Illegal immigration from India takes its toll

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Paying to be duped
Illegal immigration takes its toll

Statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have confirmed what anecdotal and other accounts have established — illegal immigration from Punjab continues unabated in an increasing hostile world environment. It comes as no surprise that 84 per cent of such immigrants are uneducated — if not, many of them would have joined the ranks of the other Indian immigrants who have made a place in the world with their professionalism and skills.

The UNODC report maintains that 20,000 persons from Punjab try to migrate illegally every year, and most of them do so by selling off a part of their land. They sell off tangible assets for an intangible dream that often turns nightmarish. The study shows that the preferred destination is the UK, with its English language and the large Punjabi diaspora being the main attractions. Ironically, because they are uneducated, the immigrants lack English language proficiency, and thus they face many difficulties. Illegal immigrants have 57 other destination countries, including the US.

It is vital that we equip our citizens with specific skills that are in demand in destination countries. The Indian diaspora is centuries old, and the reasons for immigration remain the same, a perceived lack of opportunity at home and the dream of making it big in a foreign land. Most of the Punjabi immigrants, according to the study, are young, 55 per cent between 21-30 years. Lack of education contributes to their being duped by agents who promise them the moon, while sometimes delivering them to hell. The agents are seldom punished, because victims often reach out-of-court compromises and don’t pursue cases. The agents should be punished to the full extent of the law and effort must be made to ensure that the immigration sector operates in a transparent manner, is regulated properly and all players are held accountable for their actions.

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End of a dream
For Punjabi youth London is no El Dorado


Hundreds of Punjabi students in the suburbs of Southall want to return home but have no money to pay for their one way tickets from London to Delhi or Amritsar.

Didar Singh Randhawa, President of the Management Committee which controls two of the main Gurdwaras in London- Singh Sabha (Park Avenue) and Havelock Road Gurdwara, is clearly worried over the trend.

“We are doing our best to help these students who, in the first place, made their way here after being misguided by agents in Punjab. Just recently, half a dozen girls, who paid anything between Rs 6 to 8 lacs to agents, landed up in the Gurdwara and requested us to provide boarding and lodging for them since they had no other place to go. We told them that they could live in the garage which is adjacent to the Gurdwara parking lot. At the same time, we have also told them to scout for jobs or be ready to leave the Gurdwara. After all how many students can we host ?” he told this correspondent.

Singh Sabha Gurdwara is also running a helpline-Sikh Awareness Society (SAS) – in collaboration with other Sikh organisations in an attempt to ensure that “Our Sikh sisters coming on student visas are not exploited by agents here in UK.” There are several other Sikh social organisations operating in London which are going out of their way to help students get jobs or pay for their air fare back to Punjab.

Says Labour party’s Ealing Southall Member of Parliament (MP) Virendra

Sharma,“The problem is being compounded with every passing day, every moment, and nobody knows how to convince parents of these kids back in Punjab not to send their wards for so called ‘higher studies in UK.’ Students coming in the late fifties and early sixties were students in the real sense of the term. They would come to UK, study and leave for India once their education was completed. However, now everyone who comes on a student visa wants employment the moment he or she lands at the Heathrow airport,” rued Sharma.

In Punjab, agents tell starry eyed youngsters that London is their El Dorado. That once they get a decent degree from a decent UK University, they can laugh their way to the bank! Subsequently, falling into their trap, parents either mortgage their small land holdings or borrow money at exorbitant rates of interest from private money lenders to send their wards to UK for what IELTS coaching ‘institutes’ and agents refer to as “quality job oriented education.”

However, once in UK, their dreams are shattered to smithereens. Spiralling costs in the aftermath of a long drawn out recession means that there are no jobs for these youngsters. Once they land in London these students totally forget about studies and become desperate to get a job. The reason is simple- in order to survive and pay their college and university fees and room rent on time , they have to find employment- which is not there. Homesickness quickly sets in and it is not uncommon to find cash strapped students shelling out anything between 5 to 10 pounds every day for the pleasure of talking to their folks back home in order to overcome their loneliness.

Employment opportunities for youngsters arriving on student visas are scarce. UK rules state that a student can work for just 20 hours a week , which in any case is totally insufficient for a student to pay for his or her room rent, food, fees and other sundry expenditure. A majority of the youngsters, having a middle class background, can not risk asking their kin back home to send more money because their parents have already accumulated enough debt in their misguided attempt to send their wards to UK for studying. Then begins the vicious cycle where students play hide and seek with UK Border Agency- UK’s immigration police- if they have to work for more than 20 hours so that some of their needs, if not all, are fulfilled.

In order to ease the pressure of paying room rent, which is anything between 40 Pounds to 60 Pounds per week in Southall, Hayes, Hounslow and Slough areas-all dominated by Punjabi students-these youngsters start living 3 or 4 to a room. Here girls mix up with boys-after all it is an alien land and there are no prying eyes to watch!

