LocationsDisplacement and the resilience and determination to rebuild
What kintsugi can teach us about return and recovery in Afghanistan
June 18, 2026
More than 117.8 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced by conflict, violence, disasters and climate-related shocks.
Photo: UNDP Afghanistan
On World Refugee Day, I have been reflecting on a visit to Afghanistan late last year, where I met women and men who had returned from neighbouring countries where they had sought refuge. Their stories were painfully familiar: families forced to cross borders with almost nothing, young people who had never known life in Afghanistan, mothers struggling desperately to protect their children.
Leaving one’s homeland shapes not only where people live, but also their jobs, their connections to community, and even the dignity of being able to choose their own path in life. Today, more than 117.8 million people worldwide have been forcibly displaced by conflict, violence, disasters and climate-related shocks. Behind these numbers are people searching for safety, families trying to rebuild their lives, and communities working to absorb new pressures while keeping services running for everyone.
More than six million Afghan refugees have returned home since 2023, bringing with them skills and potential.
Photo: UNDP Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, returns continue at a remarkable pace. So far in 2026, more than 738,000 Afghans have returned, mostly from Pakistan, adding pressure to communities and cities already struggling to provide basic services. More than six million Afghans have returned home since 2023. The scale is staggering. But what stayed with me was not the number. It was returnees’ determination to start again.
As I listened to the stories of returning families I thought of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. The cracks are not hidden. They become part of the object’s strength and beauty. That idea feels deeply relevant today, when millions of people around the world have been uprooted by conflict, disasters and climate shocks. Displacement leaves visible and invisible scars, but it can also reveal extraordinary resilience and determination to rebuild.
“Kintsugi teaches us to accept change and to build a shared future from it. This World Refugee Day, it reminds us that displacement is not the end of a story.”— Shoko Noda
In Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, I visited workshops supported by UNDP where returnees from neighboring Pakistan had taken on management roles and were expanding employment opportunities for women. Shop owners are hiring returnees, and returnees are contributing skills learned abroad to their communities. What struck me most was how host communities and returnees were supporting one another, demonstrating that recovery works best when investments benefit everyone.
Across displacement-affected regions around the world, these kinds of “gold seams” are being created every day. It is not only about delivering humanitarian assistance. It is about rebuilding the foundations of daily life including jobs, water, electricity, health services and local institutions.
This approach reflects a vision of a world where every individual can live in safety and dignity. It recognizes that recovery is about more than survival. It is about creating the conditions for people to rebuild their lives, support their families and contribute to their communities.
Shop owners are hiring returnees, and returnees are contributing skills learned abroad to their communities.
Photo: UNHCR/Saiyna Bashir
At a time when displacement is reaching record levels and humanitarian resources are under growing strain, we cannot afford to focus only on immediate needs. We must also invest in the communities that welcome displaced people, strengthen local services and create opportunities that help people move beyond dependency and towards self-reliance.
If people are to shape their own futures, sustained commitment is needed now more than ever.
Kintsugi teaches us to accept change and to build a shared future from it. This World Refugee Day, it reminds us that displacement is not the end of a story. When people can rebuild their lives with dignity and communities can regain stability and hope, recovery becomes possible. Supporting that process is an act of solidarity and an investment in a more stable, inclusive and sustainable future for all.
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