Guarulhos International Airport, in São Paulo, currently has 68 people coming from Afghanistan in search of refuge. The flow of travelers from the country has increased after the Taliban’s rise to power.
The Guarulhos City Hall installed the Advanced Post for Humanized Assistance to Migrants in Terminal 2 of the airport.
According to the municipal administration, Afghan families are being assisted by the Municipal Department of Development and Social Assistance, which provides food, water, hygiene kits and blankets for those who are sleeping at the airport.
Due to the “high demand of refugees arriving in Brazil”, the municipality opened a temporary residence for migrants and refugees on August 10th.
However, the residence, which has 27 spaces, is already full. Therefore, the Social Development Department is in contact with the state government and partner institutions to find other places that can receive people who continue to arrive at the airport.
According to information from the Federal Police, in July, 407 Afghans arrived in Brazil via Guarulhos Airport; in August, 292; and until yesterday, September 14, 459. In September of last year, 12 Afghans entered through Congonhas and, in October, 57.
Taliban
This Thursday (15) marked one year since the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation. At the time, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the country, and the Taliban took control of the presidential palace.
The Taliban became known as a fundamentalist religious group in the first half of the 1990s and was organized by rebels who had received support from the United States and Pakistan to combat the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, which lasted from 1979 to 1989, amid the Cold War.
The coming to power was consolidated in 1996, with the capture of the capital, Kabul.
Once in control of the government, the Taliban carried out executions of opponents and applied their interpretation of Sharia, Islamic law.
A violent judicial system was established: people accused of adultery could be sentenced to death and suspected theft suffered physical punishment and even mutilation.
Beards became mandatory for men, and women could not be seen publicly unaccompanied by their husbands. In addition, they had to wear the burqa, covering the entire body. Television, music and cinema were banned, and girls were not allowed to attend school.
The US occupation was a reaction to the attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, skyscrapers located in New York. Two planes hit the buildings on September 11, 2001, taking them to the ground and causing nearly 3,000 deaths. The US accused the Taliban of harboring the terrorist group Al Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
In October 2001, military operations in Afghanistan began.
The radicals, however, managed to regain control of the country last year, installing a new fundamentalist government.
Source: CNN Brasil
