Amritsar: From being trafficked to Karachi in Pakistan 22 years ago to finally returning home to India, Hamida Banu’s journey is a tale of survival and hope. The 75-year-old woman’s arrival in Attari near the Wagah border on Monday marked a long-awaited reunion with her family after years of hardship.
Her daughter, sister, nephew and brother received her at the border, having taken the Amritsar Express from Mumbai the day before. As she departed Karachi, nephews and relatives of the man she had married there asked if she would miss them.
“No, not at all! I am very happy to go home,” she said.
“Don’t you think that would be a betrayal?” they said, and she assuaged them with the words that she had only said so in jest.
Her son, who works in Karnataka, had said the family had advised her against migrating abroad for work but she was determined to ensure a better life for her children.
Hamida, a mother of four, including two daughters, had gone to work as a cook in Qatar. In 2002, a recruitment agent promised her a job in Dubai, but instead trafficked her to Karachi, where she lived on the streets or, sometimes, stayed in a mosque. For a period, she ran a small shop.
She soon married a Pakistani man, Dar Muhammad, who died a few years ago, leaving her with little hope until she crossed paths with YouTuber Walliullah Maroof, whom she credits for changing her life.
“Today is the happiest day of my life. All hatred, religious and national differences, have been overcome by humanity,” Maroof (30), said.
He recalled that as a child, he would often see Hamida running a shop selling toffees and knick-knacks to children on his way to school.
In 2022, Maroof interviewed Hamida, who shared her story of being trafficked to Karachi along with another Indian woman, Shahnaz from Bengaluru.
The video went viral. After verifying Hamida’s identity, the Indian high commission in Islamabad provided air tickets for her journey from Karachi to Lahore on Monday. She was then taken to the Wagah border and finally repatriated to India, said Maroof.
He said Hamida’s daughters, Yasmeen and Parveen, were awaiting their mother’s return.
The Indian high commission in Pakistan said: “Hamida Banu, 75 years of age, who had been ‘missing’ since 2002 from India, was found in Pakistan and is being repatriated from Pakistan through Wagha-Attari border on Dec 16. Islamabad shared documents like photographs, ration card issued in Mumbai, Aadhar card of her two daughters to the ministry. MEA requested MHA for nationality confirmation. MoFA Pakistan confirmed that Hamida was not a Pakistani national. MHA on the basis of a report from CID, Mumbai, conveyed that she is an Indian national. MoFA Pakistan informed that Hamida Bano will be repatriated on 16 Dec. All stakeholders on the Indian side have been informed.”
Asked about Shahnaz, Maroof said she too had married a Pakistani man, who had since died. Now living alone in a small room, Shahnaz was in a dire situation. “She is too helpless, I’m paying her rent and trying to bring her back to India,” Maroof said.
(Inputs by Bella Jaisinghani)