The perils and promises of illegal migration
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“No one leaves home,” wrote Somali poet Warsan Shire, ‘unless home is the mouth of a shark…no one puts their children on a boat, unless the water is safer than the land.”
The waters that refugees sail on, whether to Europe or to Australia, are the definition of unsafe: in 2022 over two thousand hapless refugees who set onto the Mediterranean in unsafe and overloaded boats drowned before they ever set foot on European soil.
This year has seen at least two such tragedies, both claiming the lives of Pakistani refugees among many others. In late February a boat carrying close to 200 people crashed into the rocks near the Italian resort of Steccato di Cutro off the eastern coast of Italy, killing 63 people including 12 children. The dead included at least two Pakistanis, one of whom has been identified as Shahida Raza, a member of Quetta’s much persecuted Hazara community and a former member of Pakistan’s women hockey team. What made Shahida forsake the land for the sea? The Hazara community has suffered repeated attacks, forcing members of the community – easily identified by their distinct features – to seek refuge in foreign lands, often undertaking perilous journeys for the promise of a safer life. Many of these have opted to flee to Australia, and there are regular reports of them facing mishaps and even death in the perilous waters off the coasts of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Shahida, known as ‘chintoo’ to her teammates, may have had a different motivation: despite being an accomplished athlete who had represented Pakistan at international fora, Shahida was unable to pay for the treatment of her infant son, who suffered from paralysis and an inability to speak after having suffered a stroke when he was only 40 days old. Her husband had left her soon after the child’s birth and illness. A footballer as well as a hockey player, Shahida had suffered from the government’s ban on departmental sports, which had left her deprived of what was already a meagre income. Desperate to reach Europe, to somehow earn enough money for the treatment of her son, Shahida - along with migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and other countries, trusted her fate to human traffickers after having arrived in Turkey on a legally acquired visit visa. Just a week earlier, another boat that set sail from Libya carrying 73 migrants also capsized with only seven survivors. Once again, Pakistanis were among the dead and those who have been identified thus far hail from Gujar Khan, a city in Punjab just a few dozen km from the capital of Islamabad.
What made Shahida forsake the land for the sea? The Hazara community has suffered repeated attacks, forcing members of the community – easily identified by their distinct features – to seek refuge in foreign lands.
Zarrar Khuhro
Even among her migrant compatriots on the ill-fated ship that crashed off the Italian coast, Shahida was a minority: most of the other Pakistanis travelling with her were men who hailed from district Gujrat in the Pakistani province of Punjab. That district, along with Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin and Sialkot districts, are the main sources for illegal immigration from Pakistan to Europe, and have been for generations. The migration route takes you from Iran to Turkey and then into Europe, either by boat or by land. Traditionally these are relatively prosperous districts, home to fertile agricultural land and industries, and in past decades, the migration was largely for upwards mobility. Those who managed to migrate (albeit illegally) in the 60’s and 70’s had a relatively easier time settling in Europe and finding employment. They then sent money back to their relatives in Pakistan, raising their standard of living and making illegal migration something to aspire towards. This led to a kind of social acceptability for human traffickers, whose business and networks expanded to keep pace with the demand.
But things have become far grimmer, say locals, and to dismiss emigration as a ‘fashion’ and a simple tool for upward mobility is unfair. With landholdings being divided and subdivided between successive generations, agriculture simply isn’t enough to sustain a household. Nor is gainful employment possible in the current economic climate with hundreds clamoring after the same low-paid jobs. This is where human traffickers step up to offer illegal solutions.
They operate with near impunity, notwithstanding the actions taken by the FIA – usually in the wake of such a headline-grabbing tragedy – which are largely half-hearted, given the political connections many traffickers enjoy and also the societal acceptance and ‘victimless’ nature of this crime, which creates a wall of silence around the industry.
And just like every industry, it relies on marketing which, up until very recently, relied on word of mouth from satisfied customers. Now, at least one human trafficker has taken his business into the digital age, advertising on YouTube and TikTok. Calling himself ‘jarnal Musa’ this character’s video feeds comprise ‘satisfied’ customers giving testimonials to his services while illegally crossing borders into European countries. In one video, a man with a heavy Italian accent encourages those he is transporting to tell the camera how well they were treated and that they have reached their destination. Other videos (there are dozens in his TikTok feed alone) show migrants being ferried in lorries, using stepladders provided by Musa to climb border fences, running across a busy highway into the Austrian woods. All the videos are watermarked with Musa’s whatsapp number.
But the road to Europe, dangerous at the best of times, is now deadly. A souring attitude towards migration from European states, and in particular the restrictions on migrant rescue vessels by the new Italian government, mean that chances of meeting tragedy on the route are higher than ever. And still, so unquenchable is the fire of need that thousands upon thousands set out year after year, trusting their fates, like Shahida and her compatriots did, to the stormy seas and the human sharks that ply them.
— Zarrar Khuhro is a Pakistani journalist who has worked extensively in both the print and electronic media industry. He is currently hosting a talk show on Dawn News.
Twitter: @ZarrarKhuhro
