What do deported men depict?

There is much that can be said, off the record, about the fact of the deportation of Pakistanis from different parts of the world; much that would make us question many of the official policies and statements that we are exposed to ad infinitum. All of which would possibly expose the hollowness of the image that Pakistanis have abroad. On the record, the fact that it has become almost a routine that Pakistani citizens are being deported is something depressing and disturbing.

Contrast this with the fact that efforts are being made constantly to improve the image of the country, and one presumes quite obviously that a great deal of hard earned money is being spent by the Pakistani government to ensure that the endeavour is rewarding. Is it, ultimate? The answer is evident. One also assumes that attempts are being made through expensive lobbyists and public relations people to create an image of Pakistan that unfortunately gets undone, when you get embarrassing accounts of how these deported men made it; that is to say they sneaked their way out of Pakistan and were bundled back - empty handed.

In the process of moving to and fro, these desperate, illiterate, dreamy men, end up undergoing a nightmarish experience; so sorrowful their tales, when examined in individual detail that it makes one question once again the efficiency and the integrity of the official and private platforms, which enable this process. Obviously, these men who get deported lose their money as well as self-respect within their communities. The heart of the matter is that there are deceiving men, straightforward cheats, who make money, and sell fake dreams and bogus promises and plans to vulnerable men, mostly young, who believe they have no future in Pakistan.

A belief in the future of this society is central to what these deported men do. They have tried finding jobs and failed. Others have simply found that their desire to get rich soon, or perhaps quick, is a better work, is unlikely to bear fruit if they slog away their lives here. They have seen that those who have gone abroad illegally or legally, to the West or the East, or anywhere in the world, language and cultural barrier notwithstanding, have become rich and powerful.

So in a society where ethics is of almost no value, where the greed factor is all embracing, these deported men take the risk. If they make it, it is for life. If they get deported, so what? In fact, the experience acquired can be useful in making a second attempt, says one Karachiite who is particularly troubled at the phenomenon of such Pakistanis giving to the country a bad name.

A look at some of the recent stories shows that Pakistanis have been sent back, because of the illegality of their stay or even presence in those host countries, from not just the United States, but also from Libya, Oman, (Muscat), and so on. The act of deporting them is duly well publicized by the authorities concerned, and television provides news coverage with visual footage. Of course this should make the relevant authorities in Pakistan wake up, and investigate. But this human trafficking goes on and on.

Let's look at the most recent of the deportees who arrived in Karachi from Muscat this week in two launches. These 1,383 men appeared weary, said a Dawn report and they said that another 10,000 Pakistanis were still in the Iranian border towns, waiting to be smuggled out to Muscat through launches. The report said that "the job seekers, most of them illiterate and hailing from Sindh, had been smuggled to Muscat after they were made to cross the Pakistan-Iran border illegally near Mand Ballu, Balochistan, (bear in mind that over 35,000 illegal job seekers have been deported in the last four years.)

These 1,383 men paid Rs5,000 to Rs25,000 "human trafficking" to enter Duba via Oman. And instead of melting away into the gold of Dubai, and get lost in the glitter and glamour of that city, they found their way into prison. Physically and mentally shattered, these men are back. It does make one wonder what they are going to do. How long will they take to repay the loans they had taken to get to Dubai?

And what of those agents who thrive in this business of human trafficking. A thought also goes out to the children who are kidnapped and sent out to be camel kids, or the girls who are abducted and employed in shameful illegal business, the thought of which makes one tremble. One has often wondered at the men and women who operate in this field, and what is it that makes them so cruel, heartless, ruthless and so inhuman? And what of the law in this country which cannot nab the agents, the operators in this field? Is it a problem of law or enforcement? Or both! There is something gravely wrong in all this, because the problem is growing.

It is not only a challenge that is posed by the agents, who send these men out illegally, but there is evidently a failure of society to find employment for its people.

There is much that can be said about the joblessness that we have. It has reached a sorry stage wherein, from Lahore come occasional reports of men having committed suicide at the Meenar-i-Pakistan. That's place where Pakistanis ought to feel pride.

Occasional reports that men and women are driven to commit or attempt suicide do appear in the press. Talk to psychologists and psychiatrists, and they will tell you of the depression that is growing and the emotional imbalance that both urban and rural folks are suffering from. Talk to school teachers and they will tell you alarming stories from the lives of well-to-do children. Talk to someone in Lyari and you will be able to perceive the misfortunes of those who dwell there. All those official figures of economic well-being appear irrelevant.

Every week, I end up talking to a hairdresser, who lives in Manzoor Colony and tells me tearful tales of how he can't find a proper regular job and that his wife and three children are facing tough times. He is in his mid thirties and I hope and pray that he may not fall prey to those unscrupulous agents whose job is human smuggling.

A Karachiite unhappy about the scenario of deportees arriving from various countries, in numbers big and small, remarked that "if we have been able to get out of the clutches of the IMF why can't we get rid of these agents who send people abroad?" After a pause he asked: "Is there no role that our embassies can play in this ongoing embarrassment that is eroding at our national image?"