Themes and message

The main themes of the text are immigration and the gap between rich and poor. The message of the two authors is that poverty is one of the main reasons that push people to leave their countries, even illegally and clandestinely. Those in Western developed countries like the UK are partially responsible for this situation. Through this article, the authors want to persuade the British readership to understand and empathise with the tragic situation of people living in poor, third-world countries.

Immigration

Although the text never mentions the word ‘immigration’, this issue is the underlying theme of the story. By presenting the specific case of a man’s failed attempt to reach the UK clandestinely, the story explores why people leave their home countries and the extreme risks and sacrifices they are willing to undergo in search of a better life: “It is a story of breath taking courage fired by a fierce hope that a decent life might lie in a distant country where he knew no one.” (p. 74, ll. 22-23)

Mohammed Ayaz was a young, poor man from a village in Pakistan. In search of a means to support himself and his family, the man indebted himself so that he could immigrate legally to Dubai:

...Ayaz finally decided to join the thousands of young Pakistanis who travel to the Gulf States every year to work in construction, hoping to save enough money to send home to their families. (...) It would cost 120,000 rupees (£1,300) to arrange the flight, the visa and, the heaviest cost, to meet the agent's exorbitant fees. (p. 75, ll. 25-30)

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The gap between rich and poor

Because the article presents poverty as one of the main causes of immigration by following the case of a man from Pakistan, the authors also explore the gap between rich and poor, between developed and underdeveloped countries.

To emphasise this gap, the authors pay particular attention to the differences in income. For example, they present how much Ayaz and his family made from farming: “…but market prices are bad again. They make barely one pence a kilo. Since Ayaz's death the family of five brothers and four sisters face a mountain of debt.” (p. 75, ll. 13-15)

Furthermore, the authors mention that in Ayaz’s village there is “little opportunity for education and only one telephone between 3,000 villagers” (p. 75, ll. 19-20).

These observations are meant to make British readers aware of the huge differences between them and people from third-world countries when it comes to income, education, and access to technology. This is also why the authors mention—ironically—a visit of the Queen in Pakistan: “The Queen visited in the 60s to see the beautiful, once-forested mountains.” (p. 75, ll. 18-19)

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