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| Sunday, 3 July 2005 |
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Features |
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News Business Features
Editorial
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Italy - best greener pasture in West Negombo is a booming focal point and a hot spot for human smuggling. The following is a true account of the human smuggling trade in Negombo. The interviewee who does not wish to disclose his identity is a resident of the area, who knows the ins and outs of the trade. by Nisansala R. Aryachandra Along the western coast of Sri Lanka, the beauty of nature blooms at its truest splendour. The beach, the sand, the sun - is a dream of any holiday maker. Nevertheless, underneath the serene beauty there is a struggle to go on. People of Negombo, once a carefree, self-dependable and self-reliant community were shattered by the tsunami, their livelihoods destroyed and their houses and family members taken away from the very waves that once brought them their daily bread.
Negombo is home to a large community of fisherfolk. Their very life is in the sea. They know the sea much more than they know the land. It is also one of the largest tourist destinations, where opportunities come and go. Some of these opportunities are welcomed with open arms, while the others with reluctance, to make life better. This is about the deprived people who have opted the latter. Exploitation of the sea for illegal migration is not novel to the people in Negombo. As early as 1989/90 people have used the sea and their livelihood as means of fulfilling this aspiration for a better life. Now, the times being good or bad, it is still going on, however, not so openly or easily as it was. The opportunity seekers are mostly young people, in search of greener pastures and freedom from the line of work of their fathers and forefathers. Negombo is a booming focal point and a hot spot for human smuggling. The following is a true account of the human smuggling trade in Negombo. The interviewee is a resident in the area, who knows the ins and outs of the trade. He has relatives who have made use of this method to enter other territories and who, personally know some of the people who operate smuggling human cargo into Europe and other destinations. His name and background is withheld for obvious reasons. "The moya kata (estuary) in Kalapuwa near the Duwa Church is the location for boarding. There are about 200 trawlers anchored off-shore near the spot. This is where all arrangements are planned and executed for the journey. Now, because the situation is known to many and the fact that the CID has focused their attention on the area has led the operation to be carried out more discreetly. At present the spot is used for stocking supplies of food and water for the journey, and once adrift, people board the trawlers from fibre glass boats. This is how it is being done now." Negombo is not only used as a boarding point for locals, but also as a transit point for other nationals. People from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, India, etc. arrive here as travellers and find lodging further away from Negombo, until arrangements are finalised for their departure. Very often they are stranded or arrested in unfamiliar territories. About fifty people are packed in a trawler along with food and water sufficient to last a month or two. Most of them go to Italy since the smugglers arrange journeys only to Italy. The route is via Cairo and the people are set adrift in lifeboats close to the Italian shores. Most of these smugglers are well to do, who have contacts and links with the authorities here, and people overseas. They usually have a good rapport with the mafia in those countries too. For people to get across from Cairo to Italy, the mafia must be paid off first. The mafia operaters in the Suez Canal are known to have high connections along the canal. Generally, three out of ten boats make it to their destination. Others are often nabbed on landing and taken into custody. There are also instances where the people who make it to their destinations safely are caught by the police while on the road. These people at least could claim that they had set foot on the Italian soil. "Many people who are not used to the sea get sea sick and the dead are thrown overboard. The journey is rough, and the traveller will not turn back under any circumstances, unless of course caught by the authorities". The question of not being arrested by the relevant authorities puzzles us. When asked, the response was: "Yes, people who know it, are aware. If you ask my father, he may be able to give a broader perspective on this subject. And yes, the police, the navy and the CID are aware. But, they are not there all the time. It is carried out in the dead of the night. Trawlers are in mid-sea with food and water (only). Who will suspect? These people are all fishermen. It is as if they are setting off to work, and the owners of the boats are involved in this. So the chances for a tip off is minimal. Only the people who are involved know the plan." Nabbing is difficult because of one reason in particular: " Once the trawler reaches its destination, it does not return. The boat is destroyed, invariably sunk. And the smugglers confiscate all passports and destroy them on landing. Italy is a favourite spot for young people. It is a land with many opportunities. "The Italian Government is not too strict when it comes to illegal migrants. They know that people go there to lead a better life. And these people often claim the asylum and the authorities don't send them back right away. Although they are taken into custody, if they have any relatives in Italy, they are allowed to keep in constant touch with them, and in most cases if the relatives are ready to take them in, the suspects are released. The influence of religion is quite apparent in Italy. People are often forgiven." I also learnt that the delay in issuing a duplicate passport is made full use of, to make good their escape. The smugglers too have their own operations for forging travel documents. Many people have entered Europe by using forged papers. There have also been instances where smugglers run offices in those countries solely for the purpose of producing fake visas and IDs. When the senior official at the Italian Embassy in Colombo was contacted, (who refused to be identified), denied all facts with regard to the issuing of permits or papers. "The Italian Government issues papers, a kind of a `permit' that allows illegal immigrants and the asylum seekers to stay on as long as they want. These permits are renewed every year." "Even recently, during the funeral of Pope John Paul II, aspirants were given solace of legal recognition by the Italian Government in issuing these papers to many refugees. Sometimes these papers, after a lapse of 2-3 years would lead to obtaining a permanent visa. The days on which these papers are issued, people stay in queues for 3 to 4 days. This is because only a limited number is issued on that particular day." The operation on the whole is very hazardous, the boats used for carrying the people are locally manufactured solely for this purpose, to withstand the rigours of the perilous seas. "The truth is that the police turn a blind eye and the exodus goes unabated. The stark truth which no one admits is that the authorities too are involved. Bribes can do so much. When you get hold of a man at the top the others keep quiet. Of course, the navy has nabbed so many in the past, and the boarding areas were carefully watched. However, the people involved are also on the alert. Once, I went to one of these places and took a photograph, I was immediately pulled up and had to answer several questions as to my presence there and the purpose of the photograph." Among the people of Negombo, from the shoe maker to the fruit seller,
these operations are an open secret. The Negombo Police Station Crime
Detective Branch PC Sudath Gunawardene confirmed most of these incidents
where smuggling in the area is pre-dominant. However, an ever apparent fact
is that no one in authority officially acknowledges the subject. It is the
ordinary man who is the best informant in this regard. |
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