Despite Mosul massacre, Iraq still a draw for Punjab’s jobless youth

They left home dreaming of better lives and returned in caskets. Yet, despite the deaths of Indian workers in Iraq, thousands of men in Punjab still hope to find a job in the war-torn land – and mostly through illegal channels.

Of the 39 labourers who went to Iraq and were killed by suspected ISIS militants, 27 were from Punjab.

Travel agents here said people still plan to go to places such as Iraq for jobs and better wages, despite the risks .

Many travel without valid papers, they said, calling for a strict enforcement of a licencing system to check the mushrooming of illegal travel agents in Punjab.

“The main reason people go to other countries is unemployment in Punjab,” said Kuljeet Singh Hayer, president of the Punjab Travel Agents' Association. “When they go through illegal travel agents, they get trapped,” he told PTI.

There are no specific figures on the number of travel agents helping people go to Iraq illegally, but experts in the industry said there could be thousands of such unlawful operators.

A Jalandhar-based registered agent who runs an approved recruitment and manpower consultancy firm said people pursued such jobs because the salaries of workers in Iraq were two or three times higher than those in places such as Dubai.

“Many are still going to Iraq and several are willing to take the risk of going to such countries to make money,” he said to a query on whether the number of would-be workers to the Gulf country had fallen following the deaths of the 39 people.