Sold 2 acres, took Rs 45L loan, and now back to square one

BATHINDA: Paramjit Singh, aka Saurav, set off from his native village of Chandiwala in Punjab's Ferozepur on December 17 last year, his mind a welter of emotions. The 23-year-old's family had sold two acres and taken a loan to raise the Rs 45 lakh he needed to pay an immigration agent for illegal passage to US. They knew the journey was fraught with peril, but promise of a prosperous life was too strong to resist. As he bade goodbye to his loved ones, Saurav told himself he couldn't fail them. Two months later, he is back in Chandiwala, a physical and mental wreck. The money is gone, and his illusions lie shattered.

"The last 40 days were the toughest. I saw how a life choice you make can become your biggest enemy," said Saurav, among the 116 illegal Indian immigrants on the second deportation flight from an American city to Amritsar in 10 days. "I was hoping to somehow reach the US, and life would finally be easy." The two-month ordeal started with him first landing in Malaysia, where he spent a week before his immigration agent put him back on a flight to Mumbai. After 10 days there, Saurav was taken to Amsterdam and then to Panama.

Saurav and many other illegal immigrants were made to walk from Panama, passing through jungles, to reach Mexico City, where they were made to wait another three days. From there, the group was taken to a spot near the US border by taxi and asked to cross the border on their own, only to be spotted by guards and arrested. Saurav recalls being taken to a border police post, where they were asked to give their fingerprints, photographed and given sheaves of documents to sign.

The group was next taken to a detention centre, where they spent 18 days. On Feb 13, all the deportees were shackled and handcuffed before being told they were being shifted to another place. Instead, they were taken to a military plane and informed that they were being deported to India.