THOUSANDS and thousands of young Pakistanis risk life and limb to reach European countries by putting their fate in the hands of human smugglers and many of them have perished in the sea while trying to reach European shores. In 2023 a boat capsized in the Mediterranean sending 262 young man from Pakistan to their death near the shore of Greece. Once again in 2024 another boat disaster when a boat sailing from Libya sank near the coastline of Greece killing about 40 Pakistanis.
The Govt. agencies were quick to blame human smugglers and vowed to deal with them with an iron hand. Ironically most of the youth trying to enter Italy Greece or some other European countries belong to the most developed and prosperous areas of Punjab and put their trust in the hands of Human smugglers who charge millions of rupees for taking them abroad through illegal means.
According to a recent report about 80000 to 1000,000 illegal migrants cross the borders of Pakistan every year. Most of the young travelers are youth from cities of the Punjab such as Gujarat, Gujranwala, Kharian, Jhelum and Sialkot all of them prosperous and well to do areas of the country.
The most popular and well-travelled route is Baluchistan-Iran-Turkey and onwards to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea from Libya this is considered to be the most economical and easy route to follow by the Human smuggling gangs. Some other routes are by sea from Gwadar to Iran via the Arabian Sea and then to Turkey and Western Europe. Another route is by legal means by air from Karachi to Dubai and then onwards by the smugglers route to Turkey and onwards to Libya and then to Italy or Greece.
Human smuggling is increasing every day and has now become a very lucrative business managed by powerful and well organized mafia with deep pockets and connections at the highest levels. This illegal activity is still very poorly documented and only after a big tragedy this takes center stage and we find Govt. agencies expressing regret and promising to wipe out this scourge but all interest in this activity and sympathy with the victims evaporates within no time when something more sensational grabs the headlines of the local media. Most Human smugglers are guilty of exploiting desperate and vulnerable young men by misinforming them about the dangers and risks involved in such travel.
Some of the youth are abused, beaten and starved on the way. They are kept in very dirty and unhygienic places and even the police of the countries they are smuggled through does nothing to help them.
During the seventies and eighties the Gulf States like the UAE, Qatar. Oman and Saudi Arabia were the preferred places for seeking fortune by the unskilled and skilled Pakistanis. Millions of young men from Punjab and KP found very lucrative employment in the countries of the Gulf region and managed to improve their social status with the earnings from the oil rich countries of the Gulf. Now countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are no longer in need of large numbers of unskilled labor and wages and working conditions are no longer so lucrative for those who do manage to get there by legal methods. Now more and more young workers are looking to human smugglers to get them into Europe even when the cost is very steep. One hopeful migrant to Europe can pay up to 30 0r 40 lacs before the start of the journey. Most migrants sell their assets like a house or land to obtain the funds for their illegal travel and those who make it have to pay through their nose for many years to clear the debts their family has taken on them.
Once in a European country it is still a very uphill and difficult task to get legal status for staying in that country because the sword of deportation is always hanging on their neck. Most human smuggling gangs are hand in glove with state institutions and high level state officials that provide them with protection and support. The ugly complicity of state officials makes it impossible for any meaningful action against these sharks called human smugglers.
Unemployment, economic disparity, poverty and insecurity are some of the main reasons for people to risk everything for the dream of a better future abroad. Many youngsters try to leave in search of greener pastures to provide a better standard of living for their families or the idea that people abroad have a much better life than in Pakistan or they think that it is easy to reach Europe from Turkey or Libya.
Our Law enforcement agencies like the FIA are responsible for bringing the smugglers to justice and protecting the young aspirants trying to go abroad but unfortunately many officials are themselves complicit and are guilty of aiding and abetting the smugglers in return for huge kickbacks and bribes. It is quite obvious that the activities of the smuggling gangs at this scale cannot be possible without help from the state agencies.
Human smugglers are also common in countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya and corruption in state agencies is rampant in these countries. The passage of the Smuggling of Migrants Bill, 2018 — the first human smuggling specific law in the country — by the National Assembly, stipulates a minimum imprisonment of three years and a fine of up to half a million rupees. Aggravated offences under this law, for example, when the process of smuggling endangers life and limb, or “is committed as part of the activity of an organized criminal group”, will attract more punitive sanctions.
One may ask however, that while this may be a start, will it be enough? Until unemployment, poverty, human rights violations, etc. remain rampant, ‘greener pastures’ overseas will continue to beckon people. And there will always be unscrupulous individuals willing to profit off them.
—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
