Many of the 490 Sri Lankan migrants who arrived off the coast of B.C. by boat will have to fork out up to $20,000 each for the smuggling trip to "snakeheads" or their families will have to pay, Tamil community members say.
Tamils in Toronto said alien smugglers find desperate people abroad, whose families in Canada or elsewhere are willing to pay for their trip. Other migrants agree to work in Canada to repay their fare.
Canadian border officials are concerned that 90 women who arrived on the MV Sun Sea on Friday are not forced to work in the sex trade to repay their smuggling fees. There were also 45 children among the migrants.
Members of the Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP held a briefing on the status of the Tamils on Saturday.
Manjula Selvarajah, of the Canadian Tamil Congress, said many of the migrants were preyed upon by human smugglers.
"There is a human smuggling component to this trip," Selvarajah said on Saturday. "We know there are human smugglers preying on these people in refugee camps."
She said the desperate migrants could have died from the terrible living conditions on the ship.
"This is awful and we have taken a strong stand against human smuggling," Selvarajah said. "These people get preyed upon in camps."
She said more than 90 Toronto Tamils have called their office leaving the names of 150 relatives who may be on the ship.
Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis, who is a member of an immigration standing committee, said "snakeheads" or human smugglers, are charging from $15,000 to $20,000 for the sea trip to Canada.
"I am concerned about the women and the children," Karygiannis said. "The women can be forced to work in the sex trade to repay their passage ."
He said some of the migrants must have "money or means" to get a place on the ship.
"In many cases their families here pay for the trip," Karygiannis said.
"They work in harsh conditions for low pay to repay the smugglers."
He said the migrants, who are expected to file refugee claims, are now undergoing health and background security checks at CFB Esquimalt. Officers are trying to screen members of the Tamil Tigers terrorist group who may be hiding among the migrants.
Toronto immigration lawyers estimate it'll cost about $22 million in legal fees for refugee hearings and appeals for the claimants.
Lawyer Richard Kurland said said it'll cost $50,000 to process each refugee claim and that sum drops to $29,000 a case under new laws.
Kurland said about 91% of Sri Lankan refugees are accepted by an immigration and refugee board (IRB) to stay in Canada.
"Most of this group will end up living in Canada legally," he said. "The majority are accepted by the IRB as legitimate refugees."
Public Security Minister Vic Toews has said the government "must ensure that our refugee system is not hijacked by criminals or terrorists."
Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is encouraging Canadian authorities to receive and provide assistance for the Tamils.
