‘You'll be shot in the morning': ‘Donkey route' survivor shares Colombia ordeal
Those were the chilling last words Balwinder Singh, 25, heard from his captors before he managed a daring escape that night. A resident of Baz village in Kapurthala, Balwinder had attempted the dreaded 'donkey route' to reach the US but ended up trapped in Colombia's jungles.
He recounted his ordeal on Thursday at Sultanpur Lodhi, where he met Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal — the man who helped bring him back home.
Balwinder said when other captives were tortured by the 'donkers' (human traffickers), he too began to believe his end was near. Describing the torture he saw, he said one of his companions was slashed with a blade until he bled profusely, while another was stripped naked, molten plastic thrown on him, and heated rods put on his skin.
The criminals filmed these acts and sent the videos to the victims' families in India to demand ransom.
After he escaped, Balwinder said he eventually reached a main road, where a biker helped him get to a safe location.
He shared the route from where he was supposed to reach the US. He said he left India for the US in July 2024, and the traffickers routed him from Delhi to Mumbai, then through the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and the Amazon jungle to Brazil.
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From there, he was taken through Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, eventually ending up in Colombia's forests, where he was handed over to the traffickers.
Upon arrival, they took his passport and phone, and locked him in a room. Dozens of young men from Punjab, Haryana and other countries had been imprisoned in groups, he said, adding that some Nepalese girls were also held captive.
After escaping, he was able to contact his family after five months. After this, his mother and sister approached Seechewal's office. Though Seechewal was in Canada at the time, he coordinated with the ministry of external affairs and the Indian embassy in Colombia to initiate his return.
Balwinder's mother said agents in India had already made them sell off their land and house, and they did not even have money to buy a return ticket for him, and it was arranged by Seechewal.
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