The recent Greek boat tragedy shocked Pakistan. People are asking why the government isn’t conducting in-depth investigations into illegal migrations from the past. Human trafficking involves not just the agents but government and military officials at various levels that allow for it to happen. Why does the Pak government not want to get to the base of the pyramid? There must be a reason why they don’t want to stir the pot too much lest it involves key government and military personalities … writes Dr Sakariya Kareem
The chapter on the Greek boat tragedy has almost come to an end as local news channels have moved back to the tussle between political parties and Pakistan’s economic crisis. The ones who boarded the ill-fated boat on that day imagining a new lease of life in Europe are at the bottom of the sea. Today, life around them goes on.
The overloaded fishing trawler that carried Palestinians, Afghans, and Egyptians on the upper deck, had Pakistanis squashed together like animals below the deck, the most dangerous part of the boat. They were mistreated “when they appeared in search of freshwater or tried to escape”, so much so that “there were already six deaths before the boat sank”.
Pak PMO declared the lowering of the mast of the national flag to mourn the 400-something youth of the country. Further dramatized were the stories of FIA arresting a dozen suspects involved in the case, and posting their pictures in handcuffs while acting rough and tough. When the Eid food coma wears down, more essential businesses will take precedence and the investigation files for the justice of these people will secure a place on the back of the shelves.
In the last couple of days, Pak media has remained focused and emphasized how its nationals received the worst treatment among all the travelers. And that “people didn’t drown but were deliberately made to drown by the Greek coastguards”. While it may be true that had the help been sent early there would be more survivors, but Pak’s effort to shift the blame entirely on the EU’s “strategic neglect and abandonment” has not gone unnoticed by the public.
A national daily carried the story of a retired civil servant who tried his best to persuade his son to not take this life-threatening route to a supposedly better life. The travel agent promised his 25-year-old son greener pastures and a job in Europe, totally brainwashing him. Even after his son’s death, the anguished father refused to name the agent. Why is an esteemed ex-civil servant afraid to give out this information? Whose involvement in the government is being covered up?
Youngsters are paying $10,000 for this arduous journey. They emotionally blackmail their parents. And since the security systems are so corrupt and poor, paying a couple of hundred dollars here and there could get them out of the country.
People are asking why the government isn’t conducting in-depth investigations into illegal migrations from the past. Human trafficking involves not just the agents but government and military officials at various levels that allow for it to happen. Why does the Pak government not want to get to the base of the pyramid? There must be a reason why they don’t want to stir the pot too much lest it involves key government and military personalities.
Parallelly is the story of the other Pakistan trying to be saved by the world. A British-Pakistani father-son duo along with two others paid $250,000 per person to travel in a submersible vessel for an adventure that later went missing. A joint rescue team from US, Canada, and France went on a mission to find them and the Pak media displayed the minute-by-minute coverage. The life of the ordinary Pakistani was already forgotten.
Pakistan’s interior minister confirmed that there are many loopholes in the trafficking laws and thanks to them, individuals in the human trade are scarcely convicted. Even when charges are filed, suspects are released on bail, and families ultimately make settlements, if any.
The event has left torn families, widowed newlywed brides, and infants behind. In a society where schooling means memorization and indoctrination, no questions asked, it is easy to influence the youth. And by playing on their vulnerabilities during the time of crisis, it is equally wicked to play the hero with no intention of bringing them justice.
As global media forgot the boat tragedy, Pak media has also shifted attention to its political theatricals. PTI is trying to keep it alive, using the event as a weapon against the “imported government” that has brought the country to a standstill “forcing people to take off to alien lands”. It’s a competition on who can hit a new low when 400 (short of 12) Pakistani youth have met a painful end.