Dying to Leave

I was watching TV on Friday evening when the documentary programme "Witness" was showing on Al Jazeera English. I didn't manage to catch the beginning of the show but managed to catch the remaining 20 minutes (it was a 30 mins program). The title of "Dying to Leave" was, in my opinion, very appropriate to the topic being discussed - human smuggling, usually across borders.

I cannot remember names, but the program did manage to convey in 30 mins the size of the problem, the reasons behind it, as well as real life examples. It is mind boggling when you consider that the estimated size of the business of smuggling humans is around USD30bil annually! Estimates of the "fee" for a person to be smuggled ranges from USD40k (China to Canada or the US) to USD500 (Zimbabwe to South Africa).

The main reason why people go to great lengths to risk their lives making such a journey is usually desperation. Desperate because they are unable to put food on the table, or desperate because of war and fighting in their homeland. In some cases it's about making an "investment". The invited speaker was giving an example of how in Pakistan a family would sell off everything, or take on debt, to raise the USD20K required to smuggle a son to the UK. Very likely this son would be able to find a job and send money back to his parents, enabling them to repay the debt within 2 years and thereafter receiving the money as earnings. To most Pakistani families this will be a much better return on the USD20k compared to whatever investmens there are currently in Pakistan. A similar situation is seen among Chinese entering the US illegally. Many a times they're driven not so much by desperation as by the illusion that money is easier to find in the US than in their villages or towns.

However, by far the norm among most of such "irregular" migrants would be to seek refuge from war and violence, and sheer economic desperation. One such person interviewed is an Iraqi Kurd who was aboard the ill-fated ship which sank off the coast of Australia drowning some 150 people, many of whom were children. Even though he survived, he lost his wife and his daughter. He thought he would be able to at least have a peaceful life with his family by running away from his war torn country, but it turned out to be a tragedy instead. The painful reality of having to live facing the consequences of his decision, only in this case a decision driven by desperation.

A lady originally from Lithuania recounted how she couldn't afford to buy wood to heat her apartment, causing her son to suffer with bronchitis. Following the advice of her cousin, she decided to be smuggled into Greece. Little did she know that she and the rest of her fellow travellers would be sold like cattles to the local underground, and be forced into the flesh trade. Beatings will occur when they try to refuse. She is now a worker in a retirement home.

Perhaps the most painful experience is the one where parents actually pay smugglers to take their child, some as young as 6 years old, to be smuggled to friends or relatives abroad in the hope of a better future for their child. Imagine the anguish of such parents where there is a chance they would never see their child again, or they might never know what has happened to that boy or girl if they didn't reach their destination. I guess desperation drives people to do the unimaginable, which most of us would never understand, nor do we wish to experience.

Despite numerous concerns regarding the impact of immigrants in most countries, including ours, the truth is that we have an economic need for them. Migrant labour is required for most of the jobs which the country's own labour force shuns. These jobs are usually associated with being dirty, dangerous, and very poorly paid. As an example, the hard job of picking tomatoes in the US is mainly taken up by irregular migrants from Central America. The pay is pittance considering how hard the job is. In fact, the pay has not changed much since almost 20 years ago, meaning the real wage has actually dropped some 60%. Driven by consumer needs to have cheap tomatoes, migrant labourers will be around for a long time to come, and exploitation will continue to happen.

In many ways, the problem of human smuggling is a consequence of globalization, consumer demands for better products at a lower price, as well as extreme poverty caused by failure of governments and wars. It will remain a big problem unless each of the main causes are resolved. The fact now is that countries cannot stop such irregular immigration, and in most cases they actually need them for labour purposes. It is best therefore that countries learn to deal with it instead of trying to stop it at all costs. Not only is there an economic sense to it, but it is also about having basic decency to treat our fellow humans in a more civil and dignified manner. After all, nobody choose to be born into a desperate situation.

Our country, in a way, is also a country of immigrants. We really should deal with the issue of irregular immigrants in a much better manner considering how they have been instrumental in contributing to the growth of this nation, particularly in the construction industry. Raiding hostels, villages and jungles and throwing them into detention camps is not only treating them with contempt, but to disrupt their input into our economic activities as well as wasting taxpayers's money without solving any problems. Not to mention the countless allegations of abuse of powers and human rights violations while conducting such raids, especially by RELA (check out this interview with the RELA chief). Having a more open attitude towards migrant labour, and streamlined process to regularize them as legal workers would be more economically beneficial. It is better for the government and legal agents to earn fees from processing permits for immigrants than to allow smugglers to profit from the movement of people. After all, I don't foresee Malaysians accepting the tens of thousands of menial jobs any time soon. And I don't think our country will be able to function as it is now without people filling these jobs.

(I just realized that Raja Petra Kamarudin had just now just posted an article about migrant labour in Malaysia, with a different take altogether - a cash cow for some Minister.)