Being a muhajir in present-day Afghanistan – Views on flight and migration from inside

Abstract

In this paper I focus on the internal discourse of those Afghans who are refugees within their country today. I want to show how the use of a certain vocabulary is crucial for the creation of particular perspectives on developments and social processes in present-day Afghanistan. Central for this analysis is the term muhajir , an originally Arab term that can be translated as migrant or emigrant but also as refugee. The expression has a specific history in the region. I want to show who is a muhajir today. What are the continuities and changes in meaning and usage of the term over time and what conclusions can be drawn about the social settings in which the term is used? This Working Paper focuses on the presentation of mobility and shows which conclusions can be drawn from this. Nonetheless the relation of forced and voluntary migration could be discussed deeper by looking closer to individual fates and case studies from other regions. Furthermore questions of social mobility could be taken stronger into account in order to modify the picture given in this paper.