:00:02. > :00:12.in the UK without a home, work or an identity. And then he goes to
:00:12. > :00:16.
:00:16. > :00:19.their home villages to find out what makes them want to leave.
:00:19. > :00:22.Every year, thousands of Indian men leave the fields of the Punjab to
:00:22. > :00:27.make their fortune in Britain. They pay human traffickers thousands of
:00:27. > :00:30.dollars to smuggle them from India into the UK. When they arrive, this
:00:30. > :00:33.is what they get. Britain's economic downturn has left
:00:33. > :00:43.thousands of illegal workers in poverty. Hundreds are sleeping
:00:43. > :00:50.
:00:50. > :00:53.rough. TRANSLATION: I would rather God took me and then I would be OK.
:00:53. > :00:59.For many, life on the streets is taking its toll. Where do you get
:00:59. > :01:03.money? Shoplifting. Outside it is very cold. They are illegal, in
:01:03. > :01:13.Britain and desperate to get back home. But they are stuck in a
:01:13. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:48.Punjab. It is one of India's richest states. They call it the
:01:48. > :01:58.fruit basket of India. Fertile soil has made it a development success
:01:58. > :02:05.
:02:05. > :02:07.story. The other big export has been people. In the first decades
:02:07. > :02:16.after independence, hundreds of thousands of Punjabis settled in
:02:16. > :02:18.the UK. They are skilled and unskilled workers and have been
:02:19. > :02:24.encouraged to migrate and fill gaps in the British workforce. Today,
:02:24. > :02:27.the criteria they must meet for a visa is much tougher. But the
:02:27. > :02:37.desire to head to Britain is almost a way of life for every young
:02:37. > :02:49.
:02:49. > :02:52.Punjabi. They want wealth like this. Punjab's palaces dominate what were
:02:52. > :02:55.significant villages. They are holiday homes, built with the
:02:55. > :02:58.savings of first and second- generation Indians that settled in
:02:58. > :03:04.Britain. This monument of wealth has been built by two Coventry
:03:04. > :03:14.brothers. On the rooftops of these policies, a tribute to the aircraft
:03:14. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:26.that took their grandparents and parents to the UK. They left this
:03:26. > :03:34.
:03:34. > :03:37.fertile land to earn greater wealth. 6,500 kilometres away, in Britain.
:03:37. > :03:40.And it is that wealth that has inspired tens of thousands of young
:03:40. > :03:43.men from the farming communities to head to Britain to make their
:03:43. > :03:47.fortune. In fact, I have been told that in the villages in this
:03:47. > :03:52.district, we have just got a handful of young men left. Women
:03:52. > :03:55.and children are left to work in the fields. Much of this land has
:03:55. > :04:03.been remortgaged to pay for the journey the remaining young men
:04:03. > :04:11.here will soon make. They are not entitled to British visas. Locals
:04:11. > :04:18.call them foot soldiers. In this context, it is a man without an
:04:18. > :04:28.identity because he works abroad illegally. But the global economic
:04:28. > :04:35.
:04:35. > :04:38.climate has changed. People already in the UK have warned them. They
:04:38. > :04:41.say there is no work there and no point in coming, he tells me, but
:04:41. > :04:45.they are willing to believe things have changed in Britain. We still
:04:45. > :04:55.wants to see what it is like, I am told. Just getting there involves
:04:55. > :04:57.
:04:57. > :04:59.certain risk. Bila has tried and failed, and told me so-called
:04:59. > :05:05.agents arrange black market visas to Russia, Europe and Africa, where
:05:05. > :05:15.they are supposed to be picked up by traffickers. TRANSLATION: First
:05:15. > :05:16.
:05:16. > :05:19.I went to Moscow. There were three of us and an agent said we would be
:05:19. > :05:22.met at the airport, but nobody came and we were stuck at the airport.
:05:22. > :05:32.He has been sent on wasted trips to Thailand, Germany, Vietnam and
:05:32. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:36.Nigeria. TRANSLATION: They just wanted the money. I was conned.
:05:36. > :05:46.Agents charge up to $1,500 for a visa and traffickers services and
:05:46. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :05:57.there are no refunds. In Delhi, we tracked down three Punjabi men who
:05:57. > :06:00.have paid massive sums of money to an agent that promised to get them
:06:00. > :06:10.to Britain. They have agreed to meet me in this room that they are
:06:10. > :06:13.
:06:13. > :06:17.staying in, provided by the agent, all part of the package. They live
:06:17. > :06:25.and stay here until they have got the visas ready. Hello, I am Chris.
