Was it really worth the price?

Today I was once again reminded of the horrible tragedy in the Mediterranean where eight years ago the two-year-old Syrian Alan Kurdi trying to escape from the brutality of war drowned and was found lying face down on a Turkish beach.

This time around it is not one lonely child but a number of Pakistanis, including a famous woman sportswoman, who drowned off this unfriendly beach as their wooden boat capsized after hitting reefs off the coast of Italy.

According to reports, most of the illegal migrants hailed from Punjab districts such as Mandi Bahauddin, Sargodha, Gujrat and Rawalpindi. Also emanating from this tragedy are heart-rending stories like the drowning of twins and one child left all alone in the world as his whole family disappeared under the waves.

To me it is mind-boggling that residents of these Pakistani districts somehow managed to travel through various countries to finally end up thousands of miles away on a beach in Italy in tragic circumstances. There can be no doubt that international human traffickers have a very effective network that is active in all countries and in spite of such tragedies they continue to operate with impunity.

The urge to migrate to greener pastures real or imaginary has always existed specially amongst the young men in third world countries. In the seventies it was much simpler and less hazardous as western countries were developing and looking for young workers.

I still remember two of my friends who decided to travel by train to Germany and we saw them off at Karachi’s Cantt station necks loaded with the flowery garlands all of us had brought for this special occasion. One of them is now settled in the USA and his offsprings are in responsible positions in government.

The other spent some time in Europe and then moved to the UAE where he was running a successful business till he decided to come back to Pakistan. Also in the seventies some of my colleagues in St. Patrick’s college decided to travel across Europe by road. Together they bought a Volkswagen van and had a wonderful time saving up on hotels by using the vehicle as sleeping quarters.

The whole trip went smoothly without any harassment in any country and the Pakistani passport was duly honored and respected. Things have now changed and I remember landing at Frankfurt airport a decade back to the announcement that people with Pakistani passports please remain seated while the others get off.

This was not an unreasonable request because a new trend had emerged in which people seeking to settle illegally in Germany would tear up their passport during flight and flush it in the toilet declaring that they were stateless people, forcing Germany to grant them refugee status.

Right now the whole illegal immigration game has become very high stakes and according to available figures a person has to pay anywhere from 16 to 20 lakhs to be illegally transported to Europe from Pakistan and now the demand is to pay in dollars. It is not an easy journey and filled with risks and life-threatening situation.

People seeking legal immigration is also on the rise in alarming numbers. According to available statistics, this year saw immigration of 8 lakhs as compared to 2 lakhs from previous year. This is a four-fold increase and includes professionals like doctors, engineers, IT experts, accountants, etc. Most of these have emigrated to the Middle Eastern countries, which seems to be the ideal place for especially Pakistani professionals.

Coming back to the Mediterranean. In 2022, it was estimated that 2,062 migrants died while crossings the Mediterranean Sea. However, the accurate number of deaths cannot be ascertained. Between 2014 and 2018, for instance, about 12 thousand people who drowned were never found. In addition to the rising death toll at sea, UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo says even greater numbers may have died or gone missing along land routes through the Sahara Desert and remote border areas.

As we sit and watch on TV screens the tragedies unfolding on the high seas in the comfort of our homes we should pause to ponder how people just like us safe and secure in their homes living happy family lives ended up on stormy seas in fragile wooden boats unable to save themselves or their families. Amongst the highest number of refugees are Syrians.

Driven by an illusion of democracy as did the people of Libya they now barely survive amongst ruins that were once bustling living cities. Was it really worth the price?

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023