Getting to Know Afghanistan: History and People Groups

The Green circle represents the 3 million Hazara who live in the mountains of central Afghanistan. The red circles represent the Hazara who live in major cities in Afghanistan and those that are refugees in Iran and Pakistan: 300,000 in Kabul, 200,000 in Quetta, 200,000 in Mashhad, 150,000 in Mazar, 150,000 in PuliKhumri, 50,000 in Bamian.

To understand the Hazaras, it is important to know about the country they call home. Afghanistan is a country of high mountains and parched deserts. The modern state was formed as a buffer state between the British Indian Empire and Russian Central Asia. The country is surrounded by Iran, Pakistan, and the former Soviet republics of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The country is named for the dominant people group, the Afghans who are also called Pushtuns. Far from being homogeneous, the country is actually a conglomeration of more than 40 ethnic groups, and is made up of several distinct regions dominated by a particular ethnic group. There are about 8 million Pushtun in Afghanistan, about 40% of the total population. They have been the traditional rulers of the country, and now control about 90% of its territory. The second largest group are the Tajiks, making up around 25% of the national population. There are more Tajiks in Afghanistan than in Tajikistan. The Hazaras are the third largest people group in the country, just under 20% of the total population. They dominate the central mountain region of Afghanistan, the Hindu Kush and Koh-I-Baba ranges.

Afghanistan has long been the crossroad of Asia's conquerors. Darius, Cyrus of Persia, Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan and Tamerlane all ruled the region. The Moghuls on India came out of Afghanistan to rule the subcontinent for hundreds of years. Both the British Empire and the Soviet Union attempted to annex Afghanistan, both conquering it for a time.

Afghanistan is a country at war. For almost 20 years violent armed conflict has devasted the people and land. For a decade the Soviets battled the Mujahideen, the Afghan resistance, attempting to maintain their foothold in Central Asia. Russian troops ultimately retreated in 1989, leaving the Afghans to rule themselves.

In the wake of the Russians departure, ethnic warfare erupted between different tribal groups vying for power and influence in the newly independent state. The consequence of these years of war was a humanitarian disaster. More than a million people lost their lives. As many as 8-10 million people fled their homes and became refugees. Education and development ground to a halt. No family was untouched by the violence and devastation.