History of Migration and General Profile

In South American countries, Sikhs were pioneer immigrants except for Chile where Sindhis were the first. In Central America including the Caribbean's, Surinam, and Guinea, the first Indians were from UP, Bihar and possibly South India as indentured labour. Migration in several countries of Latin America has been traced to the first two to three decades of the Twentieth Century. Courtesy late Hew McLeod, a reference is available of a Sikh's arrival in Argentina in the 1890s. Sikhs came either as direct passengers mainly on ships via Europe or because they were not allowed to disembark at the USA ports. The latter resulted in transit stays in various intermediate destinations before settling down in the final destination of their choice.

Many Sikhs walked from Brazil to Argentina while others walked even longer distances from Panama to Argentina via Peru and Bolivia. This phase of travel in several cases was even tougher than the sea voyage. It involved walking over thousands of miles in tough terrain with little familiarity with the local language and customs, and with limited funds. One has to look at the map and the terrain to understand the hardship involved - it really sends shivers down the spine.

In Latin America, the more popular destinations for long-term settlement were Argentina and Panama. Mexico was always a target country for temporary settlement with the aim of crossing the Rio Grande at the first possible opportunity. The USA was and still is the "El Dorado" for almost all Punjabi-Sikh migrants.

There are several illegal immigrants in recent years, and some have been fraudulently brought to South American destinations against the promised North American entry. In the 1990s, Belize became a popular destination for migration. Since Belize is not very well connected for air travel, some of these migrants had to charter small aircraft (from Cuba) to reach Belize. What enterprise! Single girls are also venturing out wherever opportunity arises. Two young girls from Punjab have gone to Belize as students but are now running a sort of 'dhabha' in a small town, hoping to migrate to the USA one day. There are instances of high-handedness by the police and immigration authorities, but once you have left the country, there is no turning back in most cases, whether the immigrant likes the situation they have got into or not.

There is an instance of a Sikh who had been sponsored by his brothers from the USA. This man was asked to come to Belize, where a white woman came from the USA for less than a day. In a few hours after arrival, she got married to the Sikh, based on which she sought his immigration to the USA. This was achieved after a prolonged legal battle.