Political and economic problems, natural disasters and a promise of a better life abroad drive many Pakistanis to risk illegal migration.
In 2017, a young Pakistani man, Asad Ali, decided to leave his home country and head for the “promised paradise” of Türkiye. Exhausted by the journey, Ali surrendered halfway through Iran and was deported back to Pakistan. He then attempted the journey again – this time with the proper paperwork to enter Iran, followed by an arduous, illegal journey to Türkiye.
Returning to Pakistan in 2020, Ali compiled and transformed all his experiences from walking along the Turkish-Iranian border in Dogubayazit, taking buses, and even hiding in the wilderness into a nearly 104-minute documentary. The film, which was released on his personal YouTube channel (AsadPenduVlogs) with 55.4 thousand subscribers, has been viewed nearly 1.4 million times. “I didn’t want to make this video for money or fame. I just wanted to educate people about the risks of dunki and why they shouldn’t do it illegally,” Ali said .
 |
| Asad Ali's 104-minute documentary about his journey back to Pakistan. |
Dunki is a local term for illegal migration from Pakistan to European countries. Ali is one of a group of young Pakistani YouTubers who understand the pitfalls of dunki and are stepping in to stop the trend. They create and post videos that expose the risks and impacts of illegal migration, and help dispel misinformation spread online by dunki members and people smugglers.
| Some 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistanis attempt to illegally cross into Europe via Türkiye and Iran each year. |
Pakistan’s economic crisis, food insecurity, violence, lack of freedom and scarcity of jobs have driven tens of thousands of people to illegally cross into Europe through Türkiye, Iran and the Western Balkans every year. According to data obtained by Geo News in 2021, between 2015 and 2020, more than 600,000 Pakistani citizens were deported from 138 countries for a variety of reasons, including expired work permits and illegal entry using fake travel documents.
Aqib Asrar – who goes by the name Ali Virk on his YouTube channel – decided to try his hand at dunki in 2018, overwhelmed by societal and family expectations to complete his studies. During the dangerous 16-day journey to Istanbul via Iran – first travelling by road in a 4x4 for 20 hours, then on foot for more than 30 hours – several of Asrar’s fellow travellers died. The 24-year-old later documented his experiences on YouTube, with one of his videos gaining 1.8 million views. “I wanted to tell people how dangerous it is,” said Asrar, who has since returned to Pakistan .
His videos have helped save at least one would-be illegal immigrant from making the same mistake. Qaseem Ibrar, a 21-year-old resident of Gujranwala in Punjab, decided to give up after stumbling upon Asrar's videos.
“I thank Ali bhai [brother] from the bottom of my heart for making these videos,” Ibrar shared. “When we saw the route, we couldn’t even think of doing it. Now we are home and safe, and that’s the most important thing. We are strictly against this practice and would not recommend anyone to come to us for advice.”
 |
| Aqib Asrar narrates his experiences through dunki agency. |
Channels like Adeel JaMeel Global (25,300 subscribers), Europe Info TV (176,000 subscribers), and Teach Visa (111,000 subscribers) also feature interviews with migrants who have made it to Turkey or other parts of Europe but have struggled to find suitable employment. In addition to discouraging illegal border crossings, Ali’s videos also offer guidance on legal migration to the European Union. One of his most-viewed videos from 2019—with 238,000 views—explains how to apply for a Turkish tourist visa without an agent.
A dunki dealer from Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab province said his business thrives on word of mouth. “We don’t look for people, people look for us after getting good feedback from others who have used our services,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Some such dealers promote their services online to attract customers. For example, Gernal Musa, a YouTube and TikTok channel, posts videos of “happy” customers, with WhatsApp numbers that can be used to connect with dunki dealers.
According to FIA officials, in areas like Gujrat and Mandi Bahauddin, people are motivated to pursue overseas work opportunities, regardless of whether they are traveling legally or not, partly due to the influence of social media, which shows the success of those who have managed to improve their families' economic conditions through working abroad.
“In places like Mandi Bahauddin and Gujrat, most families have foreigners [who have] tried dunki,” Zaidi said. “Their families told me that [through my film], they learned about the difficulties their children faced to reach these countries.”
“We use social media to deter people from trying to migrate illegally and to show that the agency is actively preventing it,” said the FIA official. The agency’s tweets, videos and Facebook posts are aimed at discouraging people from paying people smugglers to take their children abroad.
Asrar, whose YouTube channel has 319,000 subscribers, hopes to create videos about the struggles of illegal migrants living in different parts of Europe. He is also interested in educating his followers about legal travel, the visa process, and how to find work abroad.
“I will continue to make videos to guide them through my experience so they never have to choose this deadly journey again,” he said.
Source
Comment (0)