From the Archives|Doors: A Photo Story From Afghanistan

This photo story provides insights from a survey conducted by Samuel Hall in February and March 2021 as part of the Protracted Displacement in an Urban World project. Nearly 900 displaced men and women in Afghanistan, from Barikab and Majboor Abad, shared their experiences, and a gallery of door images from surveyed households offers a glimpse into their world.

Originally published at https://www.protracteddisplacement.org in June 2021.

By Samuel Hall Team

During February and March 2021, as part of the Protracted Displacement in an Urban World project, consortium partner Samuel Hall conducted a survey with nearly 900 men and women in Afghanistan. There were two locations for the survey: Barikab, a settlement built for internally displaced people (IDPs) and former refugees outside Kabul, and Majboor Abad, a neighbourhood in the city of Jalalabad. In both Barikab and Majboor Abad, 360 displaced men and women were surveyed. In Majboor Abad, 150 representatives of the host community (non-displaced) were also surveyed.

Enumerators took a photo of the door of each household interviewed to demonstrate that the survey had been carried out, and so as to be able to make a return visit, should data checks be necessary.

As a result, we have a gallery of hundreds of images of doors in the two locations. Scroll through to see a few of the images, and to read more about the process and preliminary findings.

The study findings for this project were released in April 2024. Read them here.

1. Each door is unique, and behind each one is a family with their own story to tell. The doors and gates are made from wood and metal, and some are highly decorative.

2. Barikab is a Land Allocation Scheme (LAS) located 35–45km northeast of Kabul City, along the ‘New Road’ to Bagram. Most residents are IDP and refugee returnees. Shelters have been constructed since the late 2000s. Some have been abandoned and have fallen into ruins. Originally planned to house 2,800 families, it currently houses approximately 700 families across two sites.

3. One site in Barikab is called Aliceghan. The name is an amalgamation of the Australian town of Alice Springs and Afghanistan. The Australian government was a primary donor over the first decade of the settlement’s existence, and had originally envisioned the settlement to serve as a model for other LAS townships across Afghanistan.

4. In Majboor Abad, Jalalabad, there are an estimated 2,000 families of refugee returnees, 5,000 families of IDPs and around 8000 families of non-displaced or ‘hosts’. Estimates from local community leaders.

5. Afghans living in protracted displacement often settle in urban areas such as Jalalabad, a fast-growing city in Afghanistan’s east. IDPs arrive in Jalalabad fleeing fighting between the Taliban, Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), and the government. There, they live alongside returnees (predominantly from Pakistan) who stay in the city rather than risk the insecurity, violence and economic uncertainties in their areas of origin.

6. A Samuel Hall qualitative researcher scouted Barikab and Majbor Abad in December, 2020. The scouting fieldwork had two primary objectives: The first objective was to obtain global positioning system (GPS) coordinates related to the community in order for sampling clusters to be designed, in conjunction with information on building type and density. The researcher took GPS coordinates on the edges of communities as well as major community landmarks and then triangulated this data with information provided by community leaders about the geographical extent of communities, for instance, where the limits of Majbor Abad were in conjunction to surrounding neighbourhoods.

7. The second scouting objective was to conduct semi-structured interviews with community leaders in order to gain a better understanding of major community dynamics. This included socio-economic factors such as demography (the population, approximate number of people per household), population background, history of the community, infrastructure, access considerations, security, and economic sectors and livelihoods.

8. The second scouting objective was to conduct semi-structured interviews with community leaders in order to gain a better understanding of major community dynamics. This included socio-economic factors such as demography (the population, approximate number of people per household), population background, history of the community, infrastructure, access considerations, security, and economic sectors and livelihoods.

9. Behind the doors, homes are arranged around a courtyard, and an extended family may be living there. Household sizes are similar between hosts and displaced in Majbor Abad, and overall smaller in Barikab. In Barikab the average number of members is 7, and the largest households have 25 members. In Majbor Abad, it is 11 for displaced and 12 for hosts, and the largest households reportedly have up to 30 members.

10. As well as gathering demographic data, the survey explored themes of wellbeing and livelihoods. It included questions about whether the respondent felt that their home was adequate for the family’s needs. Overall, most respondents felt that their house was adequate: this was true for 74% of hosts in Jalalabad, 62% of displaced people in Jalalabad, and 69% of residents in Barikab.

11. In Afghanistan, perceptions of adequacy and dignity of the home relate to having space to receive visitors. Maintaining privacy in the home is very important — particularly for women. Coverings are sometimes hung over the door so that children and other residents can come and go without needing a key, but making sure no one passing by can see inside. Some households repurpose old sacks as curtains. Quilts may also be used for the same purpose.

12. Preliminary analysis of our data shows big differences between Barikab and Jalalabad in satisfaction with access to amenities, provision of basic services and income-generating opportunities. While Barikaab is only 35–45km from Kabul City, this distance and the lack of transportation means IDPs and returnees cannot sustainably commute to jobs and livelihood opportunities. The journey to Kabul takes upwards of an hour, transport is expensive for daily commuting, and there is a lack of options for those who do not own cars or motorbikes.

13. As a community leader in Barikab explained, “Finding a job is very difficult here. A small number of households have retired people and through this, they have some income. The rest work in agriculture and growing wheat, but there is very little land available for them. They use empty houses for growing crops.” photo not related to respondent.

14. As a community leader in Barikab explained, “Finding a job is very difficult here. A small number of households have retired people and through this, they have some income. The rest work in agriculture and growing wheat, but there is very little land available for them. They use empty houses for growing crops.” photo not related to respondent.

15. In Jalalabad, our data shows differences between IDPs/returnees and hosts in the same location. In Jalalabad, non-displaced have greater levels of food security than IDP/returnee neighbours, but the situation is critical for all. 73% of interviewed displaced households in Jalalabad stated not having had enough food in the past week. For interviewed hosts, this number stood at 63%.

16. Long-term residents of Jalalabad have expressed concern to Samuel Hall researchers that IDPs do not understand the expense and difficulties associated with living in the city. However, displaced interviewees in the city, and especially women, are much more likely to be very satisfied with their lives than those in the camp. They are also much more likely to feel that their living standards had improved over the past year (88.3%, compared to two thirds in Barikab).