:06:25. > :06:29.Hello. How do you do? This is where you are sleeping? And you share
:06:29. > :06:34.this bed? They have been living here for more than one month,
:06:34. > :06:40.waiting for their black market visas. Sukha is all too aware of
:06:40. > :06:44.the risks they are taking. TRANSLATION: My family is already
:06:44. > :06:48.financially stretched and we have lost money already. I hope to get
:06:48. > :06:52.out there and make back the money we have lost. They hope to settle
:06:52. > :06:58.in Southall in west London, a predominantly Asian area.
:06:58. > :07:03.TRANSLATION: What I have heard and what I have been told is that
:07:03. > :07:07.Punjabis are there and they will have support. In other countries we
:07:07. > :07:16.do not have our own people. This community is already in Britain and
:07:16. > :07:20.that makes it attractive as well? TRANSLATION: That is it. You think
:07:20. > :07:28.a Punjabi will help a Punjabi. What do you expect when you get to
:07:28. > :07:32.Britain? How do you imagine it to be? I will go there and when I am
:07:32. > :07:36.sorted I will bring my family over. First I will set myself up like
:07:36. > :07:46.other people. That is my dream. Traffickers are cashing in on their
:07:46. > :07:50.
:07:50. > :08:00.dreams. They will not warn India's fojis that the economic downturn is
:08:00. > :08:11.
:08:11. > :08:21.no longer a land of opportunity. Sukha, Bila and Jaga hope to be
:08:21. > :08:24.
:08:24. > :08:28.here in a few weeks, in Little India in Southall in west London.
:08:28. > :08:30.It is home to a big South Asian population, one of the biggest
:08:30. > :08:33.concentrations outside India. In the past 20 years, illegal
:08:33. > :08:39.immigrants from India have added to the population. For new arrivals,
:08:39. > :08:48.life here is tough. From sunrise, hundreds of illegal immigrants
:08:48. > :08:56.descend on the train station car park. It is a regular pick-up point
:08:56. > :09:02.for cheap and illegal labour. We filmed for hours. But the good
:09:02. > :09:05.times are over. A lack of work is pushing illegal workers into the
:09:05. > :09:09.very poverty they had hoped to escape. They live here, in
:09:09. > :09:16.Britain's 21st century slums. Across Southall, 200,000 badly
:09:16. > :09:21.constructed buildings are hidden at the end of suburban gardens. They
:09:21. > :09:31.call them sheds with beds. Many are built without planning permission
:09:31. > :09:37.and others are converted garages. This is just one street and at the
:09:37. > :09:41.end of each garden we have got brick buildings like best. -- like
:09:41. > :09:49.this. They have got windows and doorways leading to this alleyway
:09:49. > :09:55.and they go on and on. Inside, the accommodation is basic. It is all
:09:55. > :10:01.these illegal immigrants can afford. TRANSLATION: We can barely make
:10:01. > :10:07.ends meet. It has been two months and we have worked only four days.
:10:07. > :10:17.What can we do? We have to pay the landlord. There are five of us and
:10:17. > :10:17.
:10:17. > :10:23.we club together to pay. Their rent, $1,200 per month. Punjabi landlords
:10:23. > :10:27.risk housing illegal immigrants but at an inflated price. They have
:10:27. > :10:29.been told not to open the door to anybody in case they are authority
:10:29. > :10:39.officials or immigration officers. But we got inside posing as
:10:39. > :10:40.
:10:40. > :10:43.volunteers. We brought food and blankets. They complain of damp and
:10:43. > :10:51.cramped conditions, but what angers them most is exploitation by their
:10:51. > :10:55.own people. People that are here legally, permanent residents have
:10:55. > :10:59.made homes here and have paid for their houses because of us.
:10:59. > :11:03.Mortgages are paid. They charge a high rent and everybody living here
:11:03. > :11:10.is Punjabi. Rows of terraced housing are hiding sheds with beds
:11:10. > :11:12.for illegal immigrants. Many immigrants we have spoken to are
:11:12. > :11:22.paying hundreds of dollars every month to live in squalid, illegal
:11:22. > :11:39.
