How 'Italy fever' burns and builds Madaripur

It was his first game.

Roman had waited several months after flying to Libya for this very moment. If he succeeded in this game, his life in Italy would be all but guaranteed. Failure, on  the other hand, meant drowning in the Mediterranean, death in myriad other ways, or being arrested in Libya. 

It was early in 2018 when Roman was taken to 'game house' where immigrants are kept before launching vessels. The perilous voyage through the Mediterranean to the coast of Italy, which is known to Bangladeshi immigrants as 'game', would start late into the night on an inflatable vessel. 

The sea was agitated that night, the waves furious. The vessel was docked on a rocky beach. As the waves crashed against the boat, hardly letting it remain stable, Roman and other immigrants had to jump onto it while narrowly missing the deadly rocks. 

Only a few people, including two Bangladeshis and a few Africans, got on the boat while others waited in line. Suddenly, a monster wave tipped the boat upside down, throwing its passengers overboard. 

"We [two Bangladeshis] survived though our backs were bruised. But two Africans died on the spot as their heads cracked upon colliding with the rocks," Roman told The Business Standard in an interview at Rajoir Bazar in his home district Madaripur. 

"I will forget everything I endured, but I will never forget that incident. Two people died and we barely survived, but the Libyan boat owner did not care. He shouted at us to fetch the engine of the boat, threatening that or else we would not be allowed to return to the shore," Roman recollected. 

After five death-defying Mediterranean voyages spanning around three years, imprisonment, and being sold and tortured, Roman eventually reached Italy one day. He came back on a month's leave to start building his house in the village.  

Roman is one of the thousands of Madaripur's people who have, over the years, risked everything for a better life in Italy, travelling through the Mediterranean or through the Dunki method.

As we patrolled various villages of this district earlier this month, we tried to figure out how many people exactly built their fortunes by traversing this dangerous path. "Italian expatriates are like tree leaves, you will find them here in every house," a local journalist who accompanied us said at one point. 

How many? Some media reports mention that over 5,000 people from Madaripur settled in Italy illegally over the last decade. But district police superintendent Masud Alam says the figure is much higher. "There are perhaps more than 5,000 from Madaripur only in Milan city," he said. 

"There is a huge Madaripur population in Italy. It is hard to provide an exact number. The real number is higher than what we can see. You won't find a single family here that doesn't have a member or relative in Italy," he added. 

And roaming across several villages in Rajoir revealed Alam's estimation to be on point. Anyone we asked had a relative in Italy who had changed the fates of their families. They have luxurious houses in the villages and their family members gradually migrate abroad. Any young people we interviewed said their aim in life is to go to Italy. 

But since most of these people land in Italy through illegal channels, the authorities don't have a clear idea about the figures. 

More than a hundred people have also reportedly perished chasing this wild dream by crossing the Mediterranean or through the dangerous Dunki system of the past. There is no definite figure of the casualties as well, but the district police superintendent agreed that the number of casualties could pass a hundred.

Based on the success of the migrants though, the tales of the families in Madaripur diverge to either rags to riches stories or tragedies. 

The departed: 'Bring my son back'

Mamun lived in Paschim Swarmangal village in Khaliya union. His father Yusuf Ali has been in Greece for a long time, but he could not build a luxurious village house like his Italy-based counterparts. Nor does he earn as much as they do. The family still lives in a tin-shed house. 

So a determined Mamun set out to change his family's fortune. Despite repeated warnings against the dangerous pursuit, Mamun went to Libya with the aim of crossing into Italy. His family had to sell a plot to fund his journey. 

"Everyone in this area went to Italy like this. His friends and others he knew used to call him and boast about how much they earn in Italy. He was brainwashed! When we agreed, we thought he would either get to Italy or get caught," Mamun's sister Sagorika said.

"We never imagined he would die like this," she broke down in tears.

Mamun was one of the six young people of Madaripur to die in the Mediterranean Sea in February 2024. This is the latest addition to the Madaripur people's decades' old death procession in pursuit of the Italian dream. 

His mother, sobbing nearby, was in denial. She muttered in protest, "My son isn't dead. Can you please bring my son home? I will pray for you, give you everything. My heart would be at peace if you could bring him home."

The family is not sure about how their son died. 

The surviving Bangladeshis on Mamun's boat told them that he was forced to board in the engine room. One Bangladeshi on board said Mamun gave him his phone before entering the engine room and asked him to inform his family if anything happened to him. 

"My son is tall, he didn't want to get inside the engine room. They tortured him," his mother sobbed. Mamun is believed to have died either from the fumes of leaking oil or when the Tunisian coast guard fired at the boat (which resulted in its capsize), a bullet might have struck him. 

Before Mamun left the game house, he had told his mother that his next phone call would be from Italy. 

"My son doesn't call me anymore," his mother cried. 

He went to Libya through Musa, a 'dalal' (trafficker) from Gopalganj's Muksudpur area, the family said. We tried to communicate with Musa, but his number was unreachable. In fact we tried to reach several other dalals in Madaripur, Shariatpur and Gopalganj, but most were hiding and their numbers were switched off. 

