Deaths in a container

The manner in which 58 people of Chinese origin, trying to sneak into Britain, died on the way is horrifying. From the reports, it looks l...

The manner in which 58 people of Chinese origin, trying to sneak into Britain, died on the way is horrifying. From the reports, it looks like they were asphyxiated to death when the ventilation system in the refrigerated container in which they were travelling failed. The incident is a pointer to the extent to which illegal immigrants from Third World countries risk their lives in their search for greener pastures.

There may not be much public sympathy for these people, given the fact that they were circumventing the immigration laws of Britain. But, then, there is another flip side to the macabre story. Had the mishap not occurred and the customs authorities not checked the container, they would have reached Britain and would have found some jobs. It8217;s only because there is demand for workers of certain kind that the underworld is able to trade in human misery.

Otherwise, the hapless victims would not have paid enormous sums of money to the racketeers concerned for a place in that refrigerated container. The tragedy may induce the British customs authorities to check every container that passes through Dover, the main port of entry to Britain. Political leaders may also use it to highlight the problems illegal immigration causes to the country. But all this amounts to treating the symptoms rather than the disease.

At the root of the problem is the demand that exists for certain kinds of workers in European countries. Thanks to improvement in the standards of living, unemployment doles available and negative population growth, there are not enough people to provide certain services and do certain jobs. In the farming sector, for instance, there is acute shortage of hands all over Western Europe. That8217;s why illegal immigrants are lapped up by the farmers in these countries.

Similarly, the younger generation in the developed countries are not attracted to certain jobs, which they consider tedious or less-paying. But for the immigrants, who are prepared to work harder in an alien country than they would have done in their own native land, such jobs are a godsend to improve their lot. Unfortunately, the governments of these countries do not realise the need for such labourers and political parties are not comfortable, either, in demanding legalised immigration.

Nonetheless, there are attempts, however feeble they may be, to tackle the problem. The German government8217;s decision to grant visas to 20,000 computer professionals, a majority of whom will be from India, is one such attempt.

While it is admitted that the shortage of computer experts reflects the drawbacks of the German education system, it is often forgotten that the average German youth gets bored sitting in front of a computer watching the monitor all day long.

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The Germans, who depended heavily on the Turks for reconstructing their country after the Second World War, are naturally enough more realistic in this regard. They have in place a work permit system, whereby foreigners are given work permits, which enable them to work in the country without the rights and privileges of a citizen. There have been suggestions that India, too, should introduce a work-permit system to effectively monitor the movement of illegal immigrants from, say Bangladesh. In any case, the first step to tackle a problem is to recognise it.