:11:39. > :11:41.Specialist teams made up of construction regulation officers
:11:41. > :11:51.and immigration officials are investigating Britain's sheds with
:11:51. > :11:56.beds. There are an estimated 10,000 illegal dwellings in sheds, garages
:11:56. > :12:01.and outbuildings across London and the Home Counties. Councils have
:12:01. > :12:04.detected the biggest numbers in the boroughs of Ealing and Slough. What
:12:04. > :12:11.are they actually doing to deal with this growing number of so-
:12:11. > :12:14.called sheds with beds? Local authorities have said they are
:12:14. > :12:17.often hampered by legislation, meaning they must give 24 hours of
:12:17. > :12:27.notice before inspection of property. Plenty of time to conceal
:12:27. > :12:28.
:12:28. > :12:31.evidence. The BBC has made evidence available to the authorities.
:12:31. > :12:41.Increasing numbers of illegal immigrants are giving up on life in
:12:41. > :12:56.
:12:56. > :13:01.Britain. But getting home is not Down here? Is this where you sleep?
:13:01. > :13:11.That is my bedroom. His family paid $15,000 to traffickers to smuggle
:13:11. > :13:12.
:13:12. > :13:18.him into Britain. He came from India for a better life. This is
:13:18. > :13:26.what he got. Out of work and penniless, he has found refuge in a
:13:26. > :13:33.derelict garage. TRANSLATION: When I left and came here I was told
:13:33. > :13:39.life was good here. It is not just me. Other people came for work. You
:13:39. > :13:42.can see the state we are in. We have not got work, government help.
:13:42. > :13:52.He has cut himself off from his family and would rather they
:13:52. > :13:54.
:13:54. > :13:59.thought he was dead and living like this. -- than living like this.
:13:59. > :14:09.When you get here there is nothing. No work, no money. What can I say
:14:09. > :14:23.
:14:23. > :14:33.to my family back home? The money TRANSLATION: They told me that when
:14:33. > :14:33.
:14:33. > :14:37.I have been here a while, I can get papers and stay. But those are all
:14:37. > :14:47.stories. I did not get anything, a house or a job. Now he is pleading
:14:47. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:50.to go home. He must prove his identity. And that can take years.
:14:50. > :15:00.There are thousands of others stuck in the same bureaucratic no-man's-
:15:00. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:20.land. We found dozens bedding down Every day they spend in this misery,
:15:20. > :15:23.they slip further into a destructive cycle.
:15:23. > :15:26.It is now midnight, and nearly all of the men that live under this
:15:26. > :15:31.bridge have gone to bed, wrapping themselves in duvets and jumpers to
:15:31. > :15:34.try and keep warm. The temperature at the moment is freezing. They
:15:34. > :15:44.have got another six hours here before they will get up and head
:15:44. > :15:46.
:15:47. > :15:50.into the centre of Southall in the hope of finding work. The
:15:50. > :15:53.atmosphere here is very intense, as you can hear. There are a lot of
:15:53. > :16:03.people who have been drinking all day. Some of them are clearly
:16:03. > :16:06.
:16:06. > :16:10.taking drugs as well. It is a very In India, my life is better.
:16:10. > :16:20.This 21-year-old man was jailed for shoplifting. Now he is back on the
:16:20. > :16:23.streets and on heroin. I told him to send me back, but they do not. I
:16:23. > :16:33.do not have a passport or any papers. Where do you get the money
:16:33. > :16:39.
:16:39. > :16:43.to buy drugs? Shoplifting. I cannot These two men have found refuge on
:16:43. > :16:51.buses. They tell me that many of the drivers are Punjabi, and they
:16:51. > :17:01.let them sleep on the bus during How long have you been sleeping on
:17:01. > :17:03.
:17:03. > :17:13.the bus? Seven months. Do the They will travel from Southall to
:17:13. > :17:15.
:17:15. > :17:23.central London and back six times The only form of help available are
:17:23. > :17:25.The Sikh Welfare Awareness Team claimed the British government's
:17:25. > :17:35.repatriation scheme is overwhelmed, forcing increasing numbers of
:17:35. > :17:42.
:17:42. > :17:52.The areas that we find these people sleeping in are mainly in
:17:52. > :17:53.
:17:53. > :18:01.graveyards, in parks, in disused garages, derelict houses, dustbins.
:18:01. > :18:11.I have known cases drag on for years. Literally years. Do some of
:18:11. > :18:11.
:18:11. > :18:21.them give up hope of ever going back home? Lots and lots of them
:18:21. > :18:30.
:18:30. > :18:38.The Indian High Commission in London and the UK Border Agency say
:18:38. > :18:41.that establishing the true identity of these men can be complex. And
:18:41. > :18:51.the time it takes to issue emergency travel documentation and
:18:51. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :18:54.But UK Home Office figures reveal that voluntary departures by
:18:54. > :19:04.illegal immigrants from the UK to all countries have risen steadily
:19:04. > :19:04.
