Undocumented workers come for jobs, stability and a better life

[Schadenfroh]

http://www.npr.org/2011/05/18/136369025/pakistani-workers-land-of-opportunity-afghanistan

It's not unusual for laborers the world over to cross borders, sometimes illegally, to find a safer environment and better wages. But it is strange when their land of opportunity is Afghanistan.

It may be a sign of economic and political instability in neighboring Pakistan that manual laborers are sneaking across into Afghanistan, where wages are double and, in some cases, security is better.
...
Things are so bad in Pakistan, Azizullha says, that if you get out of the city, there is fear of kidnapping, security is bad and, of course, there are no jobs

Did not see this one coming, I figured Pakistan would be a paradise compared to Afghanistan. I take it that most of the laborers are from tribal areas that do not hold allegiance to anyone but their extended families and likely do not consider themselves either Afghan or Pakistani.

This sounds familiar...

Enya Atullah, an Afghan working on the precarious fourth floor of a new building, says he knows Pakistani day laborers will do his job for less.

They've ruined our work, Atullah says in Pashto. He says he doesn't make enough because he has to compete with Pakistani laborers, and he hopes the government will come up with a policy to stop them from coming into the country.
...
Amin says. "In this case, everybody [chooses] the Pakistani workers, and also maybe they are working during night.

Apparently, no one really knows roughly how many illegals are actually there.

An official from the Afghan Ministry of Labor said he had no idea how many Pakstanis are working in the country illegally

Of course the government is not doing enough to punish the corporations for hiring illegals:

Of course, Afghan contractors don't mind the migrants, according to one businessman who gave his name only as Amin. Pakistani laborers will work day or night for about half the price of Afghans.

 

[nick1985]

lol

 

[Sinsear]

Slave labor for poppy fields better than life in Pakistan; lol

 

[woolfe9999]

I'd guess that the reason for higher wages/more jobs/better opportunities in Afghanistan is not because the Afghan economy is generally better than that of Pakistan. This I'm betting is almost entirely due to U.S. presence, most particularly infrastructure improvements that are being done, often by U.S. contractors. These create job opportunities, and I'm also betting they pay reasonably well by the standards of either country. Also explains why "in some cases, security is better."

 

[chucky2]

Wow, Afghanistan has an illegal immigration (is there even such a thing in those areas of Afghanistan???) problem just like the US has. I thought TGB said Pakistan was an awesome place to live, unlike the sh1tty US...

Chuck

 

[Sinsear]

I thought TGB said Pakistan was an awesome place to live, unlike the sh1tty US...

Chuck

Well if your Muslim overlords told you that everyday and censored your media you would think the same thing too. What they don't know is the US looks at them and thinks to themselves, "wow, my dog has it better than them".

 

[chucky2]

Maybe that could be a new doctorine, The Dog Doctorine: If your dog lives and/or is treated better than the average person in a country, <insert rules here>.

 

[ShawnD1]

Slave labor for poppy fields better than life in Pakistan; lol

That and you're protected by real security forces. Who is more likely to shoot you for no reason, a British rifleman or a Pakistan police officer? :awe: