Patiala March 13, 2020 (Yes Punjab News)
US Based North American Punjabi Association (NAPA) raised a very serious issue about the illegal human smuggling from the land of Punjab to the western countries.
NAPA executive director Satnam Singh Chahal who is presently in Punjab in a press release issued here today said that the well-oiled human trafficking network and business, involving the ferrying of hundreds or thousands of Punjabi’s to North America, is alive and kicking in Punjab.
Unscrupulous travel agents operating from the USA, New Delhi and different cities of Punjab are minting money from these shady deals. Rampant violation of human rights of irregular migrants in transit and destination countries is a cause for concern and requires action on part of the transit and destination countries.
Chahal said that although Punjab Assembly passed two laws in 2010 and 2012 to stop the illegal human smuggling from Punjab but due to the lack of will power of our system these laws are meaningless in Punjab.
Therefore this kind of illegal human smuggling business is flourishing in Punjab under the nose of our government.He further said that there should be scrutiny of advertisements published by travel agents in India for jobs in foreign countries and such a scrutiny was essential to check whether the agent had valid authorization to advertise the employment opportunities or skills and whether these were still valid in that country. Such scrutiny should be undertaken by the protector of emigrants’ offices and police separately.
He further said that there is a need to create a database which can be helpful in making assessments about irregular migration, a network of intermediaries, modus operandi, the profile of victims and other such aspects. Hundreds of youths from Punjab try to migrate to other countries, especially in the West, for better job avenues.
Many of them end up in the clutches of illegal immigration and travel agents, who charge them between Rs 20 and Rs 50 lakh and dupe them by dumping them in other countries. Fifteen persons from Punjab have been missing for the past more than six years, while crossing the US border illegally, added Chahal.
- Photo Courtesy Wall Street Journal
