As the Pakistanis die in a fresh Mediterranean tragedy, the question lingers: Why? | Migration

Islamabad, Pakistan – The Renhan Aslama family was running a business with transport and rental cars and grocery stores. Rehav helped manage these businesses.

But five months ago, the 34-year-old sold his car, a Toyota Hiace wagon, for 4.5 million rupees ($ 16,000) to pay an agent to help him leave his life in his village Jora, In the Gujrat neighborhood in Pakistan, the Punjab province, in search of a future in Europe.

He never did it.

Rehhan, the father of two girls and a boy, was among 86 people who boarded a passenger boat on January 2 near Nuakchot, the Mauritani capital in West Africa, aimed at the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa, controlled by controlled by controlled by controlled Controlled by a controlled -controlled Northwest Africa -controlled controlled, controlled by a controlled Northwestern Africa -controlled Spain controlled.

Set in the sea for more than 13 days, the ship was eventually rescued by the Moroccan authorities – only 36 survived on board. Rabia Casuri, Pakistan's acting ambassador to Morocco, confirmed that at least 65 Pakistanis were aboard the boat: 43 of them were dead while 22 survived.

Rehab was among the dead.

“He just wanted to get to Europe in some way. It was his dream, and he told us not to create any obstacles in his path, “said Myan Ikram Aslam, the biggest brother of Rehang, to Al Jazeera. “All he wanted was to look for better opportunities outside Pakistan for his three children.”

The Pakistan Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that it will repatriate 22 survivors from the recent boat incident along the coast of Morocco, but there is a slight closure of the families of the dead.

Instead, the tragedy has left a series of questions in its awakening. How did the people of the boat die? Why did they travel to Europe from West Africa – unlikely a new route for incorrect Pakistani migrants?

And why are people like Rehang, from families with some financial stability, risking their lives to reach Europe in the first place?

“Tortured to death”

This incident along the West Mediterranean route comes just weeks after four other ships sank December last yearS In these tragedies, 200 people were rescued, but nearly 50 were reported dead or disappeared, including at least 40 Pakistanians.

One of the most deadly shipwrecks in the Mediterranean happened through June 2023When more than 700 people, including nearly 300 Pakistani, died after Adriana, an aging fishing trawler, closed near the Greek island of Pilos.

In the latest incident, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry initially announced on January 16 that the boat had “transferred” near Dahla, a port city in the disputed territory of West Sahara, controlled by Morocco. But the victims' families claim that their loved ones were “beaten” and “tortured” before being thrown overboard.

Press release

An incident with a boat displacement off the coast of Morocco pic.twitter.com/0znvrjwf4m

– Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@foreignofficepk) January 16, 2025

The 49 -year -old Aslama said that the survivors of his village report that the pirates on another boat attacked them, stole their belongings and attacked passengers with hammers before throwing some into the sea.

“We were able to talk to some of the surviving boys in Dahla who shared how the pirates repeatedly attack their boat for a week, torturing and throwing people overboard,” he said.

A similar account was shared by Chaudhry Ahsan Gorsi, a businessman from the village of Dhola near the city of Gujrat in Pendjab province.

Gordi lost their nephews Atiif Sheh Zadz and Sufyan Ali, who paid 3.5 million rupees ($ 12,500) to agents to make their journey easier. The survivors informed him of the brutal circumstances of their death.

“These guys sold their land to raise the money and left last August,” Gorsi told Al Jazeera. “But I could never imagine that they would meet such a terrible fate – physically attacked, tortured and thrown into the water,” he said.

After the boat was rescued last week, the Pakistan government sent an investigative team to Rabat to investigate the allegations. However, their report has not yet been publicly announced.

“We are still conducting our investigation and interviewed the survivors of their experience,” Rabia Casuri, a Pakistan ambassador to Morocco, told Al Jazeera from Rabat, where she has served over the last two years. Investigators, she said, were still “trying to understand the details of what was unfolding in the days when the boat was stuck in the sea.”

New route

Although one of Pakistan's most fruiting regions and the home of several industries that produce electronic goods such as refrigerators, fans, sports and surgical goods, the Punjab Gujrat regions, Salcot, Jelum and Mandy Bahaudin are hubs for humans looking to migrate In Europe for decades.

