2 deported Jalandhar youths say lack of jobs pushed them to take illegal route

We were fed only one meal a day, we were constantly thirsty and hungry. We all thought we would forget these hard days once we made money in the US. But all my dreams have been shattered.

JAGTAR SINGH, one of the deported people

JALANDHAR : Even after their ‘American dream’ turned into a veritable nightmare and consequent deportation from Mexico, two Jalandhar youth remain undaunted.

These two youngsters, who were among the 311 Indians deported on a chartered flight on Friday, are still pinning their hopes on foreign shores to repay their debt.

22-year-old Jagtar Singh, a school dropout (after class 8) from Rurka Kalan in the district was unemployed before boarding the flight from Delhi on June 5. Before reaching Mexico, he along with 311 others crossed dense forests in several countries over the past four months.

Jagtar said he crossed Bolivia, Lima, Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Columbia, Panama and Honduby bus and boat. When they finally arrived in Mexico, they were caught trying to cross the US border at night.

“We were fed only one meal a day, we were constantly thirsty and hungry. We all thought we would forget these hard days once we made money in the US. But all my dreams have been killed. Now, I have no option except to go abroad to repay my loan,” he said. His father, a farmer had taken a loan and paid Rs 22 lakh to a Jalandhar based travel agent to send him illegally to the US in five months. “My family has not yet registered a case against the agent. My father will decide if we should,” he said.

AGENT RETURNED RS 8L TO DEPORTED YOUTH

Another 22-year-old Satnam Singh from Shahkot said he sold the five kanals of land he owned for Rs 10 lakh, and borrowed Rs 8 lakh from relatives to go to the US on April 13.He studied till Class 5, and when he did not get a job anyras where, he began farming on his land. “Survival via farming was tough for my family, which includes two minor children. To improve matters, I decided to go the US by paying Rs 18 lakh to a Ferozpur based travel agent. It was my bad luck I got caught,” he said. “Considering our poor condition, the agent returned the Rs 8 lakh I gave him, which I will pay back to my relatives,” he said. However, now that he is still jobless, he plans to go to another country to support his family.

He said many youths with him belonged to Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts, but their contact numbers are stored in a SIM card he used abroad.