Irregular Pakistani migrant flows

While Brexit may, to an extent, be a reaction to migrant flows within Europe, it has further exacerbated the growing xenophobia in Western countries. Europe, with its proximity to many former colonies and conflict-ridden parts of the world, is struggling with the influx of Syrian refugees, due to which the fate of irregular migrants from across the developing world has also become tenuous.

Many people from our part of the world in particular do not seem to realise how the refugee crisis has made illegal migration a dangerous venture. Nor do they seem clear about what lies in store for them if they are deemed irregular migrants.

According to international law, an asylum seeker is a person who seeks safety from persecution or harm in a country other than his or her own. Illegal or irregular migrants are not considered refugees, and face deportation if caught. It can be difficult to distinguish between refugees and irregular migrants, since both can be exploited by human smuggling rings.

European policymakers have made it harder for people of certain nationalities to claim asylum, even if they have been displaced as a result of conflict or are fleeing persecution. The EU has claimed that since Pakistan functions under a “democratic process”, it is justifiable to accelerate the deportation of illegal Pakistani migrants in a bid to free up space for refugees with more legitimate asylum requests.

Less than 20 per cent of Pakistani asylum applicants were granted asylum in Europe according to estimates made available last year. The EU had signed an accord with Islamabad back in 2009 to enable Europe to repatriate illegal Pakistani migrants. Eurostat figures, however, revealed that while nearly 160,000 illegal Pakistani migrants were supposed to be deported from the European Union between 2008 and 2014, only around a third of them were actually deported. Logistical and bureaucratic delays, and the lack of enforcement were cited as reasons for this lacklustre resolve. However, the ongoing refugee influx indicates that the situation on the ground is changing fast. Pakistani migrants are now being confined in Greece and Turkey. About six months ago, the European commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, had declared that Europe will accelerate the return of tens of thousands of illegal Pakistani migrants.

While the situation in Europe is becoming increasingly tough for Pakistanis, scores of them are voluntarily being smuggled via Iran and Greece to engage in low-skilled employment in Europe. However, the conditions in Europe are changing fast, and the news of these changes is not reaching communities fast enough.

The recently-formed Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Islamabad is tasked with raising awareness on irregular migration and the related risks. It would be good if the MRC came up with an effective awareness-raising campaign to highlight the dangers of illegal migration, especially to Europe, which is already bursting at the seams with migrant and refugee flows. Such a campaign must be well thought out so it goes beyond placing a few expensive adverts at major Pakistani airports (as was done by the Australian government some years ago) and can actually reach out to people considering illegal migration before they have actually committed funds and made a decision to embark on an illegal journey. While even a well thought out awareness-raising campaign with good outreach may not convince every irregular migrant to stay home, it might make some of them think twice about paying exploitative recruitment fees, or being lured by the hope of fraudulent job offers and a better quality of life, which will most probably be shattered as soon as they reach the shores of Europe, and that too if nothing untoward happens to them on the way there.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 15^th, 2016.

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