Panjabi Migrant Struggles in New Zealand, Russia, Canada & Indonesia

10
July
2024

On 23 Jun, Gurdeep Singh, a 50-year-old jeweler and owner of Pooja Jewellers on Kolmar Road, Auckland was brutally attacked with a hammer and knife. Daljit Singh, spokesperson for the Supreme Sikh Society of New Zealand, said Gurdeep suffered a fractured skull and underwent surgery. Later, Jagjeet Singh Sidhu, the general secretary of the Auckland Indian Retailers Association (AIRA), called for a meeting and expressed grave concerns over such attacks. On 30 Jun, Indian media reported that Mandeep Kumar, from Goraya, Panjab, was tricked by travel agents who promised passage to Italy but diverted him to Moscow, where he was coerced into military service. The family’s last contact with Mandeep – who has a congenital leg issue – in March 2024, showed him in army uniform pleading for rescue and fearing for his life under Russian command. The family has approached Rajya Sabha (Upper House) Member of Parliament Balbir Singh Seechewal for help. Yet, the lure to travel abroad is so great that recently 24-year-old Guru Sevak Singh was detained by security personnel at the Indira Gandhi Airport, New Delhi for impersonating 67-year-old Rashvinder Singh Sahota headed to Canada with a fake passport. His wife, Archana Kaur, who was about to attempt a similar impersonation, fled from the spot. Meanwhile, cousins Gurmej Singh of Gaggomahal village and Ajaypal Singh of Modhe village, near Amritsar have been languishing in an Indonesian jail for around a year now after being duped by immigration fraudsters. Gurmej Singh’s father Sahib Singh said the youths had been convicted in a murder case in Indonesia and sentenced to imprisonment for seven-and-a-half years. The Indian govt. has not been able to ensure their safe return so far.

Photo by Jacobin

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