My desperate journey with a human smuggler
-
0:00 - 0:03I am a Hazara,
-
0:03 - 0:07and the homeland
of my people is Afghanistan. -
0:07 - 0:10Like hundreds of thousands
of other Hazara kids, -
0:10 - 0:13I was born in exile.
-
0:13 - 0:17The ongoing persecution
and operation against the Hazaras -
0:17 - 0:22forced my parents to leave Afghanistan.
-
0:22 - 0:26This persecution has had a long history
going back to the late 1800s, -
0:26 - 0:29and the rule of King Abdur Rahman.
-
0:29 - 0:35He killed 63 percent of
the Hazara population. -
0:35 - 0:38He built minarets with their heads.
-
0:38 - 0:40Many Hazaras were sold into slavery,
-
0:40 - 0:46and many others fled the country
for neighboring Iran and Pakistan. -
0:46 - 0:49My parents also fled to Pakistan,
-
0:49 - 0:52and settled in Quetta, where I was born.
-
0:52 - 0:55After the September 11
attack on the Twin Towers, -
0:55 - 0:57I got a chance to go to Afghanistan
-
0:57 - 0:59for the first time,
with foreign journalists. -
0:59 - 1:03I was only 18, and I got a job
working as an interpreter. -
1:03 - 1:05After four years,
-
1:05 - 1:10I felt it was safe enough
to move to Afghanistan permanently, -
1:10 - 1:15and I was working there
as a documentary photographer, -
1:15 - 1:19and I worked on many stories.
-
1:19 - 1:21One of the most important
stories that I did -
1:21 - 1:26was the dancing boys of Afghanistan.
-
1:26 - 1:31It is a tragic story about
an appalling tradition. -
1:31 - 1:34It involves young kids
dancing for warlords -
1:34 - 1:36and powerful men in the society.
-
1:36 - 1:40These boys are often abducted
or bought from their poor parents, -
1:40 - 1:43and they are put to work as sex slaves.
-
1:43 - 1:46This is Shukur.
-
1:46 - 1:49He was kidnapped from Kabul by a warlord.
-
1:49 - 1:51He was taken to another province,
-
1:51 - 1:56where he was forced to work as a sex slave
for the warlord and his friends. -
1:56 - 1:59When this story was published
in the Washington Post, -
1:59 - 2:01I started receiving death threats,
-
2:01 - 2:05and I was forced to leave Afghanistan,
-
2:05 - 2:08as my parents were.
-
2:08 - 2:11Along with my family,
I returned back to Quetta. -
2:11 - 2:16The situation in Quetta had changed
dramatically since I left in 2005. -
2:16 - 2:18Once a peaceful haven for the Hazaras,
-
2:18 - 2:24it had now turned into the most
dangerous city in Pakistan. -
2:24 - 2:27Hazaras are confined into two small areas,
-
2:27 - 2:32and they are marginalized socially,
educationally, and financially. -
2:32 - 2:33This is Nadir.
-
2:33 - 2:35I had known him since my childhood.
-
2:35 - 2:40He was injured when his van
was ambushed by terrorists in Quetta. -
2:40 - 2:43He later died of his injuries.
-
2:43 - 2:47Around 1,600 Hazara members
-
2:47 - 2:51had been killed in various attacks,
-
2:51 - 2:56and around 3,000 of them were injured,
-
2:56 - 2:59and many of them permanently disabled.
-
2:59 - 3:02The attacks on the Hazara community
would only get worse, -
3:02 - 3:05so it was not surprising
that many wanted to flee. -
3:05 - 3:10After Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan,
-
3:10 - 3:16Australia is home to the fourth largest
population of Hazaras in the world. -
3:16 - 3:19When it came time to leave Pakistan,
-
3:19 - 3:21Australia seemed the obvious choice.
-
3:21 - 3:23Financially, only one of us could leave,
-
3:23 - 3:25and it was decided that I would go,
-
3:25 - 3:28in the hope that if I arrived
at my destination safely, -
3:28 - 3:33I could work to get the rest
of my family to join me later. -
3:33 - 3:35We all knew about the risks,
-
3:35 - 3:38and how terrifying the journey is,
-
3:38 - 3:42and I met many people
who lost loved ones at sea. -
3:42 - 3:47It was a desperate decision to take,
to leave everything behind, -
3:47 - 3:50and no one makes this decision easily.
