Fewer jobs, but many still risk it all to reach Greece
“Greece can’t be worse than Punjab. The agent has told me that there is always work for those who are willing to work hard. I am. At least I can get out of here and see the world,” says a 22-year-old.
Migrant farmers in Megara
Most people in Bhoma village would tell you how to get to Greece from Gurdaspur – the land and sea routes, the illegal ones and the ones fraught with danger — as if you were asking for directions to get to the next village. Each of the 30-odd families in the village have, or have had, at least one family member working in that country.
Satnam Singh, 50, is back in Bhoma after working close to 15 years in Greece. “People in Gurdaspur have very small land holdings. Even if we were to mortage that land, the money isn’t enough to travel to countries such as the US, Canada or England. So Greece has always been a affordable option for us,” he says. “I am talking about illegal travel – without papers,” he clarifies.
Satnam first went to Greece in 2001, but got caught while trying to enter the country. “I landed in Moscow with a tourist visa. From there, I was taken through at least two countries. We travelled 11 days on foot but just as we entered Greece, we got caught and I had to spend three months in jail,” he says.
After he got out, Satnam started working in a factory that manufactured plastic pipes. “After a very long process, I finally got a work permit. I now have a work permit till 2023, but I don’t want to go back. There are no jobs in Greece so I sent my son to Muscat,” says Satnam, who lives with his wife and younger son in Bhoma.
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The last time he went to Greece was in 2014. “I worked for a year and came back. Now I don’t plan to go back. Greece has gone bankrupt… You can still earn about Rs 80,000 in Greece. But that’s not enough to take your families along, so most youngters who travel illegally lie low till they get a work permit, after which they keep travelling between India and Greece for the rest of their lives,” he says.
The Greek debt crisis that began in 2009 forced many such as Harjinder Singh, 55, to return to Bhoma. “I came back in 2014. But we don’t learn our lessons. Youngsters here continue to waste money on Greece. Travel agents too haven’t reduced their fee, charging Rs 7 to 8 lakh to take a person to Greece.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an ‘agent’ in Bhoma says, “The number of youngsters going to Greece went down at least 60% after the economic crisis, but those from Punjab and Gurdaspur continue to go there in the hope that they can cross over to other countries. But what usually happens is, if you are stuck in Greece in your initial years, you are stuck for life.”
Satnam says he now realises it’s not worth the trouble. “Travel agents promise you many things, but at the end of the day, you are just a parcel for them. You can be packed into a truck, thrown into a boat. Who doesn’t remember the Malta tragedy? (On Christmas eve in 1996, a boat carrying 283 people, many of them illegal migrants from Punjab, had drowned in the Mediterranean Sea near Malta.) I was lucky to travel to Greece by road, but we were made to cross borders sealed with open high-voltage wires. We could cross over only because our travel agent had bribed someone in the border force and they cut the power when we crossed it,” he says.
Satnam has a word of advice for those travelling to Greece. “If you have money and can risk your life, it’s better to go to the US, Canada or European countries. Greece is not a wise option – there are no jobs,” he says.
But a 22-year-old from Bohje village, 5 kilometres from Boma, isn’t listening. He has studied up to Class 10 and wants to “get out of here”. “I don’t believe Greece can be worse than Punjab. The agent has told me that there is always work for those who are willing to work hard. I am. At least I can go out and see the world,” he says.
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