Fleeing Home, Chasing Hope: The Refugee And Migrant Experience

War. Conflict. Climate change. Economics. Persecution. Politics.

The root causes are myriad, but the tens of millions swept up in the international migration wave all share one thing in common: They left their homes, reluctantly, in search of safety or prosperity for themselves and their families.

Upwards of 300 million people are classified by the United Nations as international migrants; one in every eight migrants worldwide is a child.

That’s some 3.6 percent of the global population on the move and chasing hope.

To mark International Migrants Day on December 18, RFE/RL’s language services have come together to focus on the migrant and refugee issues most affecting the 23 countries in our broadcast region.

In 2023, that has meant, among other crises, Ukrainians escaping the ongoing Russian invasion; ethnic Armenians fleeing the Azerbaijani takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh; the more than 6 million Afghans internally displaced due to violence and natural disasters; the regional fallout from the war in Gaza; and Pakistan’s decision to expel by November 1 hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans.

“When we talk of 375,000 to 400,000 people moving [out of Pakistan to Afghanistan] within two months, that’s quite incredible,” Itayi Viriri, a spokesperson for the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), tells RFE/RL. “The main concern is what kind of support is on the ground for all these people who are returning.”

As Sardar, an Afghan returnee living in a temporary camp on the border, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi last month, “We have lots of problems. We don’t have money. We don’t have toilets.”

In the special reports below, RFE/RL travels:

to Mexico, to document one Kyrgyz family’s arduous journey to build a new life in the United States;
to Poland, where some of the 1,500 Afghans airlifted out after the Taliban takeover say they feel disenchanted in their new home;
to India, to speak with Afghan Sikhs who have found safety from sectarian attacks but who face daily economic and bureaucratic challenges;
to Georgia, where displaced survivors of the 1992-93 Georgia-Abkhaz War see, for the first time, the homes they left behind 30 years ago;
to Slovakia, to spend time with spirited Ukrainian children performing in a refugee theater troupe;
to Nagorno-Karabakh, recaptured by Azerbaijan in September, where a 17-year-old journalism student tracked the fall of the breakaway region;
to Germany, to spend time with Bosnian and Afghan migrants negotiating the long and difficult process of integration;
to Israel, where Ukrainians who fled Russian aggression find themselves scrambling to adapt to another war;
and to Iran, where many are on the move internally, fleeing environmental catastrophes such as drought.

“We…need the international community to provide the funding and to provide the support to ensure that the people who need help the most get [it],” the IOM’s Viriri told RFE/RL. “Long-term, of course, any humanitarian crisis needs durable solutions.”

Germany Has Revamped Its Approach To Migrants, But Acceptance And Integration Are Still As Hard As Ever

In the 30 years since the first refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina arrived in Germany, Berlin has drastically changed how the country welcomes and integrates migrants and refugees. Despite the positive changes, for Bosnians who arrived in the 1990s and the newer arrivals from Afghanistan, Ukraine, or Syria, the core challenges of being a refugee have remained much the same. By Una Cilic and Farida Sial

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Braving Bandits And Drowning, Central Asians Make Perilous Trek To U.S. Border

Asan Bagyshov has spent more than a month traveling across Central America with his wife and three children, pursuing his dream of a new life. Bagyshov is from Kyrgyzstan and is one of an increasing number of people from Central Asia taking a convoluted and dangerous route to the United States. By Mehribon Bekieva, Ulanbek Asanaliev, and Ray Furlong

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Homeless And Hungry: Afghan Families Face Bleak Winter After Expulsion From Pakistan

Hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals have returned to their country from Pakistan in recent months. Most of the families are homeless and desperate after being forced to return to a country already dealing with a dire humanitarian crisis. Many left Pakistan ahead of a November 1 government-imposed deadline for an estimated 1.7 million undocumented migrants to leave. Since the deadline expired, Islamabad has deported thousands of Afghans each day. By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, and Austin Malloy

The European Union's 'Ukraine Fatigue' Is Not All It Seems

Is the EU growing weary of hosting refugees from war-torn Ukraine? With the war under way for nearly two years and Ukraine bogged down in a counteroffensive, wider support for Kyiv is said to be waning -- due partly to a wider migrant backlash and an economic downturn in the EU. Many experts, however, are skeptical about the extent of "Ukraine fatigue," with the picture muddied by Russian disinformation. By Tony Wesolowsky

