A charter plane with 276 Indian passengers, grounded in France for four days due to suspected human smuggling, returned to Mumbai on Tuesday. The incident underlines the risks of illegal migration, also highlighted in the film Dunki. Mint explains the nuances:
What does the term dunki mean?
The Punjabi word dunki, meaning to move, or hop from one place to another, has inspired the term “donkey route”. The term denotes illegal border crossings via indirect routes with many stops in different countries. The final destination of many illegal migrants is the US, but they typically exploit loopholes to make it happen. They may first go to countries that allow visa on arrival from India, or use trafficking agents who get them direct visas. A popular route is to travel to Latin America or central American countries like Nicaragua first to evade tight scrutiny, and then traverse a dangerous route to the US, crossing rivers and forests.
What makes people migrate illegally?
Undocumented immigrants usually choose to travel for various reasons. Some flee poverty; some flee violence. Some might even be displaced by development measures such as the building of a large dam. Refugees are usually lured to the border by agents promising easy passage to the US or EU. These agents charge high fees for bogus documents and transport people via sea or flight. However, many end up as pawns in the booming trafficking business. Human rights groups have documented instances where migrant workers’ access to their passports is manipulated to push them into bonded labour.
What is the link between smuggling and trafficking?
Migrant smuggling is today a transnational crime and a booming business. It is the business of unlawfully crossing borders but it is voluntary in nature. In contrast to smuggling, human trafficking is defined by its involuntary status. Traffickers coerce or lie to get people to sell sex or work under abusive conditions. More often than not, smuggling and trafficking are related.
What do the numbers tell us?
Between October 2022 and September 2023, 96,917 Indians illegally entering the US were arrested, according to data from US Customs and Border Protection. The 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report, prepared by US State Department, shows that the trend of trafficking and smuggling is rising, partly due to increase in international conflicts. According to June 2023 data, the number of victims of trafficking increased from 68,453 in 2016 to 115,324. For the same period, convictions fell from 9,072 to 5,577.
What has been reported from India?
In short, the numbers don’t paint a pretty picture. The National Crime Records Bureau data for 2022, the latest available, stated that 2,250 cases of human trafficking were reported across states and Union territories—it rose from 2,189 in 2021. The highest cases were in Telangana (391), Maharashtra (295) and Bihar (260). Most were of migrant workers forced into bonded labour and prostitution. Experts, however, caution that this data might just be the tip of the iceberg, since historically such crimes are underreported.