The Afghanistan Refugee Crisis Is About To Get Much Worse

Afghan migrants hide from security forces in a tunnel under train tracks after crossing illegally into Turkey from Iran, near Tatvan in Bitlis province, Turkey August 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer 

Axios: The Afghan refugee crisis is about to get much worse 

Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees will soon need to find new homes, and many countries are preemptively closing their doors. 

Why it matters: The U.S. is leading what the White House calls one of the biggest airlift in history as Afghans flee from Taliban rule. That exodus will quickly become a humanitarian crisis involving the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia and the Middle East. 

What to watch: The U.S. is preparing to bring in 50,000 Afghan refugees in the next year, Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergencies and humanitarian action at International Rescue Committee (IRC) told Axios. 

* That's more than the total, annual number of refugees the U.S. has resettled from all over the world over the past couple years. 

* IRC is one of the largest resettlement agencies in the U.S., and typically handles 25% of refugee arrivals Kitchen said. "We're now currently staffing up and getting ready to handle the 25% of 50,000 new arrivals."  

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WNU Editor: Five to six million Afghans fled Afghanistan the last time the Taliban were in control of the country. I see the same happening with the Taliban back in power. But unlike the last time when many Afghan refugees stayed in Pakistan, this generation will flee to Europe.

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