THE NEW DUNKI ROUTES

Despite the horror stories surrounding the 'dunki' or illegal migrant route to the West, the lure of a better life for young men in Gujarat, Punjab and other states has seen them pursue newer ways and routes to cross international borders. INDIA TODAY speaks to families in Gujarat to find out what fuels the growing human trafficking economy and who is behind it

- JUMANA SHAH

IT is an old story, with a fresh chapter being written into it every so often. This May, it was a German charter flight of 253 Indians that was sent back from Jamaican capital Kingston to Dubai on suspicion of human trafficking. A few of the passengers were scheduled to travel to Nicaragua and others to Canada after a supposed week-long stay in Jamaica, although only one day was accounted for. Officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (Crime) of Gujarat suspect that around 75 passengers from the state and a few from Punjab were attempting to migrate to the US illegally.

How does it feel to be sent back? It has been over seven months since Raman Thakor, 32, was deported from Vatry in France last year.

Back now in Mehsana, a city in agrarian north Gujarat, there is not a single day when he does not think of going back. "This was his third failed attempt [at illegal immigration]," his wife Alpita, 30, tells us between sobs, even as her three-year-old daughter tries to wipe her tears while playing with a balloon. "Earlier, he had to return from Vietnam and Indonesia after agents duped him." He is raring to go again, a thought that distresses Alpita no end, although Thakor's parents are unperturbed. "They are confident that he will reach the US somehow and, once there, all our financial troubles will be over," says Alpita. "But what about me and our children?" Thakor was one of the 303 Indian passengers aboard a Nicaragua-bound Romanian charter plane that was grounded for four days at Vatry on suspicion of human trafficking. Although all passengers possessed valid travel documents, some of them confessed to wanting to unlawfully cross into the US via Mexico. Twenty-seven applied for asylum in France, while the remaining 276, including 96 from Gujarat and others from Punjab and Haryana, were repatriated.