EXPLAINED: 54 ‘Dinkies’ deported to India, on the ‘Dinkie Route’ there is a risk of honor to death, then why should Indians go?

Late night of 26th October i.e. Sunday, a flight from America landed at Delhi Airport. But there were no common passengers in this, rather they were 35 Indians, who had entered America without passport and visa. America deported all 54 Indians back to India. Actually, all these people had entered America through the donkey route. The name Donkey Route may sound funny, but on its way one finds not only forests and deserts but also dead bodies and human skulls.

So let us understand in ABP Explainer what is the deadly Donkey Route, how Indians enter America without passport and visa and why Indians are forced to do so…

Question 1- What is the matter of sending 35 Indians back to India from America?
answer- Karnal DSP Sandeep Kumar told ANI that 35 Indians tried to enter the US illegally, who were deported back to India by the US. Of these, there are 54 people including 16 from Karnal, 14 from Kaithal and 5 from Kurukshetra. After the completion of the deportation process, all the people were reunited with their families.

Sandeep Kumar told that this group had used the donkey route, which is used for human trafficking from India to America. This is an illegal and dangerous path. People from many villages and towns enter America using the Donkey Route, but nothing results.

Question 2- What is this donkey route?
answer- The word ‘Dinky Route’ is derived from the Punjabi word ‘Dunki’ i.e. DUNKI, which means to go from one place to another. When people want to go to America to earn money but due to lack of passport and visa, they adopt the donkey route. People reach America illegally after traveling through dense forests, icy rivers and scorching deserts for months. Every year thousands of Indians spend lakhs of rupees and adopt this illegal method to go to America. In popular term it is called ‘Dinky Root’.

The distance from India to America is about 13,500 kilometers. It takes 17 to 20 hours to reach America by air. However, through the ‘Dinky Route’ the distance reaches 15,000 kilometers and this journey takes months. Those traveling on this journey are generally called ‘dinky’.

Question 3- How many routes are there to reach America via Donkey Route and how difficult are they?
answer- There are 2 ways to reach America through the Donkey Route…

First way: Reaching America from Canada in deadly cold of -40 degrees

• First of all, Dinky has to apply for tourist visa for Canada, so that he can easily reach Canada from India. On reaching Toronto, Canada, Donkey has to stay in a hotel for several days waiting for the agent’s call.
• The agent takes Donkey to Manitoba Province, 2,100 kilometers away from Toronto. The cold in Manitoba is so severe that tears from the eyes freeze on the eyelids.
• The donkey is transported to Emerson village, 1,834 km away from Manitoba. This village is on the Canada and America border. From here, Donkey reaches America on foot in the deadly cold of -40 degrees. On this route, there is knee-deep snow and no human being is visible far and wide. Donkey reaches the 49th parallel border.

On January 18, 2022, a family from Gujarat tried to reach America via the Donkey Route via Canada. This included 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year-old wife Vaishali, 11-year-old daughter Vihangi and 3-year-old son Dharmik, but the entire family died of cold before reaching America. Police found the bodies of all four people just 12 meters away from the American border.

Second way: crossing dense forests and deserts to reach America

The most common route in India, the Donkey Route, reaches America via South America, but on this route one has to cross dense forests, mountains, rivers and deserts. It has three stages…

First stop: reaching Latin American country from India

• This includes countries like Ecuador, Bolivia and Guyana. Indians get visa on arrival in these countries. This means that there is no need to obtain a visa in advance to visit these countries.
  Tourist visas are easily given to Indians in some other countries including Brazil and Venezuela. From here Donkey reaches Colombia.
• Donkey Route depends on how many connections the agent through whom you are going has in the respective countries. Although it is not difficult to reach Latin American countries, it still takes 10 months to reach here.
• Many people go to Latin American countries via Dubai. In this they have to live in containers for months.

Second stop: reaching the US border from Latin American countries

• After reaching Colombia, Dinky enters Panama. There is a dangerous forest ‘Darien Gap’ between these two countries, crossing which is extremely risky. There is always a fear of poisonous insects and snakes in the rivers and streams. In this forest, looting is done by donkey. Be it men or women, the criminals here even rape them.
• Many times, if the donkey sleeps for a while, the snake bites him. Finding dead bodies of donkeys in this forest is not a new thing. There is no government here. If luck favors you and everything goes well, then the donkey crosses the jungle of Panama by walking 105 km in 10 to 15 days.
• If a donkey does not want to go through the Panama jungle, he has to cross a 150 kilometer long river from Colombia. From here Donkey takes a boat to Nicaragua, a country in Central America. After traveling by boat, we transfer to another boat, which goes to Mexico. Not only does the border police patrol this river, dangerous animals in the river are also ready to kill.
• After this Donkey reaches Guatemala. Guatemala is a big coordination center for human trafficking. Moving towards the American border, Donkey is handed over to another agent.

Third stop: Crossing the border from Mexico and entering the US directly.

• Now Donkey has to go from Mexico to the US border. There are different types of problems on the way. Along with winter, there is also desert in between. After this, Donkey reaches the US-Mexico border, where a 3,140 km long wall is built.
• Donkeys jump over this and enter America. Those who cannot cross the wall choose the dangerous route of crossing the Rio Grande River. According to CNN report, from 2014 to 2023, 650 immigrants died while crossing the Mexican border.

Before going to America, Dinky’s passport and identity documents are taken away. If he is identified, he will be deported back to India.

Question 4- How much does it cost to go to America via Donkey Route?
answer- The average cost of a donkey reaching America from India is Rs 20 to 50 lakh. Sometimes this expenditure reaches up to Rs 70 lakh. Its payment is done in three installments…

1. On leaving India
2. Upon reaching Colombia border
3. Upon reaching the American border

If the money is not paid, gangs of agents get rid of Dinky by killing him in Mexico or Panama.

Question 5- Why do Indians go to America despite so many troubles?
answer- Indian people intend to go out of India for better opportunities, but many people are not able to go legally due to lack of education or any other reason. Foreign affairs expert and JNU professor Rajan Kumar says that Indian people are given the false dream of becoming rich that they will be successful by going to America…

• After entering America, Dinky deliberately hands himself over to the police there. After this he is put in jail, which is called ‘Immigration Camp’.
• A lawyer is hired to get Dinky out of jail. Its expenses are borne by the agent or a relative of the donkey. The lawyer convinces the court with his arguments that Dinky should be allowed to live in America. After this Dinky is released from jail.
• Donkey does not become a burden on America, so he is allowed to earn and eat, which keeps increasing. After 8-10 years, he gets a green card, which means that Donkey can now live permanently in the US and has the right to work. After 10-15 years, he also gets American citizenship.
• Just as in India, a scheme is launched every 5 to 7 years to legalize illegal colonies. Similarly, in America, a scheme is launched to give citizenship to illegal people. After paying some fees, Donkey becomes an American citizen.

Pro. According to Rajan Kumar, Indian people risk their lives to reach America through the Donkey Route, but after waiting for years in the detention center, they get heard in the court. Even if he wins the case, he has to do work like washing utensils and sweeping floors for 105 days, so that he can earn his living. It is not so easy to become rich by going to America. Even after 8-10 years, the chances of getting a green card are not high. In such cases, the criminals are sent back to India or have to spend their entire life in jail.

According to the September 2022 report of the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Haryana has the highest unemployment rate in India at 37.3%. This is 4 times more than the average unemployment rate of the country. Villages like Dharath, Morkhi and Kalwa of Haryana have become dinky hubs. People are making arrangements to go to America for employment by selling their farms, houses and gold.