By Anjana Nagarajan-Butaney | India Currents
Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel left their home in Dingucha, Gujarat, for Canada, without telling a soul. They arrived in Toronto on January 12, 2022. Tragically, about a week later, their bodies were found 13 yards from the US border. They had frozen to death trying to cross into the U.S. on foot with their young children Vihangi, 11, and Dharmik, 3.
The Patels likely traveled by road to the US border before attempting the illegal border crossing by foot. The Canadian authorities describe them as victims of human trafficking.
Leaving a life of poverty, for a better life abroad
What drives the Patel family and thousands like them to leave their home and community, hand over life savings to a smuggler, and attempt a perilous journey halfway around the world for a chance to live in the West?
“Study in the UK, Canada, Free Application, Offer Letter In 3 Days.”
Flyers like these are posted all over small towns in the state of Gujarat where Jagdish and Vaishaliben Patel lived.
According to reports, Jagdish Patel worked in a factory but was struggling to make ends meet. He wanted a better life and education for his kids and felt he could never achieve that in India.
“There’s definitely a dominant image of South Asians in the U.S. as coming on student visas or work visas, finding education and employment, oftentimes in white-collar positions,” says Pawan Dhingra Professor and Associate Dean of the Faculty at Amherst College.
But that does not paint a complete picture of working-class Indians. The success stories of Indians in America propels even working-class Indians to take this treacherous journey halfway across the world in the hope of a better future for their families.
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