British Army Tries To Draw Punjabi Youth

[Azaad]

The British army is luring the Punjabi youth particularly Sikhs to join the British army. Thousands of Punjabi youth, boys and girls, have reached London and other cities and are wandering around for jobs. Gurcharan Singh, retired Principal of Government Lajpat Rai Memorial College, Dhudike, who is in London these days, informed The Tribune on phone yesterday that the British army officers, accompanied by Sikh soldiers, have visited some of the gurdwaras in Southall and other suburbs of London and distributed forms for recruitment in the British army.

The British army officers visited the Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Park Avenue, which is the oldest gurdwara of southall. The British officers distributed about one thousand forms.

A large number of Punjabi youth have arrived in the UK after procuring student visa and are now moving about in Southall and other suburbs in search of jobs. Because of recession, the jobs are not easy to come.

The Punjabi language dailies and weeklies and other newspapers published in the UK have highlighted the plight of the boys and girls who have arrived here in search of jobs and studies.

“Pardes” weekly in its issue of November 30-December 6 has stated that the Punjabi youth who have come on student visa are depending on langar at gurdwaras for their food and lodging. Some of them spend their nights in parks and under the bridges.

According to the weekly, there has been a three- time increase in the influx of the Punjabi youth in London after the introduction of point-based visa in April. The BBC has also produced a documentary on the plight of the Punjabi youth visiting London. Some of the newspapers have cautioned the Punjabi parents not to send their children to the UK unless they have secured jobs and have sufficient money to stay without jobs for sometime.

The newspapers have further warned that some people are trying to exploit the girls, but social organisations and gurdwara managements are trying to come to their rescue.

“Manjit” weekly in its issue of December 3-9 has said that some of the students are going back to India.

Harjap Singh Bhangal and Gurpal Singh Uppal, immigration consultants, have also expressed concern over the situation prevailing in London and held the unscrupulous travel agents responsible for it. Travel agents in India are misleading the youth by telling them that they would be received at the airport. But no one comes to receive them, said Principal Gurcharan Singh.

Gurcharan Singh has advised the parents not to rush their children to the UK as things here are not very favourable. If they want to send their sons and daughters to the UK, they must provide them sufficient funds to lead a respectable life.