:19:04. > :19:14.over the past six years, from 335 in 2005 to nearly 13,000 in 2011.
:19:14. > :19:21.
:19:21. > :19:26.Welcome to this man's bathroom, in a cemetery. He has been stuck in
:19:26. > :19:36.the system for three years. In better times, he earned hundreds of
:19:36. > :19:44.dollars a week as a plumbing engineer. The now he says they have
:19:44. > :19:50.nothing does she has no been to TRANSLATION: They have got a
:19:50. > :19:57.photocopy of my passport. What what will I do if I go back? My brothers
:19:57. > :20:05.have shared out the land between themselves and my parents are dead.
:20:05. > :20:15.Life on the streets is taking its toll. He has considered suicide.
:20:15. > :20:16.
:20:16. > :20:24.would rather God took me. Then I would be OK. No one listens to me.
:20:24. > :20:28.He told me he hopes his story will act as a warning. He hopes some
:20:28. > :20:32.good can come from his miserable existence.
:20:32. > :20:38.So, back in Delhi, we are taking his message to the people that need
:20:38. > :20:42.it most. These three are on standby to be traffic to Britain. They are
:20:42. > :20:46.about to see the reality of life there.
:20:46. > :20:56.What I am about to show you is the area where you will probably end up
:20:56. > :20:56.
:20:56. > :21:04.As they watch the footage, the risk they are taking dawns on them.
:21:04. > :21:10.TRANSLATION: We have to take a bit of a risk and do it to stay
:21:10. > :21:12.together. We have to do it. We need the money. Does it worry you that
:21:13. > :21:16.you are paying �10,000 to traffickers and agents to take it
:21:16. > :21:23.to Britain to end up living in somewhere very similar to where you
:21:23. > :21:26.are staying now? -- to take you to Britain. If this is true then I
:21:26. > :21:30.think we will be stuck if we go there. That accommodation is among
:21:30. > :21:34.the best accommodation for illegal immigrants from India. Many have
:21:34. > :21:43.lost work, they have got no money, they cannot afford a shed with a
:21:43. > :21:49.bed. So they are now living on the street. I am not going. They look
:21:49. > :21:53.in a really bad state. That is enough. Do not show us any more.
:21:53. > :22:03.Did your agent warn you that this is a possibility if you do not find
:22:03. > :22:04.
:22:04. > :22:08.work? You could live on the street? We are going to talk to him to say
:22:08. > :22:17.we want our money back. He will not give it, we will have to fight with
:22:17. > :22:26.him to get it back. For thousands of people, it is too
:22:27. > :22:34.late. The true extent of his downfall has never been revealed to
:22:34. > :22:40.his family. He wants all families in his village to know. His
:22:40. > :22:43.brothers and sister-in-law have not seen him for 17 years. The family
:22:43. > :22:46.agreed to meet me, knowing I have some news about him. One of his
:22:46. > :22:52.brothers is working illegally in Italy. I am welcomed by his older
:22:52. > :22:57.brother. His nephews are also there. These old photographs are the only
:22:58. > :23:07.insight they have had into his life. They tell me he repaid the loan
:23:07. > :23:12.that funded his journey while working in Germany, then Holland.
:23:12. > :23:15.In the UK, nobody earned as much as him, his brother tells me. The
:23:15. > :23:22.villagers called him a hero. The legacy of his hard work. Two family
:23:22. > :23:25.homes built with his hard-earned cash. On the roof, the traditional
:23:25. > :23:30.tribute to the vehicle that took him to Britain. Both houses are
:23:30. > :23:36.incomplete. Four years ago, the money stopped coming. A clear sign
:23:36. > :23:46.that he was struggling. But until now, they had no idea just how bad
:23:46. > :23:52.
:23:52. > :23:56.TRANSLATION: What makes me so sad is that he is suffering so much
:23:56. > :24:00.hardship. What is the point of living if life is like that? If he
:24:00. > :24:07.is living like that, it is better that he came home. At least here he
:24:07. > :24:11.will be able to eat well. He has a room to sleep in and will get
:24:11. > :24:15.everything he needs. I am so upset that he sleeps under a bridge and
:24:15. > :24:19.hangs around in a cemetery. What is the point of his life? It would be
:24:19. > :24:28.better if he came back home to his family. We will find all his ID