9 viously cannot be compared to any meaningful form of reintegration assistance. In recognition of the high risks faced by those deported to Afghanistan, Amnesty International has assessed all returns to Afghanistan as amounting to a breach of the principle of non-refoulement1. Similarly, in August 2018 UNHCR considered Kabul to be unsuitable as an internal protection alternative (IPA), finding that the situation in the capital city had deteriorated by then2. Despite the escalating violence on the ground and recommendations by refugee organizations, deportations from Europe to Afghanistan continue unabated. Painful Tales, Infinite Suffering and Distressing Traumas Irrespective of the reasons for their flight, the hazardous journeys experienced by the deported Afghan refugees and migrants interviewed as part of this project had a devastating impact on their personal lives and on that of their families. For many of the deportees, their lives have changed irreversibly. Even if they succeeded in reconstructing their lives financially, it will take them significantly longer to recover psychologically. For, alongside the enormous financial costs the flight has brought about, the deportees have experienced and witnessed numerous traumatic incidents along the way to their destination countries.3 This research presents a nuanced understanding of the plights, traumas, and excruciating suffering that the Afghan refugees have encountered in their travel to their destination countries, before delving into the questions of how they have reintegrated into their communities of origin, their relationship with the State, and the impact that their return has had in terms of overall state stability and legitimacy in Afghanistan. To his end, this research has divided the key challenges faced by the deportees into distinct categories, in an attempt to make their multifaceted plight more understandable. We have conducted 50 structured and semi-structured interviews Afghan deportees from Europe and another 20 interviews with civil society and Afghan government officials. This research carried out over the course of 8 months from April to November 2018 , has established that amongst the risks experienced while on the move towards Europe, the most recurrent included risks of drowning; suffocation; exposure to extreme weather condition; hunger; being shot at by border patrols; being kidnapped by smuggler and criminal networks; being beaten and detained by the police; and witnessing the death of fellow-travellers or seeing dead bodies of other refugees abandoned along the routes. These key categories and patterns of challenges are illustrated as follows: 1. Amnesty International, Index: ASA11/9262/2018, Public Statement, p. 5, October 2018 2. European Council on Refugees and Exiles, No reasons for returns to Afghanistan: ECRE›s recommendation for a suspension of returns to Afghanistan due to the security there and the unfairness of asylum decision-making in Europe, Policy Note 17, p. 2, 2019. 3. AHRDO interviews with deportees in Balkh, Kabul, Herat and Nangarhar, April - December 2018.