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Ravaged by War, Bitter Afghans Sneak Into Europe

Conditions aren't much better, but youth want escape from war, death

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 4, 2009 7:10 PM CDT

(Newser) – Fed up with years of war and shaky government, young Afghans are forking over their life savings to be smuggled into Europe, the New York Times reports. An American-led invasion once inspired optimism, but 18,000 residents sought asylum in Europe last year, nearly double the total in 2007. “I’m desperate,” says one 26-year-old. “People can’t find jobs here, and if you go to a place where there’s work, you’ll be killed in a week.”

Even privileged Afghans—like the host of an American Idol-style TV show and an aide to President Hamid Karzai—have fled the country. Smugglers report unprecedented business despite meager living conditions in Europe and an Afghanistan-to-Greece price tag of up to $25,000. “It’s death or destination,” explains one man, who traveled through 12 countries to reach Britain—and was deported back to Afghanistan.

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (2)]

Young Afghans are abandoning their country, frustrated by endless war, a lack of prospects and the slow pace of change. (AP Photo/APTN)

Many young Afghans are unhappy with the leadership of President Hamid Karzai. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An Afghan refugee woman who is back from Pakistan looks on at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camp in Kandahar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, June 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)

An Afghan refugee eats food as children play beside him at his vegetable stall in a slum on the World Refugee Day in Karachi, Pakistan on Saturday, June 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

An Afghan boy stands by his fruit cart as a snowstorm hits Kabul for a second straight day closing the airport February 13, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Getty Images)

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I’m desperate. It’s not a big dream. I just want to finish my studies and live normally. - Abdul Ahad, 26,
determined to flee Afghanistan

It’s out of my power to deal with the demand. I never imagined it would get like this. - Afghan smuggler

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Ravaged by War, Bitter Afghans Sneak Into Europe