INTRODUCTION
The number of arrivals by sea and land to Europe for 2015 exceeded one million on the 20th December, with the total number registered by the relevant national authorities standing at 1,046,599 according to IOM’s DTM system in coordination with relevant IOM missions and national authority partners. Of these,
20.2 percent were Afghans whilst 2.7 percent were Pakistani nationals. In data from January to the end of May 2016, the cumulative total of 220,796 arrivals included 19.5 percent Afghan and 3 percent Pakistani nationals.
The sharp increase in violence in Afghanistan has intensified the flow of Afghan (forced) migrants during the past year. About three in four Afghans have experienced forced displacement at some point in their life, and many have experienced multiple displacements (both internal and external) (Schmeidl, 2014).
Internal displacement and migration are intertwined in Afghanistan, with Kabul and other large regional cities receiving an increasing number of people from other conflict affected areas.
In Pakistan, as of July 2015, there were more than 1.8 million people displaced by insurgency, counterinsurgency and other related violence (IDMC, 2015). In addition to violence, disasters induced by natural hazards have also played a major role in forced migration. Monsoon rains and earthquakes have caused the displacement of 14.57 million people across wide areas of the country since 2010 (IDMC, 2015)
Drawing upon the current Afghan and Pakistani migration context, DTM is implementing a project that focuses on information and data gathering to enhance the understanding of current migration flows from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe. This project particularly aims to collect information and data on forced and irregular migrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan and their migration through the Middle East towards Europe whilst gathering information in eight thematic areas: 1) migrant profile, 2) migration routes and trajectories, 3) resourcing the journey, 4) role of intermediaries, 5) vulnerability factors in origin, transit and destination countries, 6) migration drives and decision making, 7) role of the diaspora (incl. remittances) and 8) migrant’s perceptions towards Europe.