Illegal migration from India to Western countries, in particular to the US and Canada, is increasingly becoming a major concern. The recent incident involving a Nicaragua-bound chartered flight with 303 Indians that was grounded in France has highlighted the issue and must serve as a wake-up call for the authorities to get to the bottom of this murky affair. A thorough probe must be carried out to unearth the network, including touts and travel agencies that facilitated the operation. The final destination of what is called the “donkey route” was reportedly the US, though the passengers only had a Nicaraguan visa. The French authorities have since detained two persons for their role in the racket. Nicaragua is widely seen as a major transit route for undocumented people looking to enter America and doesn’t have a proper mechanism to prevent human trafficking.
In the latest case, most passengers were Indian workers based in the United Arab Emirates intending to use Nicaragua as a gateway to the United States or Canada. An Airbus A340, operated by Romania-based Legend Airlines, departed from Fujairah International Airport in Dubai. It was grounded in France after the French police got an anonymous tip that some of its passengers may be victims of human trafficking.
While no evidence of trafficking was found, the inquiry gave way to concerns about undocumented immigration which is still being investigated by the French authorities. The grounding of the Nicaragua-bound flight is the latest in the spate of incidents that made news about Indians failing in their attempts to enter the US. Despite the risks of detainment or even death, the US customs and border protection authorities have reported a rise in the number of Indians attempting to enter the country illegally. This despite claims by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government that the country is witnessing an economic boom. People are leaving India for the West in search of better livelihoods. The government should properly conduct an inquiry and go down to the root. Agents involved in such human trafficking should be strictly dealt with it.