DONKEY FLIGHT: THE CRAZE FOR FOREIGN SHORES

The passengers were to receive transit, student or tourist visas for the countries along the way.

- RAHUL CHHABRA

The “Donkey” flight turned back from France to Mumbai airport has taken the lid off a mega illegal immigration racket that has been in operation for years, fuelled by a high demand from dreamers for such a costly and risky route to enter the United States via Central American nations like Nicaragua.

Donkey route, according to American think-tank, Migration Policy Institute, refers to an illegal route that migrants from India often use to enter the country of their choice. 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.

While a bulk of the 276 returnees were Gujaratis (21), Punjabis and Tamil-speaking, the incident calls for counter measures to prevent these wannabe NRIs from risking their lives and families’ life savings—with each traveller paying up to Rs 25-30 lakh in instalments spread over two-three years.