WPNews.Org – West Papua joined with new left collective in solidarity protest of Afgahns refugee on this Saturday, 12th July 2025 in London.
We gathered outside the Islamic Republic Embassy in London to protest the forced deportation of Afghan people and Afghan Iranians from Iran. According to the UN’s migration agency, around 1.4 million Afghans have been deported from Iran this year alone (more than 600,000 since June), a staggering number that reflects a brutal, state led campaign of scapegoating and displacement.
For decades, Afghan people in Iran have been an integral part of the community, working under harsh conditions without safety and contributing significantly to the economy. Yet they have consistently faced systemic discrimination, not only from the Iranian government, but also from wider society. From being denied access to basic services to facing barriers in education and employment, and despite being an integral part of Iranian society, their presence has never been fully accepted.
This latest wave of deportations marks a terrifying escalation. It has been accompanied by an unprecedented surge in anti Afghan propaganda, disinformation, and xenophobic rhetoric, often spread by state affiliated media, which has led to a rise in racist attacks and harassment across the country. People are being stripped of their dignity, robbed, beaten at the borders, and left stranded for days in blistering heat without food or water.
Many of those being deported were born in Iran and know no other home. Yet they are being cast out overnight, their lives uprooted, their contributions erased, and their humanity ignored.
We came together in solidarity with the Afghan community in Iran to say this clearly: migrants are not the enemy, scapegoating them is a cruel distraction from the real sources of violence and oppression. From the Taliban, to the Islamic Republic, to the apartheid regime in Israel, we know where the true threats lie. Our enemy is not those seeking safety, dignity, or a future, it is those in power who thrive off division, displacement, and despair.
source: New Lefts Collective