Editorial | Fake Dreams, Real Exploitation

The scenario is all too familiar. A fresh graduate, unable to secure employment in the locality, goes to a consultancy that promotes links overseas. He is informed that employment in Dubai, Qatar, or Malaysia is available at the click of a finger. All he needs is to remit a large sum, surrender his documents, and leave the “experts” to do their magic. Several weeks later, he has nothing but a useless ticket or a visa that immigration officials promptly reject. Families sell property or go deep into debt to finance this so-called chance. The outcome is not a job but financial devastation, humiliation, and dashed expectations.

The government cannot risk treating these episodes as isolated cases of fraud. What is taking place is systematic exploitation. Most consultancies run illegally, unaccountably, and without oversight. They shift names and premises rapidly, disappear after a few months, and reappear in some other district. Victims do not get justice because the legal war drags on for years, and many cannot even pay for the cost. The cycle goes on because there is no tight enforcement, no deterrence potent enough to shut down the racket.

Accountability should start with regulation. Every consultancy that presents itself as offering jobs should be registered, authenticated, and put through regular checks. Their transactions, contracts, and foreign connections ought to be above board and open to inspection. The labor and employment departments in the Union Territory can act, but their presence is near-non-existent. What are job fairs and training sessions if, concurrently, unregulated agencies are permitted to bilk the very young people the government is trying to empower?

The media and civil society must also play their part. Far too frequently, the victims are too ashamed to come forward, afraid of ridicule or blame. By remaining silent, they let these scammers carry on unchecked. Newspapers, radio, and local politicians need to trumpet these stories, not as a cautionary story but as a call for systemic change. Only by making scams transparent can we generate the public pressure to create change.

It is equally significant to ask what makes these scams have so many takers. The lure of foreign jobs is not merely the prospect of money but also the absence of worthwhile opportunities at home. Each government in Jammu and Kashmir has declared schemes, start-up schemes, and skill-development workshops. Yet the basic reality remains: secure jobs in the public and private sector are scarce, wages are low, and favoritism often trumps merit. If young people genuinely saw a future for themselves here, they would be less vulnerable to the false promises of agents waving foreign visas.

Combating fraud has to be accompanied by building legitimate alternatives. Young people should have to look at viable job portals, open recruitment campaigns, and evident private sector investment. Otherwise, they will just have to pursue opportunities elsewhere, regardless of the risks.

Police forces must also handle these scams with the seriousness they merit. Short-changing jobless young people is not a minor offense; it is an assault on social bonds. Bogus consultancies are not just scamming people; they are destabilizing trust in institutions, aggravating unemployment anguish, and driving debt and despair cycles. Rapid arrests, rapid trial, and rigorous sentencing would make it clear that such exploitation will not be accepted.

Families also need to be vigilant. Sudden blind faith in middlemen, particularly when lakhs are involved, is unsafe. It is important to authenticate job offers with the help of embassies, check official government websites, and request legal contracts and not oral promises. None of the consultancies should be believed without evidence of genuineness. Awareness campaigns organized by schools, district administrations, and NGOs can save many from falling into the trap.

The youth of Kashmir are not seeking doles. They aspire to dignity, opportunity, and a chance to construct their lives. Permitting fake consultancies to thrive insults their dreams and reinforces their alienation. The government has demonstrated that it is capable of decisive action when it chooses to be so. It must now do the same for this matter.

Each counterfeit ticket is worth more than a sheet of paper. It is the shattered dreams of a family, the lost years of a youth, and another reminder that unemployment turns people into easy targets. To let this continue without checking it is to leave the very future of Kashmir behind.

The era of half-measures is over. Regulate, monitor and prosecute. Only then can we make sure the aspirations of Kashmiri youth are not peddled as fake promises but materialize in real opportunities.