Memories of the Taliban haunt Afghan refugees living in a camp in Turkey. Five-year-old Yassin Yaaqubi had his hand chopped off because his father refused to work as a driver for the extremist group. “The Taliban militants came into our house and asked my husband to work with them as a driver. Fearing the dangers of the job, he refused the call. After two days, they returned and took my 9-month-old son away. After they chopped off his hand, they returned him to me. The Taliban militants warned they would kill us next time if we persisted in rejecting their calls. So we decided to flee to Turkey,” said his mother Nazli Yaaqubi. This camp has been in existence for five years. The refugees do not have work permits and face problems providing for their families. Mohammed Bahadiri is working, but without legal authorization he has no recourse when his employer refuses to pay him. “I am facing plenty of issues here,” he explained. Numbers of families living in the camp fluctuates, sometimes as many as 185 are sheltering here. The local government provides them with electricity and water, but the refugees are worried another winter just around the corner.
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