July 26, 2003	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1424

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RAWALPINDI, July 25: The Pakistanis deported from the United States regret having left their motherland for the greener pastures.

Talking to this reporter, they detailed their harrowing experiences during detention in the United States. Most of them were relieved to be free and back on their own soil.

“Now I know the worth of my motherland, after having spent four months in detention, eating badly cooked soups and vegetables and looked on as a criminal,” said Ahmed Raza who had been arrested in Great Falls Montana for possessing a tampered social security card.

Most of the deportees told this reporter that the ride to Buffalo, from where they took the chartered flight back home, had been very taxing. “I had to wait in Atlanta for a full night on a concrete floor before boarding a flight for Buffalo, said Siddiq.

Similarly, other detainees had to undergo long road journeys, multiple flights and rigorous travelling to reach Buffalo. The detainees praised the Pakistan Embassy for extending them all possible assistance. The embassy gave money ($40 to $100) to all the deportees to reach their destinations. Many deportees, however, were not pleased with the working of the Pakistani consulates in the United States.

Those deported from Texas, Houston and Los Angeles condemned the Los Angeles consulate for its total apathy towards their plight. The most shocking complaint was that the consulate did not entertain collect calls at all creating embarrassment for the already depressed expatriates.

The detainees from the West Coast also blamed the embassy in Washington DC and the New York consulate for not dealing with their cases directly. When the accompanying officer was asked for comments in this regard, he appeared defensive and said: “I represent the Washington DC embassy. However, I know there is staff shortage at the LA consulate and now the ambassador has augmented the staff and the ministry has appointed a vice consul.”

The deportees said out of all the Muslim countries, Pakistan had the highest number of detainees, yet the embassy and the consulates were dealing with the issue as a petty consular matter.

The under-current of these interviews was that Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC was not well-equipped to effectively deal with the quantum of the immigration problem being faced by the million strong Pakistani community in the United States.