As crowds carrying unlit candles mill about Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, travel agents who manage large groups of Holy Land tourists from Kerala keep an eye out. They could get into trouble if they lose sight of the men and women from their group looking for a chance to vanish into thin air – and rebuild their lives as illegal immigrants in Israel.
“The line of pilgrims snakes through several crowded streets full of hawkers selling souvenirs and trinkets. It’s easy for them to give us the slip in the teeming crowds,” said Sanat John, a former travel executive who has earlier dealt with a group member trying to abscond despite four people keeping a watch.
