Tehran, Iran – Three years ago Esmat, then 18, decided to leave his home in Afghanistan’s Nimroz province for Iran in search of a better life. He embarked on an arduous, days-long journey that took him first to the Pakistani border province of Balochistan and from there to the Iranian capital city, Tehran.
Now, 21, Esmat says he paid 60 million rials (about $200 at the current open market rate) to smugglers who facilitate border crossings. His port of entry in Iran was the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan, from where he travelled more than 1,200 km (745 miles) by car to reach Tehran.
