The Refugees Of Mazar-e Sharif
Thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid a fierce Taliban offensive in the country's north. Many of those displaced have escaped to the northern province of Balkh, where they face a life of misery and squalor in makeshift refugee camps and shelters.
![Homayra, a widow carrying her paralyzed child, lives in a makeshift refugee camp outside Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh Province.](https://gdb.rferl.org/72d36c24-e3a3-4bd9-9c37-72b098732025_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Homayra, a widow carrying her paralyzed child, lives in a makeshift refugee camp outside Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh Province.
![Faizia (left), Homayra’s mother-in-law, lost her husband when their home was bombed. She was blinded by a piece of shrapnel.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a5469f25-a53e-4135-8db8-d95a7a9d9edc_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Faizia (left), Homayra’s mother-in-law, lost her husband when their home was bombed. She was blinded by a piece of shrapnel.
![Thousands of families from across northern Afghanistan have fled to Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital and a relative oasis of peace in the region.](https://gdb.rferl.org/d249cd78-6a90-437c-8f9a-8a9508a211ee_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Thousands of families from across northern Afghanistan have fled to Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital and a relative oasis of peace in the region.
![Abdul, one of the makeshift camp’s residents, fled from Faryab Province after fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces.](https://gdb.rferl.org/e9086dee-91f2-47b5-8100-d4c5a8960888_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Abdul, one of the makeshift camp’s residents, fled from Faryab Province after fierce fighting between the Taliban and government forces.
![The parents of 14-year-old Negina, from Sar-e Pol Province, were killed in a militant attack. She lives with her grandmother at the Balkh camp.](https://gdb.rferl.org/a6c65a9f-8b20-43f3-a3db-ef1acde20577_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The parents of 14-year-old Negina, from Sar-e Pol Province, were killed in a militant attack. She lives with her grandmother at the Balkh camp.
![Mohammad Yusuf, a former soldier from Kunduz Province, has lived at the camp for several months. Kunduz has been the center of a major Taliban offensive.](https://gdb.rferl.org/bbfb3a44-ace5-4ebb-be2f-51dab7dcf082_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Mohammad Yusuf, a former soldier from Kunduz Province, has lived at the camp for several months. Kunduz has been the center of a major Taliban offensive.
![Khalid, 8, fled with his family from their home in Samangan Province.](https://gdb.rferl.org/dea491d3-210a-4367-933f-98e0abca84e5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Khalid, 8, fled with his family from their home in Samangan Province.
![Some of the more fortunate displaced Afghans have taken jobs at brick kilns in Balkh to help squeeze out a living for themselves and their families.](https://gdb.rferl.org/f0cc4aec-2cc4-41eb-9089-e044717bbc5c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Some of the more fortunate displaced Afghans have taken jobs at brick kilns in Balkh to help squeeze out a living for themselves and their families.
![Balkh has not been shielded from the violence. Agha Jan, an elderly farmer from Balkh’s Chimtal district, moved to the outskirts of Mazar-e Sharif three months ago. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/aba5ee1e-d79d-4555-8eed-43daa00309fd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Balkh has not been shielded from the violence. Agha Jan, an elderly farmer from Balkh’s Chimtal district, moved to the outskirts of Mazar-e Sharif three months ago.
![Asadullah, 7, lives in a mud-brick house with his family of eight.](https://gdb.rferl.org/3b81de01-9a39-4039-9c2e-bdce19610439_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Asadullah, 7, lives in a mud-brick house with his family of eight.
![Hundreds of people from Balkh’s far-flung districts and villages have fled rising violence to come to the relative safety of Mazar-e Sharif.](https://gdb.rferl.org/5f9e0621-1c02-4092-b465-ad1cdbb0db84_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Hundreds of people from Balkh’s far-flung districts and villages have fled rising violence to come to the relative safety of Mazar-e Sharif.