Earlier students were lucky enough to find work at top of the line Departmental stores like Tesco, Marks and Spencers, Debenhams, Westfield shopping centre (at Shepherd’s Bush) and Primarks or at the Heathrow airport-where the newly built Terminal -5 was a hit with students from Punjab. However recession has meant that jobs at these stores have dried up in double quick time. To top it, job placement agencies at the Heathrow airport have stopped providing jobs to students.

The UK Border – Britain’s immigration agency – has pasted posters in all Gurdwaras of London which ominously say “You came with dignity. Now you are staying here illegally. It is better you go back with dignity.”

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Another ‘husband’ deserts and disappears

Toronto, July 7
Thirty-five-year-old Arshpreet is not the first or the only woman to have been duped by men more interested in migrating from Punjab. She is only the latest in a long line of such women.

When she headed for Pearson International Airport in her wheelchair -- polio in her childhood had crippled her -- to receive her spouse sponsored by her, she had no inkling that she had been cheated into a wedding.

Her ‘husband’ from Punjab never emerged from the airport. He did have the courtesy to call her though and inform of the desertion. Like others before him, Ashpreet’s husband, armed with the Canadian immigration visa, took another international flight to a country that welcomes people with Canadian visa.

Arshpreet works in a bank in Brampton in Ontario. She first got in touch with Manjit Sahi(30), over the telephone. Exchange of photographs and emails for two years convinced the 35-year-old Arshpreet that she had indeed found the love of her life in Manjit.

She traveled to India in 2008 to get married. On return, she sponsored Manjit to get him in Canada. It took her all of two years and considerable expense to complete all formalities and convince Canadian immigration of her husband’s credentials.

It’s a growing trend in which both men and women from Punjab are disappearing from airports on reaching Canada. Although there are strong and separate associations in Canada to prevent exploitation of both brides and bridegrooms by immigration seekers, the racket continues unabated.

Early this year, the longest serving Indian-Canadian Member of House of Commons Gurbax Singh Malhi, strongly pleaded for some legislation to check misuse of the family or marriage clauses for immigration.

Recently, Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Jason Kenny also hinted at tightening the laws concerning immigration for spouses. The issue was also raised by some of the Punjabi Canadian MPs during their interaction with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at the end of G20 summit in Toronto last month. Ruby Dhalla also took up the issue with the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal for a law governing “fraudulent” marriages.

Toronto Police and immigration authorities have made no progress in the Arshpreet case. All that she now wants is for other women to escape her harrowing experience.

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Indian caught hidden in car speaker

Kuala Lumpur, July 7
Two men, including an Indian national, were caught at Singapore’s woodlands checkpoint while they were trying to leave the country illegally to Malaysia hidden inside the speakers of a car.

The Indian national, according to Singapore daily ‘My Paper’, was caught last Friday after he agreed to pay a middleman 1500 Singapore dollars to be smuggled out of the country inside the back hatch of the car fitted with speakers.

The driver, a Malaysian national, was to get 300 Singapore dollars for the work. The Malaysian driver of the car and his passenger, both 25, were to be paid 150 dollars each.

The other man was a Bangladeshi national who was nabbed last Thursday after he agreed to pay a middleman 1,000 Singapore dollars. — PTI

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Jalandhar youth dies in police firing on Turkey border


Ludhiana, July 19
A youth of Peeranwali village in Jalandhar district, who was taken illegally to Turkey recently, got killed in police firing on the Turkey and Greek border, when he along with five other Indians was trying to cross the border illegally.

Sukhwinder Singh, the deceased, along with Sarabjeet Singh, another youth of Dulwan Kalan village near Amloh in Ludhiana, Guninder Singh from Jalandhar and Balwinder Singh from Nangli village in Amritsar were among the six Indians, who were being illegally taken to Greece
by a travel agent through Turkey.

According to Avtar Singh Mullanpuri, Lok Bhalai Party leader, who spoke to Sarabjeet in Turkey today after his father came to the political party's office, said he was told Sukhwinder was killed in firing and his body was being kept in Turkey as the authorities there did not know where to send it back.

Mullanpuri said the parents of the victim were not even aware of the incident that took place on Thursday and they lost their son to the cruel hands of fate. “I am shaken after talking to Sarabjeet that Sukhwinder's body was waiting to be sent back home.

We will try to locate the family and help them,” said Mullanpuri.

He spoke to Sarabjeet, when the latter's father, Bhajan Singh, visited the LBP office here today and asked him to find the whereabouts of his son. Mullanpuri called up the number given by Bhajan Singh.“Sarabjeet told me that he, too, would have died in the firing when they were running for cover while crossing the Turkey and Greek border. He got stuck in a marshy area and the police caught him. Sukhwinder did not stop and was killed,” said Mullanpuri.

The four along with two Haryana-based youths were taken to Turkey from the Amritsar airport by a travel agent 15 days ago. The travel agent promised them jobs in Greece. He told them they would be sent to Turkey from where they would be sent to Greece by road. But now Sarabjeet is in jail and he does not know anything about the rest of the four,” said Mullanpuri.

He added he would be taking up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs and try to rescue them.