Migrant Smuggling Data and Research

In destination countries, migrant smugglers from Bangladesh, India,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are largely depicted as criminals with some accused
of abuse and starving their captives by the media, politicians and academia
(Chowdhury, 2015; Shepherd, 2014; UNHCR, IOM and UNODC, 2015). This
depiction is echoed by those in transit countries, and highlighted in graphic detail
by the Rohingya from Bangladesh whose mass graves were found in Thailand
(Barry, 2015). Yet, in source countries, those involved in the smuggling process
are not necessarily considered exploitative, but sometimes considered as heroes,
helping people escape their difficult situations (Raghavan and Jayasuriya, 2016a,
2016b). Many smugglers rely on their reputations, and so successful ventures
generate more business for them.
The apparent contradiction in conceptualizations of smugglers could
in part be due to where smugglers (or those in the smuggling business) are
interviewed. Initially, in source countries – presumably those respondents who
are planning on undertaking irregular migration with the assistance of a migrant
smuggler have not experienced the hardships in transit – may not fully appreciate
the risks of transit, or may have been informed by their networks that the risks
are worth taking. If these people are engaging migrant smugglers, they may
do so with an underlying level of trust, and hence have positive views towards
smugglers. A smuggler may also be part of a chain of smugglers, and actually be
more of recruiter or facilitator rather than the main smuggler (Raghavan and
Jayasuriya, 2016a, 2016b). Conversely, those who have undertaken the journey
and experienced hardships may have a different view of migrant smugglers.
This conceptualization may also be different depending on the source country
in question; Rohingya who languish in camps in Thailand before their family
members can buy their freedom may or may not face different levels and types
of abuse at the hands of smugglers (and traffickers) compared with Sri Lankans
who entered Australia irregularly in 2011 and 2012. Such examples often blur
the difference between trafficking and migrant smuggling.
In source and destination countries, irregular migrants who are seeking
asylum have been conceptualized by some as opportunistic, queue jumpers and
driven by economic factors, while others present them as legitimate sufferers of
human rights abuse and persecution (Howie, 2014). For governments in source
countries protecting their human rights records and reputation, and governments
in destination countries trying to limit the flows of irregular asylum seekers, the
narrative seems to be the former. For human rights advocates, family members
of asylum seekers and some sections of the asylum seeker’s communities, the
latter conceptualization may be more accurate. Academia, to an extent, exists in
the middle; showing irregular migrants may have both economic and protection
reasons for migration (Dimitriadi, 2013; European Commission, Directorate
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8. South Asia