An Afghan boy receives a bag containing food from a Red Cross member after arriving at Fiumicino airport in Rome after Taliban insurgents entered Afghanistan's capital Kabul. /Italian Ministry of Defence/Handout via Reuters.
Thousands of Afghan refugees have landed in Europe on rescue flights organized by European governments – and the conversation has already moved on to the future likelihood of a new migrant crisis created by the Taliban takeover.
At least 3,000 Afghans have already landed in the UK alone. The country's Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said they were interpreters, staff and the families of those who worked with the UK in Afghanistan.
He added the government in London is discussing a "bespoke arrangement" for Afghans fleeing the Taliban. Around 2,000 Syrians were given asylum at the height of the civil war and it's thought a similar number of Afghans will be given UK visas.
But in neighboring countries such as Turkey and Iran, the collapse of the Kabul government and resurgence of the Taliban has sparked fears of a new refugee crisis.
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Evacuated Afghans arrive at Fiumicino airport after Taliban insurgents entered Afghanistan's capital Kabul, in Rome, Italy, August 16, 2021. /Italian Ministry of Defence/Handout via Reuters.
"The ability and willingness to take on more Afghan refugees is probably not great" in Iran, according to Rouzbeh Parsi of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.
Asli Aydintasbas, senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) told AFPhow Turkey's government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could work with the Taliban "if it has become more moderate," as a way of avoiding adding to the already large refugee population in Turkey.
Some 3.6 million Syrians live in Turkey and the numbers have caused unrest recently. Aydintasbas said avoiding a similar situation with Afghans was Erdogan's most pressing issue.
Turkey's EU member neighbor Greece also quickly declared it would not become a "gateway" for migrants and refugees.
"We are clearly saying that we will not and cannot be the gateway for Europe for the refugees and migrants who could try to come to the European Union," Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said.
Afghan refugees on the Greek island Lesbos voiced anger at developments in Kabul. /Reuters/Elias Marcou
But the bloc's Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni suggested countries such as Greece should act now to avoid a repeat of the disaster in the Mediterranean caused by the Syrian war.
"I think that Europe will inevitably have to equip itself for humanitarian corridors and organized reception, also to avoid uncontrolled flows of illegal immigrants. Or, at least, the countries that are willing to do so, should," he told an Italian newspaper.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, who won both support and criticism for her declaration that "we can do this," as she opened the country's borders to Syrian refugees in 2015, joined those urging Europe not to repeat the same mistakes as six years ago.
"We should not repeat the mistake of the past when we did not give enough funds to UNHCR and other aid programs, and people left Jordan and Lebanon [to come] toward Europe," Merkel told a press conference.