Australian Federal police charged a people smuggling `Kingpin` with 89 people-smuggling counts including four of “aggravated” people smuggling. Some of them relating to last year’s Christmas Island boat tragedy.
Iranian Born 40-year-old Ali Khorram Hyderkhani also known as Hayder Khani and Ali Hamid who has been an Australian Citizen since 2003, is now facing 89 charges relating to four boat carrying more than 300 people between June 2010 and January 2011.
Heydarkhani was detained by Indonesian authorities on January 25 and deported to Australia on May 11 for overstaying his visa, precluding the need for Australia to seek his extradition. He was immediately arrested when he arrived in Sydney.
Three Indonesian crew members of the SIEV 221 were also arrested and charged with one count of illegally bringing a group of non-Australian citizens to the country.
Ali Khorram Hyderkhani is now facing 89 charges, 36 Charges related to a boat known as SIEV 221, which smashed into rocks on the coast of Christmas Island in December last year. It is believed that 92 people were on the SIEV 221, 42 survived and about 50 men, women, children died, mostly from Iran and Iraq. 20 of which were lost at the sea.
An Australian navy lieutenant described the difficulties he had to go through to save a child attached to a drowned woman when SIEV 221 smashed into rocks on Christmas Island. Two boats were sent from the patrol vessel HMAS Pirie to rescue people. The sailors had to battle waves, wind and rain to reach the cliff where the asylum seekers’ craft smashed apart.
He said that he had seen dead bodies in the water, including a middle-aged woman just below the surface who was attached by a line to a child in a lifejacket floating on the surface. He had to cut the line in order to rescue the child. He said that he was forced to ignore the cries of other people and just concentrated on saving those he could.
There have been previous tragedies involving asylum seekers. The worst known remains the death of 146 children, 142 women and 65 men in 2001 when their boat known as SIEV X sank inside the Australian aerial border-protection surveillance zone. Or October 2009 incident in which a boat carrying 105 Afghans disappeared on its way from Indonesia to Australia. No trace of them has ever been found.
There are also boats that go missing. Like the boat that went missing in November 13 last year. This Boat started its journey from Jakarta, Indonesia towards Australia Carrying Iranian, Iraqi, and Afghan Asylum seekers. The stories of their relatives and friends are consistent about the last time they heard from them, on November 13. The Sunday age first raised the alarm in December, after worried relatives began calling advocate’s in Australia trying to find out if they had arrived. According to Border Protection Command boats usually takes two to four days to reach the water around Christmas Island from Indonesia.
Umm Hamed, Mother of 17-year-old Hamed el Ibrahim from the Dikondi province of Afghanistan, who was also on the boat, emails Sunday age every week, begging for news. She says “I really worry about my son he is just 17 years old and he is so young. I can’t help crying, please help me, I cry day and night, any information that you have, the fate of them, please tell me”.
There have been many cases of missing boats. Those attempting to count the deaths of irregular migrants at sea have estimated that only one in three bodies is ever recovered.
Sometimes people smugglers lie to their customers. People smugglers tricked 128 Afghan asylum seekers by dropping them off at a tiny Indonesian island they were told was Australia. This is the fourth time smugglers have dropped asylum seekers on the island after telling them they had reached Australia. In October 2009 Indonesian police rounded up 22 Afghan asylum seekers who were hiding on the island after being left there by smugglers. The men were furious after giving their life savings to the smugglers.
People who decide to migrate to other countries paying thousands and thousands of dollars should consider what the possibilities are and what could happen, there is a big chance that they won’t make it to their destination. People smugglers really don’t care if the people they are trying to get over other side arrive safely or if they crash, drown and lose their life. What people smugglers really care about is money and they should be charged and punished as criminals. There is always a safe and legal way to get a visa.
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