Dying to leave: Why Pakistanis are risking their lives to reach Europe
Voice of America
In this image taken from video, Amir Ali rests his injured foot on the bed in his home in Gujranwala district, Pakistan, on Feb. 3, 2025. Ali was rescued in mid-January from a stranded migrant boat in the Atlantic Ocean. A roadside sign leading to Dhola village, Gujarat district, Pakistan, commemorates Chaudhry Atif Morsi and Chaudhry Sufyan Gorsi as martyrs, Feb. 4, 2025. The men died on a stranded boat in the Atlantic Ocean on their way from Mauritania to Spain’s Canary Islands in January. Kashif Ali, shown in this undated photo, works in boat making in Italy. He spent hundreds of dollars to get a work permit to the European country almost a decade ago. He told VOA he earns much more there than he could in Pakistan. Pakistanis are among the top three users of Eastern Mediterranean and Central Mediterranean migrant routes. In this image taken from video, Amir Ali, second from right, rests as friends look at his injured foot on Feb. 3, 2025, at his home in Gujranwala district, Pakistan. Despite Ali’s horrific experience, his friends say they want to try getting to Europe.
When Amir Ali left the narrow alleys of his village in Pakistan’s Punjab province last summer for the plazas of Spain, he thought his dream of a better life was finally coming true. The 21-year-old had failed seven times before to get a visa for countries in Europe and the Middle East.
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