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Poverty drives people into traffickers' net

Recent reports say that about 100 Pakistanis from the Sargodha area in central Punjab have ended up in Burkina Faso in Africa while trying to reach France.

  • By Kamila Hyat, Correspondent
  • Published: 23:39 May 16, 2008
  • Gulf News

Lahore: Recent reports say that about 100 Pakistanis from the Sargodha area in central Punjab have ended up in Burkina Faso in Africa while trying to reach France.

They had paid out sizeable sums of money to agents for their intended passage to Europe.

Most of them were young, illiterate or poorly educated and had rarely ventured out of the Sargodha area. And they had been promised Paris.

After their "handlers" dumped them in Burkina Faso, it took them some time to realise they were in another continent. Reports say they are being held against their will and are unable to return.

Such tales have been heard before.

Unemployment, poverty and a general perception that life in the West, the Gulf or East Asia means money and luxury, lead many to pay agents who offer to arrange for their passage overseas.

"Some of my friends have discussed taking this course. They argue that life here has nothing to offer, so they may as well risk going abroad, even if a difficult journey lies ahead," said Imran Ahmad, a teenaged petrol station attendant.

Reports of Pakistanis dying in Iran or Turkey while trying to reach Europe are frequent. Many who had paid large sums of money end up in foreign jails or are lucky to get back home. Still more people get duped in their quest for overseas passage.

Gujrat in Punjab, once known for its locally made electric fans, is today a hub of travel documents' forgery. Though the chance of people getting caught by the sophisticated scanning equipment has increased, gangs of human smugglers continue to take people for a ride.

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