Breaking news: Kazakh Family Who Survived Migrant Boat Tragedy Haven’t Given Up On American Dream

This summer, the Zhapaq family from Almaty, Kazakhstan, planned to come to America to start over and fulfil their American dream. But instead of returning to their former lives in the working-class Shanyraq neighbourhood, their attempt to enter the country illegally nearly ended tragically. On July 9, a boat carrying eighteen illegal migrants sank near the Caribbean coast of Colombia; Baikhan Zhapaq, his wife Arai Zhaparqulova, and two of their four children were among the survivors. The incident resulted in at least one death.

The family claims that in order to raise $40,000 to finance their tragic journey to the United States, they borrowed money, sold their car and animals, and pledged their property as collateral. Their intended itinerary involved passing through Kazakhstan’s neighbour Uzbekistan, flying to Qatar, and then boarding a plane to Brazil. This is a common path taken by the hundreds of Kazakh migrants who have migrated to the United States. They would go north from Brazil to the border with the United States, passing through Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. The family claims that their desire to leave Kazakhstan was motivated by their desire to give their kids better chances and to escape financial hardship.

Zhapaq, a driver at the airport in Almaty, claims he received a “good wage,” but it wasn’t sufficient to support his family of six. “We used the [state] child allowance to pay our mortgage and for children’s clothes and school expenses,” stated Zhaparqulova, 35. Pies were what I prepared and sold to make additional money. Despite our tireless efforts, we were never able to earn enough money, the woman remarked. “We needed [the equivalent of] $1,250 a month to have a normal life, but our income was much smaller than that.”

Plans Unfold Late in June, the couple set out on their arduous trek with their teenage son Bekos and his five-year-old sibling Daryn in tow. They were accompanied by Qabidulla Qali, 46, an Almaty-born chef that the couple had became friends with on a Kazakh immigrant chat group.