Hoshiarpur deportees recall ‘donkey’ route horror

Harwinder Singh and Sukhpal Singh revealed that the deportees remained handcuffed throughout their return journey to India. Both urged youth not to go to foreign countries illegally.

In Tahli village of Hoshiarpur district, Harwinder Singh wept like a child after meeting his family on Wednesday. Recalling his “nightmarish” experience after he left for the US, Harwinder, in his 40s, said he had lost hope of ever returning home and seeing his children as he saw a member of his group dying in the Panama jungles and another drowning in sea while being on the “donkey” route. Claiming that he had paid ₹42 lakh to a travel agent to take him to the US, he said, “Contrary to what was promised, I was made to catch a flight to Qatar and then to Brazil. I was told that I will be flown to Peru but was instead taken to Panama by road and made to take the donkey route. We remained without food for days together. The sea journey was equally perilous. Now, we have returned home, bruised and empty-handed.”

Harwinder Singh of Hoshiarpur's Tahli village meets his family on Wednesday. (Harpreet Kaur/HT)

Another deportee, Sukhpal Singh, 35, of Darapur, recalls starvation, physical pain and mental agony during his four-month journey from Italy that ended at a US detention facility. He was sent to Italy in October last by an agent with the promise that he would be taken to the US in a convenient way.

He said he saw several bodies while on donkey route, revealing that injured travellers were left to die. During detention in US, he said the room temperature was intentionally kept very low to hurt the illegal immigrants and little or no food was served to them.

Harwinder and Sukhpal revealed that the deportees remained handcuffed throughout their return journey to India. Both urged youth not to go to foreign countries illegally.