LAHORE, Sep 5(ABC): Spurred by the twin crises of rising inflation and unemployment, a large number of Pakistanis are crossing borders through illegal channels, often falling prey to a thriving racket of smugglers exploiting their poverty.
For many people fleeing poverty, getting across the borders requires them to pay huge sums and even their lives, with transnational smugglers squeezing them to pay more than Rs500,000.
Trekking through mountainous terrains and no-man’s-lands to avoid arrests, most of these young men endure a gruelling journey to the ‘promised land’ of Europe, grasping for an economic lifeline as jobs dry up in their country. But theirs is a failed journey, often resulting in more suffering as gangs lurk in darkness for potential victims.
While many are nabbed at the borders of Iran and Turkey – which have become transit countries for illegal migrants – and deported to Pakistan, others walk themselves into death after authorities in Greece use disproportionate force to push them back toward Turkey.