Pravasi Bharatiya

From Asia to Europe
Human smuggling
By Tejinder Singh

The euphoria created by Olympic Games in Greece is over but strangely enough no Asian journalist reported that during the Games the stadiums featuring Indian and Pakistani hockey teams were half-empty while the ticket sale counters showed ?sold out?, thereby disappointing many last-minute ticket seekers.

The reason was stated in a matter of fact way by an Indian human trafficker in Athens, who spoke, on the condition of anonymity, ?We had purchased the tickets in block and sent them to India and Pakistan for the prospective migrants to apply for visas on the pretext of attending Olympic Games but many were denied (visas) by extra-vigilant embassies.? But he predicted that post-Olympics relaxation of security measures will let the mal (goods, as the humans are called by these smugglers) to flow in.

The arrival of clandestine immigrants by sea and over the rugged mountains into Greece had resumed since the ending of the Olympic Games in Athens late last August, during which exceptional measures were in place by the Greek navy, helped by NATO, to ensure security at the event.

Greece'sgeographical location makes it a major thoroughfare for immigrants from the Middle East and Asia. Most of these emigrants are brought by various means to destinations as close to Greece as possible legitimately and then taken across the European borders under the guidance of hidden route experts, called ?donkers?.

For this purpose, the well-organised smuggling rings provide seaman'sbook for around Rs 40,000 (less than 900 Euro) and the person flies to a port city to join the ship as ?crew?. Sometimes there is no ship and the person is routed further along the land routes. And if there is a ship, it is usually the ones operating with not much of sea-worthiness left in them and which transport illegal aliens to somewhere along the thousands of kilometres of unmanned Greek and Italian coastline.

In all cases, the passports which have the airport stamps of departure from India and arrival at some transit destination are destroyed by the human smugglers as soon as the person finishes with the legal part of the journey.

Another modus operandi very recent in application is to apply for asylum papers by declaring themselves being from Kashmir and get a temporary stay permit. Greeks and Italians have no way to check the authenticity of these claims and persons can stay for years pending their asylum applications.

The documents are destroyed to make sure that the authorities cannot tie a person down to the country of his origin and in that case the authorities cannot immediately deport him. They need to establish his nationality, which is a time-consuming process. And then starts the ?cat and mouse? game with the border guards of Greece.

Coming through as far as Moscow (capital of Russia) or Kiev (capital of Ukraine), the wouldbe emigrants usually land up in Bulgaria or Turkey from where they are taken across by ?donkers?, walking across the snow-covered mountain in the north or mine-ridden paths from Turkey.

Greece and Italy are the main points of entry for illegal emigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh into Europe. The business of smuggling humans out of the Indian sub-continent has picked up in recent years as Greece decided to legalise illegal migrants for a limited period of time in 1997 and then gave an extension in 1998.

The fact that the deadline to integrate into the Greek legal system expired long ago does not deter the ?agents? to lure the gullible with false rumours of another amnesty by the Greek government. Crime syndicates are exploiting this. Unscrupulous operators demand a high price?sometimes as high as a lifetime'ssavings?and hardly give a thought to the safety of those they traffic.

This fact is evident when speaking to Sucha Singh (not the original name), who was one of the few lucky ones to survive not only the infamous ?Yiohan? ship disaster in which more than 280 Indians and Pakistanis died on the Christmas eve of 1996, but also escaped being arrested with some 24 who were immediately deported back to India. He says, ?I still get cold sweats and nightmares from that scene when scores were dying in the icy cold waters of mediterranean, screaming for help.?

Sucha was 17 at the time and got legal status during 1998 amnesty and works nearly 14 hours a day in a ?pig farm? on the outskirts of Athens. He shares an unhygienic dwelling with seven more. His eyes sparkle when questioned if he would make a dash to more promising lands. He replies, ?I am looking for a good opportunity to go to England or maybe Canada.?

With the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the markets here are flooded with cheap labour from East European countries and now Greece is becoming the transit point of choice, for making the final dash to greener pastures like Britain, Germany or further Canada.

Another modus operandi very recent in application is to apply for asylum papers by declaring themselves being from Kashmir and get a temporary stay permit. Greeks and Italians have no way to check the authenticity of these claims and persons can stay for years pending their asylum applications.

Human Interest

But things are set to change with Greek authorities feeling the heat from northern European nations and with Italians deciding to act over these frustrations. Italy recently put into practice an ?emergency measure?, a draconian new policy of airlifting illegal immigrants straight back to Libya, the moment they set foot on Italian soil.

In an attempt to deter further waves of illegal immigration, hundreds have been sent back to Libya by air during the past months. Italian immigration officials said that the immigrant reception centre on the tiny island of Lampedusa, designed to hold some 200 people, was ?packed to bursting point? with nearly 1,300 migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East as smugglers took advantage of the fine autumn weather and calm seas.

Lampedusa, a rocky Italian outcrop, is closer to North Africa than to Italy and has become a magnet for refugees and criminal gangs who smuggle them.

Moreover, journalists were recently briefed by the Interior Ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain after a two-day ?Group of Five? (G-5) summit in Florence focusing on the fight against international terrorism and illegal immigration.

According to a document distributed at the end of the summit, European Union passports containing biometric identification, such as fingerprints, would be introduced ?by the end of 2006?. The new passports would guarantee added security within the context of the fight against international terrorism, the ministers said. But the ministers remained strongly divided over plans to set up reception centres for would-be immigrants outside the EU. The idea, first floated by Germany'sOtto Schily and immediately backed by Italy'sGiuseppe Pisanu, has come under fire from human rights activists, as well as from France and Spain.

Critics fear that such centres, if built in countries that have not signed the Geneva Convention, such as Libya, might not necessarily comply to international human rights standards.

?To avoid any kind of misunderstanding, France has no intention of accepting such a proposal,? French Interior Minister, Dominique De Villepin told reporters. Antonio Alonso of Spain said his country also had doubts over the utility of such a measure.

In case of such detention centres, the would-be emigrants from Asia will languish in the jails of these countries for a long time as there will be problems over the cost of transporting them back to the countries of their origin, as is evident already with the large number of Asian prisoners in the languishing jails of transit countries, like Russia, Ukraine and Turkey.

In the face of all the risks to life, difficulties in trespassing the borders and uncertainties over the finale, the show goes on.

(INEP News)