'I've never been to Afghanistan': Six million deportees forced to start over under the Taliban
Millions of Afghans are being forced to return to Afghanistan from neighboring countries like Pakistan and Iran as these nations crack down on undocumented migrants. Many returnees, including those born abroad, face extreme hardship and poverty upon arrival in a country they may have never visited.
Why it matters
This represents a massive humanitarian crisis and a significant demographic shift that challenges the stability of the Taliban-led government.
Figure caption, Watch: BBC's Lyse Doucet reports on the biggest cross-border movement of people
The elderly grimace, hobbling on crutches, and wide-eyed children stare, cradling chickens carried from homes they were forced to leave behind.
"It feels good to be in my own country," 35-year-old Nazia says, just minutes after she crosses from Pakistan, where she was born, into Afghanistan.
The Torkham crossing, known as "Zero Point", is where one hard life ends and another begins.
"But I've never been to Afghanistan before and many people here don't even have enough bread to eat," Nazia sighs as she heads, two of her children in tow, toward registration counters festooned with white and black Taliban flags.
Nearly her entire family, eight sisters and their offspring, were deported to Afghanistan this year from Pakistan or Iran.
They are part of the biggest cross-border movement of people anywhere in the world.
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