did not have identification or travel documents. Now alone in Afghanistan at the Torkham border, he felt he had nowhere to go.
“I felt like giving up. But then I saw a sign that said, ‘UNICEF Drop-In Centre.’”
Clean clothes and a hot meal
He followed the signs and found a bright, welcoming place where he met other children with similar stories. At the centre, UNICEF’s partner – the High Afghanistan Rehabilitation Organization (HARO) – gave Matiullah food, clean clothes, and a safe, comfortable place to sleep. He spent the next few days playing games and sports with the two other boys at the centre.
Most importantly, Matiullah sat down with a mental health counsellor. Speaking with the counsellor helped him process his difficult, weeks-long journey across borders, and talk about his frustration and grief at being separated from his family.
“I was happy and comfortable at the centre. I had food to eat, a place to sleep, and I made a few new friends,” he said.
"I was both excited and nervous to meet my uncle and extended family."
A family reunited
While Matiullah rested, UNICEF’s partner HARO was hard at work. Matiullah was registered as an unaccompanied minor. Social workers used their networks to trace his family members living in Afghanistan.
Social workers discovered Matiullah’s aunt and uncle were living in Kabul, about four hours away. They called his family, verified their relation to Matiullah, and arranged for his uncle to come pick him up. His family was overjoyed to hear that Matiullah was found, and relieved to hear from him.
“I was excited and nervous to meet my uncle and my extended family,” Matiullah recalled. But when his uncle arrived at the drop-in centre, they formed a fast bond. They shared a meal and talked for hours about Matiullah’s family in Kabul. Although they had never met him, they knew him.
Matiullah said goodbye to his new friends and the kind staff at the UNICEF drop-in centre and left with his uncle to join his family in Kabul.
Matiullah’s journey is not over yet, but he has found some hope and happiness.
Matiullah is grateful to have a safe and welcoming family in Afghanistan, but also hopes to reestablish contact with his mother and brothers in Pakistan. In the meantime, he is looking forward to going back to school and making new friends. He still dreams of being a child.
UNICEF drop-in centres (also known as interim care centres), and family tracing and reunification for unaccompanied and separated children, are supported through UNICEF's partnership with USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and the European Union (EU).
UNICEF also receives additional support for child protection case management from the Government of Spain, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Republic of Korea, and the Government of Italy.
With these contributions, in 2023, UNICEF reunited nearly 14,000 children with their families, provided cash assistance to 9,500 children to help them reintegrate and resettle in Afghanistan, referred 5,225 children to education services like public schools or community-based education, and facilitated economic reintegration like vocational training for 1,900 children.
