According to IRAF News Agency, the New Year begins at a time when Afghan migrants across the world are grappling with multiple challenges in host countries, alongside deep uncertainty and despair over Afghanistan’s future.
Civil society activists, journalists, migrants and Afghan social media users have welcomed 2026 not with grand celebrations, but through personal reflections, brief messages and symbolic images shared online.
Yarmohammad Bagheri, a former university lecturer, wrote on X that in 2025 Afghanistan was defined by internal security and economic problems, conflict with Pakistan, the mass expulsion of migrants, and losses suffered by traders. He expressed hope that the new year would bring peace, prosperity and progress.
Many Afghans living in Europe and North America have shared photos to mark the New Year, but most congratulatory messages carry clear signs of the hardships of migration. Issues such as legal uncertainty over residency status, economic pressures and increasingly strict immigration policies—particularly in the United States—feature prominently.
Mehdi Javadi, a Facebook user, wrote: “The New Year is truly a celebration only when we are in our homeland and with our families. Here in exile, holidays are not much different from other days; every day is a repetition of loneliness and longing.”
Arif Rahmani, a former member of Afghanistan’s parliament, wrote on X that he hoped the coming year would be one in which truth triumphs over falsehood, freedom blossoms, and suffering lands—especially Afghanistan—are released from darkness.
Most Afghan politicians living abroad have also marked the New Year with messages expressing optimism about the future and hopes of returning home.
Mohammad Mohaqeq, a member of the leadership of the National Assembly for the Salvation of Afghanistan, wrote on Facebook that he hoped the new year would bring stronger relations, reduced tensions and positive progress in political arenas. He added that he wished Afghanistan’s years-long crisis would be resolved through inclusive intra-Afghan negotiations with the support of the United Nations.
Shadow of psychological insecurity over New Year celebrations
Economic hardship, residency problems and livelihood pressures have cast a shadow over New Year greetings among Afghan migrants.
Incidents such as armed attacks in Washington and Sydney—where suspects in both cases were migrants—have affected the collective psychological state of migrant communities, generating anxiety that is reflected in New Year messages and highlighting migrants’ mental and emotional strain.
Reza Fayaz, a Facebook user, wrote: “2025 was the worst year of my life, and I hope 2026 will be better. Exile and separation from family make me doubt it will be a good year, but I put my trust in the one Creator and will do my best to make it better.”
Despite this, many migrants have expressed hope for the year ahead, seeing it as the beginning of improved personal circumstances.
Ma’soumeh Khavari, a former Afghan parliamentarian, wrote: “Happy New Year. I wish 2026 brings health, peace, hope and success for everyone—a new year with new opportunities and brighter horizons.”
Habib Najafi-Zadeh, a Facebook user, said that 2025 was marked by global instability and was not a blessed year, adding that future years would only be hopeful if people strive, in words and deeds, for coexistence and peaceful living.
Afghan migrants across the world are marking the New Year at a time when Afghanistan’s political leaders are engaged in talks aimed at forming a unified political front to initiate intra-Afghan negotiations—an effort that, if well managed, could turn 2026 into a turning point in the country’s recent history.
