According to figures from the UK Home Office, voluntary departures
have risen steadily over the past few years, from 335 in 2005 to 15,537
in 2010. While many of these cases have been logged with the UK Border
Agency, it seems that the Indian High Commission is dragging its feet on
processing the cases. According to the article, the UK Border Agency
admits that establishing the identity of illegal immigrants in order to
issue them with emergency travel documentation is a “complex” process
and that the time it takes to process these individuals varies by case.
One individual, a man in his 30s, has been waiting for three years.
Many of these individuals abuse drugs and alcohol as a way to cope
with the situation. Their thoughts often turn to suicide. Their only
support system is each other and the majority of them haven’t even told
their families, back in Punjab, about their broken dreams. It’s a
difficult situation for these men – their lack of options in Punjab
drives them to seek opportunities abroad but this promise of prosperity
is not always what it seems to be.
Link (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17183171)
They came to Britain
illegally in search of a better life, but the reality turned out to be
far removed from what they dreamed of.
The BBC has spoken to illegal immigrants who find themselves
living amongst rats and rubbish in makeshift garden sheds and garages.
They want to be deported back to India, but many are trapped in a
bureaucratic no man's land without any documents.
Jagdeesh pulls away a piece of cardboard revealing a tiny
hole in a concrete wall. He invites me to climb through, declaring:
"This is my home, come in."
As I crawl into the derelict garage in west London, the
torchlight reveals half the roof is missing, a floor littered with
rubbish, and rats scurrying away.
The 22-year-old illegal immigrant jumps on to a mattress in
the corner. His makeshift bed is protected from the elements by plastic
sheeting.
Jagdeesh's family paid £10,000 to traffickers who promised a
better life and smuggled him from India to Britain with dozens of others
in the back of a lorry.
Voluntary returns
"I was told that life was good here. It's not just me, other
boys came for work," he says. "You can see what state we're in, there's
no work, no government help."
Jagdeesh has cut himself off from his family, saying he is
ashamed of his failure to find work and would rather they thought he was
dead than knew he was living in filth.
"They sold land and took out loans to get me out of India.
What can I say to my family back home? The money we've invested is
lost," he says.
Out of work, penniless and 4,000 miles from home, Jagdeesh has handed himself in for deportation.
Voluntary departures from the UK to all countries have risen
steadily over the past six years, from 335 in 2005 to 15,537 in 2010,
before falling to 12,879 in 2011, Home Office figures show.
Voluntary returns from the UK
- 2005 - 335
- 2006 - 3,034
- 2007 - 4,805
- 2008 - 7,644
- 2009 - 11,783
- 2010 - 15,537
- 2011 - 12,879
It is barely dawn as Jagdeesh and
hundreds of other illegal immigrants from India descend on a car park
outside Southall train station in west London.
They stand in silence, shivering in the bitter cold. This car
park was once a busy pick-up point for cheap illegal workers before the
work slowed down in the economic downturn.
It is mid-morning by the time a van swings into the car park.
Suddenly dozens of men rush towards the driver's window offering their
skills, shouting above each other.
"I make a good plumber," shouts one. "I work hard boss, 12 hours for £20," shouts another.
Several men scramble for a place in the back of the van,
pushing others out of the way, then the van speeds off. For those left
behind, there will be no more offers of work that day.
Surinder, 33, also from Southall, arrived in the UK more than
10 years ago. There was a time when he made £300 a week working six
days as a heating engineer, but he is now living in the poverty he came
here to escape.
He heads back to the home he shares with several other
illegal immigrants - a tiny, poorly constructed building in his
landlord's garden. Inside, there are three beds and a cooking area.
"We can barely make ends meet. It's been two months and we've only worked four days, what can we do?" he says.
He throws his work overalls on to a scruffy sofa as if to show his frustration.
"We have to pay the landlords, there are four or five us, and so we club together to pay it."
The rent is £800 a month. Landlords appear to be prepared to risk housing illegal immigrants for an inflated price.
They have been told not to open the door to anyone in case
they are planning or immigration officials, but we obtained access by
posing as volunteers offering food and blankets.
The immigrants complain of damp, cramped conditions, but being exploited by their own people angers them most.
"Our people who are here legally, permanent residents, who've
made homes here, they've paid for their houses because of us," Jandeep
says angrily.
"Their mortgages are paid because they charge a high rent. Everyone who lives here is Punjabi."
Row after row of terraced houses in this predominantly Asian
area of west London are housing illegal immigrants in back gardens,
creating slum-like areas.
Local councils estimate there are 10,000 sheds concealed from
view across London and the Home Counties, lining networks of alleyways.
'Satellite images'
Council planning officers and immigration agencies are using satellite images to document them.
But Ealing Council, which is responsible for the area we
visited, is calling on the government for greater powers to inspect
these buildings.
Local councils often have to give 24 hours' notice to
landlords and tenants for inspection, which gives them plenty of time to
clear evidence.
Sheds with beds are the last resort for migrant workers.
Surinder plans to head back to India before he ends up on the street,
even if he has to pay traffickers to help him.
"If I don't go back while I still have some money, it's over for me, then it's drink, drugs and no way home," he says.
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