Some desires are so audacious as to require either innocence or naivete. Take travel. In the world as it is today — as it has been for some time – the scope of ambition, of the dreams people are allowed to dream, is limited by their context. Where you are born and to whom, skin colour and religion, the passport you carry — myriad factors act as borders, policed by social conventions, heartless bureaucracies and political realities. In a different time, perhaps, the 13-year-old boy who stowed away on a plane from Kabul and was found in Delhi could have been another Ibn Batuta or Marco Polo. But even today, his chutzpah can inspire.
The 13-year-old Afghan stowaway is reportedly from Kunduz, a city of less than three lakh denizens. He made his way to Kabul, walked into the airport and managed to board a KAM flight to Delhi. For one-and-a half hours, he was in the wheel well of the aircraft — far from safe, with limited oxygen — with only a “small red-coloured audio speaker”. Remarkably, he suffered no injuries on his journey. He was discovered by airport staff in Delhi on Sunday morning, and after some questioning, put on a flight back to Afghanistan.
The boy, barely in his teens, wanted to visit Iran. In another world, not subject to borders, red tape, passports and visas, he may well have been able to. Or, had he been born in a country with a “strong” passport to doting parents with means, he could have flown first class, guide and translator in tow. As things stand, he was sent back. The lines on a map — and the mechanisms to enforce them — however, leave no room for the human factor. The stowaway, given his sense of adventure, will probably find a way to get to his destination eventually. Unless, of course, he “grows up”.
