Narratives of Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking Persons

Abstract

The title of this research study is “Narratives of Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking Persons”. The main objectives of the research are to describe the traumas, agonies, physical and mental health issues of smuggled/trafficked persons. Furthermore, the research aimed at vivid description of the nature of mechanism, and extent of criminal activity carried out at great length. An investigative insight of how these people carry out their nefarious pursits in difficult routes of Pak-Afghan border, Pak-Iran border, Turk border and finally how they enter into European countries. Whilst in this process they endure exploitative situations like spending time in detention centers and private jails of smugglers/traffickers. In order to collect data and document the narratives and stories of smuggled/trafficked persons like, rapport building, in-depth interviews, questionnaire, participant observation, focus group discussions, case studies, life history method, and qualitative research method was adopted. The sample size of this study is 80 and purposive and snowball samplings were used to accumulate data. Field findings revealed that distress and health issues of the smuggled/trafficked person are undocumented which pose serious concerns to their well-being. As a consequence, thousands of people seeking a future lose their precious lives or get severely injured by deceptive and fraudulent tactics of the agents. The most commonly prevalent diseases observed among smuggled/trafficked persons despite physical injuries were anxiety and depression. In addition, the research explored main motives of human smuggling/trafficking in Pakistan that revolve around socio-economic inequalities of masses and unfulfilled dreams of prestigious life abroad where people fall in the hands of smugglers/traffickers agents and then never regain their normal lifestyle due to societal stigma especially the women and girls from impoverished and marginalized areas of the country.