Mujhe Tum Ne Kyun Bacha Liya

It is a tragic reality that whenever I write about a tourism trip to a particular country, my inbox gets flooded with messages asking how I managed to get the visa and whether I can help them do the same. When I inquire about the purpose for which they need the visa, the common response is, “Just want to leave this country somehow, sir,” often accompanied by a smiley face.

There are three businesses in the world that are most profitable: weapons, drugs, and human trafficking. While weapons and drugs may kill a person once, those caught in the web of human trafficking face a living death, trapped in a cycle of helplessness, fear of being caught, blackmail, forced labor, and financial exploitation. The journey people undertake in search of a better and safer life often ends at the gates of hell.

Yet every year, millions fall prey to human wolves, not only endangering themselves but also putting their families through immense mental anguish. From agents who paint alluring pictures of a better future to well-dressed officials, all are part of this shameful trade. It is a trap from which only one in a hundred manages to escape unscathed.

I came across a report by UNHCR which stated that last year, approximately 400,000 people attempted to cross various seas with the help of human traffickers to reach their desired destinations. Out of these, around 207,000 tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy. Eighty-two thousand sought to reach Spain in small boats, while 60,000 attempted to cross the Bay of Bengal to Australia. Five thousand tried to enter the U.S. via the Caribbean, and the rest sought to cross the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece. Out of all these, about 250,000 were intercepted by naval or coast guard authorities. More than 2,000 drowned, and those who somehow reached the shores were captured by local authorities.

Life is so constrained that, according to UN statistics, citizens of 152 countries are currently living as smuggled individuals in 124 countries. Among these, 53% of migrants are subjected to sexual exploitation, and 40% earn less than two-thirds of the standard hourly wage, living hand to mouth. Only 7% manage to eventually become legal citizens in their desired countries.

A significant number of people trafficked from Pakistan to Europe and Western countries hail from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to the FIA, trafficking agents are mostly active in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, and Azad Kashmir, leading many countries to blacklist visa applicants from these areas. Those involved in human trafficking use routes through Gwadar to Oman or Quetta to Iran and Turkey to reach Greece. In the past four years alone, nearly 62,000 individuals attempting to illegally cross the Pakistan-Iran border have been stopped.

Is there a solution? It is often said that no one leaves their homeland if basic necessities are available, and even if those needs aren’t met, very few would leave if food security and law and order are ensured.

I watched a BBC Four documentary on YouTube. In it, a young girl from Nigeria—a country rich in oil yet plagued by corruption—was rescued by British coastguards after her boat capsized. As she was pulled from the water, she screamed, “If I were happy in my country, why would I leave my mother behind and risk rape, forced labor, and death in search of a future? Why did you save me, you dogs?”