Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web
Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web
Current_Trends_and_Related_Challenges_web
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Migrant Smuggling in Asia<br />
Figure 6. Destination countries in Europe <strong>and</strong> South-West Asia for the smuggling of migrants<br />
from South Asia<br />
Netherl<strong>and</strong>s<br />
Sweden<br />
Sc<strong>and</strong>inavia<br />
Denmark<br />
United Germany<br />
Kingdom<br />
Belgium Austria<br />
Hungary<br />
France Switzerl<strong>and</strong><br />
Italy<br />
Bangladesh<br />
Bhutan<br />
India<br />
Nepal<br />
Sri Lanka<br />
Lebanon<br />
Israel<br />
Kuwait<br />
Pakistan<br />
Bahrain Qatar<br />
Saudi Arabia<br />
Oman<br />
United Arab Emirates<br />
Nepal Bhutan<br />
India<br />
Bangladesh<br />
Sri Lanka<br />
Maldives<br />
The boundaries <strong>and</strong> names shown <strong>and</strong> the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.<br />
The map is an elaboration of UNODC based on selected sources.<br />
financial benefit. One source estimated that at<br />
one point, as many as 70 per cent of Saudi Arabia<br />
work visas were sold on the black market. 98<br />
Some Sri Lankan migrants, usually Sinhalese, are<br />
smuggled into the United Arab Emirates to take<br />
up employment in the construction industry or<br />
in a range of low-skilled positions. The smugglers<br />
usually only arrange some part of the journey to<br />
or entry into a Gulf State while legitimate labour<br />
agencies facilitate other parts of the immigration<br />
<strong>and</strong> employment processes. Others use the main<br />
airports in the United Arab Emirates <strong>and</strong> other<br />
Gulf States as transit points en route to Western<br />
Europe. The rapid growth of Gulf-based airlines<br />
<strong>and</strong> the expansions of airports, such as in Dubai,<br />
Abu Dhabi <strong>and</strong> Doha, was followed by an increase<br />
in airborne smuggling of Sri Lankan nationals<br />
through the Gulf region. Today, many airlines fly<br />
from Sri Lanka via a Gulf State to Europe <strong>and</strong> offer<br />
fast <strong>and</strong> easy connections that are also used to<br />
smuggle migrants. 99<br />
There is little information regarding the smuggling<br />
of migrants from India to the Gulf region, despite<br />
the large number of Indian migrant workers in the<br />
United Arab Emirates <strong>and</strong> other countries. Several<br />
reports suggest that many Indian migrants enter<br />
a Gulf State without the necessary visa, work<br />
without the required permit or work for employers<br />
other than those specified in their permit. 100<br />
Pakistani authorities also report that some Indian<br />
nationals are smuggled from India by l<strong>and</strong> across<br />
the border into Pakistan <strong>and</strong> the Islamic Republic<br />
of Iran, from where they continue by boat to<br />
Oman <strong>and</strong> on to the United Arab Emirates. 101<br />
3.4.6 Smuggling to Europe<br />
Western European countries are popular<br />
destinations for the smuggling of migrants from<br />
South Asia, especially for Sri Lankan <strong>and</strong> Indian<br />
migrants <strong>and</strong>, in fewer numbers from Bangladesh.<br />
The smuggling usually occurs (1) via Central Asia<br />
<strong>and</strong> Russia, (2) via Turkey <strong>and</strong> Greece through the<br />
46
Change language