17 Punjab, Haryana youths trapped in Libya back home after 6 months

New Delhi, Aug 20

Trapped in Libya for months after their dreams for a better job and life were shattered at the hands of unscrupulous travel agents, 17 youths, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, landed back home on Sunday night.

The youths had left India for Italy in February this year after being assured jobs by travel agents from Punjab and Delhi.

“The journey was never completed and a nightmare of a detour took us to Libya where we were kept in Zuwara City in subhuman conditions, without food and water,” says Anmol Singh, who, along with 16 others, reached New Delhi.

The rescue operation was planned and funded by Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Vikramjit Singh Sahney, who followed up with the Indian and Libyan authorities to repatriate the youths.

Sahney had learnt of the youths taking a donkey route to reach Italy in February and having landed in Libya instead.

“We were taken to Dubai from India with a promise to be sent to Italy but eventually we were taken via sea route to Egypt and finally Libya where we were sold off to a local mafia that made us do unpaid work at construction sites,” said Dharambir, another youth among those who returned to a warm welcome by their kith and kin at the Delhi airport here.

In Libya, the youths ended up in the illegal immigrant list and were put behind the bars after they escaped the mafia.

Sahney announced the return of the youths who were received by his team at the Delhi airport today, from where the youths undertook onward journeys to their homes. It all started in May when Sahney contacted the Indian Embassy in Tunisia and launched legal formalities to save the youths.