Industrial Park in Herat provides jobs to 13,000 deported Afghans
Local officials in Herat say that nearly 13,000 people who were recently deported from Iran are now employed in the province’s industrial park
HERAT, Afghanistan (MNTV) – Local officials in Herat say that nearly 13,000 people who were recently deported from Iran are now employed in the province’s industrial park.
Industrialists in Herat told TOLOnews that they have increased the salaries of these newly returned workers, along with all other employees, by 30 percent.
“We have placed 12,600 people deported from Iran to factories in the industrial park, and they are now earning their livelihood. Some factories had already announced job vacancies in Islam Qala; some hired 300 workers, some 200, and others 100. If we count all together, the total number of workers in the industrial park has increased significantly,” Mohammad Naser Amin, head of the Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines, said.
Herat Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar said: “When young people are employed, it helps prevent crime, theft, drug addiction, displacement, and illegal migration.”
Some of the deportees who have recently been hired say they are happy to finally have jobs and an income in their own country after years of hardship and uncertainty abroad.
Ghulam Saeed, one of them, was deported from Iran about two months ago and now works at a cake factory in Herat’s industrial park.
He told TOLOnews: “When we were in Iran, people used to say there’s no work in Afghanistan and unemployment is high. But after coming here, I found that’s not true. Around 200 to 220 people work here, and business is going well.”
A newly established factory in Herat has also provided jobs to dozens of returnees. The factory’s management says that alongside hiring these workers, they are increasing the salaries of all employees by 30 percent.
Saad Khatibi, the factory manager, said: “We are ready to raise our workers’ salaries starting tomorrow. My suggestion to all industrialists in the country is to properly take care of their workers because current wages are not enough to meet their basic needs. Workers have rights over us, and it is our moral duty to increase their salaries by at least 30 percent so they can live more comfortably.”
The process of employing Afghans deported from Iran in Herat’s industrial park continues. According to local officials, in the past three months alone, more than 1.3 million Afghans have returned to the country through the Islam Qala border crossing.
Most of the returnees say they left all their belongings behind in Iran and came back to Afghanistan empty-handed.
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