Embassy refugees fear eviction

The embassy refugees are fearful of returning home

		By BBC News Online's Marcus George in Afghanistan

Russia's plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul have been greeted with dismay by more than 23,000 Afghan refugees to whom the bomb-damaged site has been home for over two years.

The poverty-stricken residents fear an eviction, which would leave them with nowhere to go.

We will not leave until there is somewhere else to go to. And there is nowhere for us

Afghan refugee

The camp, predominantly home to thousands of ethnic Pashtun families, was established after the Taleban made advances across the Shomali Plain.

Many refugees complain that fighters looted their houses and burned them to the ground in an advance that cost the Taleban regime hundreds of lives.

"When the Taleban advanced they looted and burned our homes and destroyed our irrigation systems," said Hamidullah, the camp leader.

But the region, which was devastated by five years of fighting, is riddled by the aftermath of war and the Russians may face a hard task in moving the refugees out.

Refugees' fears

Those who want to return fear the danger of mines, and difficulties in rebuilding their homes.

Hamidullah says the refugees will move if peace is restored

"We will not leave until there is somewhere else to go to. And there is nowhere for us," said one man who fled nearby Charikar during the fighting.

"All I hope for is peace," said Hamidullah. "And if that comes we will be ready to move out."

The embassy compound lies in one of Kabul's once-glamourous neighbourhoods in the south of the city.

It was left in ruins when Mujahideen factions turned their guns on each other following the collapse of the Afghan communist government in 1992.

Temporary shelters have been built in damaged buildings

Hamidullah confirmed that a group of Russian diplomats had already visited the compound.

"They came to look at the state of the buildings. But they did not ask us to leave," he said.

"They came to look at the extent of the embassy's damage and how much rebuilding the site will need. They want to restore their embassy, but after seeing all the people here, hopefully they will leave us for the time being," he said.

"The rumour is that they will us alone for three months, but I don't know if that is correct," he added.

Uncertain future

This community expressed little hope for the future. Aid agency signs adorn the entrance to the embassy, but Hamidullah had few positive words to say about them.

Refugee leaders say it is too dangerous for families to return home

"We have many problems here. This is no existence for humans. When we arrived we were surrounded by foreigners who said they would help us. But we have only received a few things," he said.

"We lost everything we had in Shomali and yet we receive virtually nothing to help us," he added.

Looking around at the semi-demolished buildings, it is difficult to see how the Russians plan to renovate the compound.

Slabs of shattered concrete lie where they fell. The inside of one block remains blackened from when it was burned out.

A delegation of Russian diplomats visited the Soviet embassy soon after the Afghan capital fell into the hands of the Northern Alliance.

Moscow says it is planning to rebuild the compound, but admits that this will be a time-consuming task for architects and other specialists.