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Displaced By Georgian-Abkhaz War, Survivors Revisit Lives Lost 30 Years Ago

The brutal 1992-1993 Georgian-Abkhaz war is estimated to have displaced some 250,000 Georgian civilians. After 30 years, many still dream of returning to the world they fled. Current Time located and filmed the abandoned residences of several displaced families. With travel to the region tightly restricted, the images offer some a rare glance at the homes they left behind in Abkhazia three decades ago. By Current Time

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While Ukrainians Welcomed, Poland's Afghans Say They Face Hardship And Exclusion

As many as 1,500 Afghans were airlifted to Poland after the Taliban retook Kabul in August 2021, and many say they face economic hardship in the country and are no longer receiving help from the state. They say Poland has prioritized support for the 1.6 million Ukrainians taken in since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. By Neil Bowdler and Reuters

Migrants In Russia Face Raids, Political Attacks As Pressure To Fight In Ukraine Increases

Russian politicians have been ramping up rhetoric against migrants in recent months with calls for more foreign-born workers to fight in the grueling war against Ukraine topping their list of demands. But as experts have pointed out, Moscow's labor-short economy needs migrants just as much as the military. By Chris Rickleton

Iran's Climate Migration Crisis Could Turn Into National 'Disaster'

Tens of thousands of Iranians are being forced to migrate due to the effects of climate change, including rising temperatures and worsening water scarcity. Experts say the rising number of climate refugees inside Iran is a crisis that threatens to transform into a national disaster. By Golnaz Esfandiari and Mohammad Zarghami

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Hunger, War, Exile: An Armenian Student Journalist Tracks The Fall Of Nagorno-Karabakh

Ani Balayan spent weeks documenting how an ethnic Armenian family struggled with food shortages during Azerbaijan's blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh. But just as she was completing the project for her journalism studies in Yerevan, Azerbaijani forces overran the territory. Balayan was not only cut off from the film's protagonists, her own family was also caught up in the fighting. By Ray Furlong, Hasmik Smbatian, and RFE/RL's Armenian Service

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Displaced By War, Afghan Sikhs Find Safety But Little Comfort In India

Conflict and sectarian attacks have driven almost all of Afghanistan's Sikhs and Hindus from the country. Many have sought refuge in India where they have found safety but face economic hardship and problems acquiring official documentation. RFE/RL met some of the Sikhs and Hindus who have made the journey to India. By RFE/RL's Radio Azadi and Malali Bashir

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'We're Tired Of Fleeing From War': Ukrainians, Bucha Survivor Caught Up In Israel-Gaza Strikes

After escaping Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, some 14,000 Ukrainian nationals who fled to Israel have found themselves under attack again as Hamas -- designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU -- launched an unprecedented attack on the country. A Ukrainian refugee who fled Russia's notorious Bucha occupation told RFE/RL that the attack "was like déjà vu." In the Gaza Strip, a Ukrainian mother and her family have asked for safe passage out of a territory that has been pounded with Israeli air strikes. By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Austin Malloy

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Theater Helps Ukrainian Refugee Kids Feel At Home In Slovakia

A forest of hands rose when children at a Ukrainian refugee theater group in Bratislava were asked if anyone would speak to RFE/RL. They perform in Slovak and Ukrainian, and they all wanted to show off their Slovak language skills in the interview. By Ray Furlong

'Like Déjà Vu': After Fleeing Russia's Invasion, Ukrainians In Israel Face A New War

Ukrainians who fled to Israel following Russia's full-scale invasion now find themselves scrambling to adapt to another war. A refugee center in Haifa says it has emphasized enabling Ukrainian refugees to adapt to the reality on the ground since some "have nowhere to return to" back home. By Maria Horban and Maryana Sych

Afghan Returnees Face Harsh Winter Of Discontent

Afghans are being forced to return to their home country in huge numbers at the onset of winter, testing the limits of humanitarian aid efforts that were already struggling to stave off starvation and homelessness. By Michael Scollon and RFE/RL's Radio Azadi