According to Frontex, the European Union border and coastal agency, nearly 150,000 irregular migrants from Pakistan have reached Europe using land and marine routes since 2009, when the agency began records of migrants entering the European Union.

Most Pakistani who make the trip usually travel to the United Arab Emirates, then fly flights to Egypt and Libya before trying to try to travel through the Mediterranean.

Casuri, the current envoy, said the Western Mediterranean route is not uncommon for the Pakistanis seeking improper migration. But this choice of route may be a consequence of the attempts of the Frontox and the Pakistani authorities to tighten the restriction of irregular migration, said Pakistani officials.

In general, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugee (UNCBA), nearly 200,000 people have passed to Europe along various Mediterranean routes in 2024, while at least 2824 have been declared dead or disappeared.

But while these numbers are still significant, Frontex reports a decrease of 38 percent of irregular EU border crossings in 2024, marking the largest levels since 2021.

Frontex data revealed that while just over 10,000 Pakistani reached Europe in 2023, their number fell to half of next year, as about 5,000 people entered Europe through incorrect funds using land or marine routes.

After Adriana sank in June 2023, which caused national outrage, the Pakistani authorities claim to have increased and improved their screening to press against the smuggling nets of human of Pakistan. But the smugglers in response were sought and found new routes.

“It's a cat and a mouse game, as we continue to track the smuggling network, they also find different routes to search and entice people to use them,” Marat told Al Jazeera in an interview.

Rehahan flew from Fisalabad in Punjab to Dubai. Then to Adis Ababa, Ethiopia and then to Dakar, Senegal. From Dakar, the agent took Rekhan and others in his group on the way to Nuakchot, up the north along the Atlantic coast.

The agent, Aslame, was known to the family. Rehhan did not encounter abuse from the agent or his assistants and was often able to talk to his family at home on the phone.

Until his death, Rehav's journey seemed better than what many undocumented migrants who made such trips must endure – something Aslama knew from her own experience.

Europe “lifestyle” lure

More than two decades ago, in 2003, Aslama had also tried a risky trip to Europe – through land, to Greece. Together with a group of 50 to 80 people from the Gujrat neighborhood, he made his way to the southwestern province of Pakistan, from where the smugglers helped him, while others cross the border and enter Iran.

“We continued to walk for months and when we slowed down, they (smugglers) would threaten to kill us or sometimes beat us,” he recalled about his trip.

But after nearly two months of walking and hiding, when the group eventually reached the border with Turks, Aslam gave up and decided to return home.

“I just told them I couldn't walk anymore. I showed them bubbles on my feet and asked them to let me go, “he said. They released it. “This is a miracle that I survived in this ordeal,” Aslam added.

Since then, the family has built their business, and Aslama, one of the five brothers, said they are financially secure. The brothers are now running a successful rental business with a “fleet of 10-15 vehicles,” he said, as well as grocery stores. They also have a small tract of agricultural land.

“Our family was well settled and Rehang helped me with our business,” Aslam said. “But after failing repeatedly to provide visas for Canada or the United Kingdom, he decided to take the risk (going to Europe without documents).”

Marat, the FIA ​​employee, said that although economic reasons play their role in forced people to take such dangerous trips, there is a social aspect. Families, even those who are financially stable, see their neighbors, friends and relatives whose sons have reached Europe, parading with their ascending social mobility.

Aslama explained that the wealth lure, better opportunities and a “chance to live in a fairer society” encouraged people to take life-threatening risks.

“There is such a rot in our society, people do not get justice for small things,” he said. “So often, when our vehicle is spent between cities, traffic police stops people from random bribes. For many, this is part of doing business here, but for some, like my brother, they had enough of it. “

Gorsi also recalled how his nephews worked in Dubai at a construction company, which he helped to create before deciding to pursue his European dreams.

“Both boys wanted to find a way to get to Europe. They see the lifestyle of some of our fellow peasants who have managed to send their children to Europe and how this affected them up on social mobility. So, these two also wanted to try their luck, “he added.

Yet, despite his own journey in 2003 and the death of his nephew in January, Aslama was fatalistic – almost as if it made peace with the dangerous decisions that led to the death of Renhan.

“Our brother made this choice,” he said. “And we deliberately allowed it, despite the risks.”