Illegal immigrants cannot return home

February 2012. London: For many Indian citizens and illegal immigrants who braved hazardous journeys across continents and wily human traffickers with hopes of a better life, their 'London dream' has turned into a veritable nightmare, and they are now reduced to living in slum-like conditions in the United Kingdom. Steeped in drugs, drinks and despair with empty, forlorn looks on their faces and funded by stealing and shoplifting, many of these are desperate to return to India, but feel trapped because they can't. Unemployed and in difficult economic conditions, many are ashamed to return to their families in India, who in many cases had sold their assets to finance their travel to Britain, empty-handed and as failures. Others can't return because they have destroyed their Indian passports to prevent deportation. Re-establishing their identity to obtain new travel documents from the Indian high commission in UK can take a long time.