-
3:50 - 3:52If I had been able
to simply fly to Australia, -
3:52 - 3:54it would have taken me
less than 24 hours. -
3:54 - 3:59But getting a visa was impossible.
-
3:59 - 4:01My journey was much longer,
-
4:01 - 4:03much more complicated,
-
4:03 - 4:06and certainly more dangerous,
-
4:06 - 4:09traveling to Thailand by air,
-
4:09 - 4:13and then by road and boat
to Malaysia and into Indonesia, -
4:13 - 4:16paying people and smugglers all the way
-
4:16 - 4:19and spending a lot of time hiding
-
4:19 - 4:22and a lot of time in fear of being caught.
-
4:22 - 4:27In Indonesia, I joined a group
of seven asylum seekers. -
4:27 - 4:29We all shared a bedroom
-
4:29 - 4:33in a town outside of Jakarta called Bogor.
-
4:33 - 4:35After spending a week in Bogor,
-
4:35 - 4:39three of my roommates
left for the perilous journey, -
4:39 - 4:43and we got the news two days later
-
4:43 - 4:48that a distressed boat sank
in the sea en route to Christmas Island. -
4:48 - 4:51We found out that our three roommates --
Nawroz, Jaffar and Shabbir -- -
4:51 - 4:53were also among those.
-
4:53 - 4:56Only Jaffar was rescued.
-
4:56 - 4:59Shabbir and Nawroz were never seen again.
-
4:59 - 5:01It made me think,
-
5:01 - 5:04am I doing the right thing?
-
5:04 - 5:08I concluded I really had
no other choice but to go on. -
5:08 - 5:11A few weeks later, we got the call
from the people smuggler -
5:11 - 5:16to alert us that the boat is ready for us
to commence our sea journey. -
5:16 - 5:19Taken in the night towards the main vessel
-
5:19 - 5:21on a motorboat,
-
5:21 - 5:26we boarded an old fishing boat
that was already overloaded. -
5:26 - 5:28There were 93 of us,
-
5:28 - 5:30and we were all below deck.
-
5:30 - 5:32No one was allowed up on the top.
-
5:32 - 5:35We all paid 6,000 dollars each
-
5:35 - 5:37for this part of the trip.
-
5:37 - 5:39The first night and day went smoothly,
-
5:39 - 5:43but by the second night,
the weather turned. -
5:43 - 5:48Waves tossed the boat around,
and the timbers groaned. -
5:48 - 5:52People below deck were crying,
praying, recalling their loved ones. -
5:52 - 5:54They were screaming.
-
5:54 - 5:56It was a terrible moment.
-
5:56 - 6:00It was like a scene from doomsday,
-
6:00 - 6:05or maybe like one of those scenes
from those Hollywood movies -
6:05 - 6:08that shows that everything
is breaking apart -
6:08 - 6:10and the world is just ending.
-
6:10 - 6:13It was happening to us for real.
-
6:13 - 6:17We didn't have any hope.
-
6:17 - 6:21Our boat was floating
like a matchbox on the water -
6:21 - 6:23without any control.
-
6:23 - 6:27The waves were much higher than our boat,
-
6:27 - 6:33and the water poured in faster
than the motor pumps could take it out. -
6:33 - 6:36We all lost hope.
-
6:36 - 6:38We thought, this is the end.
-
6:38 - 6:40We were watching our deaths,
-
6:40 - 6:42and I was documenting it.
-
6:42 - 6:44The captain told us
-
6:44 - 6:47that we are not going to make it,
-
6:47 - 6:50we have to turn back the boat.
-
6:50 - 6:52We went on the deck
-
6:52 - 6:54and turned our torches on and off
-
6:54 - 6:59to attract the attention
of any passing boat. -
6:59 - 7:07We kept trying to attract their attention
by waving our life jackets and whistling. -
7:07 - 7:10Eventually, we made it to a small island.
-
7:10 - 7:13Our boat crashing onto the rocks,
-
7:13 - 7:15I slipped into the water
-
7:15 - 7:19and destroyed my camera,
whatever I had documented. -
7:19 - 7:25But luckily, the memory card survived.
-
7:25 - 7:27It was a thick forest.
-
7:27 - 7:33We all split up into many groups
as we argued over what to do next. -
7:33 - 7:35We were all scared and confused.
-
7:35 - 7:39Then, after spending
the night on the beach, -
7:39 - 7:41we found a jetty and coconuts.
-
7:41 - 7:44We hailed a boat from a nearby resort,
-
7:44 - 7:48and then were quickly handed over
to Indonesian water police. -
7:48 - 7:52At Serang Detention Center,
-
7:52 - 7:57an immigration officer came
and furtively strip-searched us. -
7:57 - 8:01He took our mobile, my $300 cash,
-
8:01 - 8:04our shoes that we should not
be able to escape, -
8:04 - 8:10but we kept watching the guards,
checking their movements, -
8:10 - 8:14and around 4 a.m.
when they sat around a fire, -
8:14 - 8:17we removed two glass layers
from an outside facing window -
8:17 - 8:19and slipped through.
-
8:19 - 8:24We climbed a tree next to an outer wall
that was topped with the shards of glass. -
8:24 - 8:26We put the pillow on that
-
8:26 - 8:30and wrapped our forearms with bedsheets
-
8:30 - 8:32and climbed the wall,
-
8:32 - 8:35and we ran away with bare feet.
-
8:35 - 8:37I was free,
-
8:37 - 8:40with an uncertain future,
-
8:40 - 8:42no money.
-
8:42 - 8:49The only thing I had was the memory card
with the pictures and footage. -
8:49 - 8:52When my documentary was aired
on SBS Dateline, -
8:52 - 8:55many of my friends came to know
about my situation, -
8:55 - 8:57and they tried to help me.
-
8:57 - 9:00They did not allow me to take
any other boat to risk my life. -
9:00 - 9:05I also decided to stay in Indonesia
and process my case through UNHCR, -
9:05 - 9:09but I was really afraid
that I would end up in Indonesia -
9:09 - 9:12for many years doing nothing
and unable to work, -
9:12 - 9:16like every other asylum seeker.
-
9:16 - 9:19But it had happened to be
a little bit different with me. -
9:19 - 9:24I was lucky.
-
9:24 - 9:28My contacts worked to expedite
my case through UNHCR, -
9:28 - 9:33and I got resettled
in Australia in May 2013. -
9:33 - 9:37Not every asylum seeker is lucky like me.
-
9:37 - 9:45It is really difficult to live a life
with an uncertain fate, in limbo. -
9:45 - 9:48The issue of asylum seekers in Australia
-
9:48 - 9:51has been so extremely politicized
-
9:51 - 9:54that it has lost its human face.
-
9:54 - 10:00The asylum seekers have been demonized
and then presented to the people. -
10:00 - 10:05I hope my story and the story
of other Hazaras -
10:05 - 10:08could shed some light to show the people
-
10:08 - 10:12how these people are suffering
in their countries of origin, -
10:12 - 10:16and how they suffer,
-
10:16 - 10:21why they risk their lives to seek asylum.
-
10:21 - 10:22Thank you.
-
10:22 - 10:24(Applause)
- Title:
- My desperate journey with a human smuggler
- Speaker:
- Barat Ali Batoor
- Description:
-
Photojournalist Barat Ali Batoor was living in Afghanistan — until his risky work forced him to leave the country. But for Batoor, a member of a displaced ethnic group called the Hazara, moving home to Pakistan proved dangerous too. And finding a safer place wasn't as simple as buying a plane ticket. Instead, he was forced to pay a human smuggler, and join the deadly tidal wave of migrants seeking asylum by boat. He documents the harrowing ocean trip with powerful photographs.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:37
Krystian Aparta commented on English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler | ||
Morton Bast approved English subtitles for My desperate journey with a human smuggler |
Krystian Aparta
The English transcript was updated on 5/7/2015. At 2:27, "and they are marginalized socially, educationally, and punished." was changed to ""and they are marginalized socially, educationally, and financially."