Shafayet from Lundi village, Ishibpur, is also one of the departed. 

Son of a farmer, Shafayet was expected to be the driving force of his family's livelihood. He sent an audio message to his mother to pray for him as he was boarding a boat to Italy. 

"It was Maghrib time when he sent the voice message," Shafayet's mother said. "And that was the last I heard of my son." 

Although his boat reached Italy, other migrants on the boat said he had died of a cold before they reached Italy. Shafayet was one of the few dead youths of Madaripur whose body was brought back to his village from the Mediterranean. 

Most families never get to see the bodies of their dead sons. 

The death-defiers 

The boat had run out of oil. Roman had been floating in the Mediterranean for 10 hours. It was his second game from the Libyan coast. His life was hanging by a thread once again. This too was an inflatable vessel and they could drown any moment if a larger wave struck the boat. If the waves did not kill them, starvation would. 

But he defied death again as a ship spotted them. 

"The wave was a barrier as the approaching ship backtracked us further in the water. Another Bangladeshi brother and I jumped in the sea and dragged our inflatable boat to the ship," Roman said. 

This second attempt too was in 2018. The ship rescued the immigrants but dropped them back to Libya. 

In his third attempt in 2019, Roman reached the Maltese side of the Mediterranean. His group was received by a Danish ship. Matteo Salvini, known for his tough stance on immigration, was deputy prime minister of Italy back then. So, Italy declined to receive the rescued immigrants. The ship contacted several other countries but no one responded. 

"The ship owner instructed the officials on-board that if no other countries want them, bring them to Denmark. But when the ship went to Libya to get oil, Libyan police spotted us and we got arrested," Roman said. 

They were taken to the al-Nasr Detention Center in Zawiyah, Libya, dubbed the 'Osama prison' after Osama Al Kuni Ibrahim, the migrant smuggling kingpin who manages the prison.

"Without food, we survived seven days in prison by drinking toilet water. We were 14 Bangladeshis together in that 'game'." 

Roman was freed after paying his captors around Tk4 lakh. 

He described his fourth attempt as his 'worst experience'. It was January 2020, and they were adrift in the sea for four days without food. Then they realised the captain of their boat had sold them to the Libyan coast guard. Arrested and taken back to Libya, they were then sold again to a Libyan 'mafia' man named Haitam.

This time, bruised and tortured, he had to pay $5,000 for freedom. Roman had spent over Tk26 lakh until his fourth game, yet he was languishing in Libya. 

In a desperate move, he made a bargain with Bangali dalals operating as right-hand men to Libyan traffickers. These right-hand men were mainly tasked with torturing other Bangladeshis for money. Roman would now do the same and keep a cut of the money. 

"When I went to beat them, I felt terrible as I myself had been tortured for so long. Bangalis are soft. If beaten, we agree to pay soon, unlike Africans who do not do so even if you kill them. I could easily get some more money, but I walked out without saying anything." 

His fifth and final game was in May 2020. His boat sailed off at 3am with 86 immigrants. After battling the unsettling Mediterranean waves for 52 hours, they finally reached the Italian island of Lampedusa. 

"Every time I was caught, it happened at zero point [open water]. When we crossed zero point and reached Italian waters, we were relieved. We knew it was over," Roman said. 

Rescued in Lampedusa, he was taken to Sicily. It was during the pandemic time, so they were quarantined for 40 days. He was then taken to Acireale city near Catania, where he lives now. 

He was sheltered in a camp for arriving immigrants for a year and half where he received a few hundred euros as monthly allowance, besides occasional day-wise work opportunities. Around eight months into his camp life, he secured a job in a restaurant and eventually moved out. 

In the three and half years since, he has paid off all his debts and made back the Tk26 lakh he had to spend in Libya. He will be returning to Italy soon – this time on a plane. 

The success stories of Madaripur's Italian immigrants are more or less the same. 

In Acireale, one of Roman's co-worker's boat drowned in the sea. His family was told that he had died. The family was gripped with unbearable grief as they conducted a funeral for the guy.  

But 14 days later, the man called his family and said he was still alive. He somehow floated to the Italian shore and was rescued. 

The 'Italian dream' 

While interviewing Roman in a bazaar in Rajoir, we met at least six others in a span of two hours. 

"You see, the number of people who lost their lives and money are not very high," a store manager, an 'Italian dreamer' himself, said. "Suppose 10 come in harm's way, then 90 actually make it to Italy. It means 90 families are being benefited." 

He said the Italian dream is so intense in their locality that even the former mayor of their municipality ended up going to Italy. 

The young dreamers, however, said that they do not choose to go to Italy through Libya right away. They initially try it in the legal way through sponsor and seasonal visas. All six we met in the store said they were trying to go to Italy legally on a sponsor visa. 

When asked why they do not try setting up a business at home instead of risking their lives, one of them explained, "How much can you save doing what you do? You will need six months to save Tk1 lakh. But look at my younger brother (an immigrant in Italy), he now uses an iPhone. He could not even use a Tk20,000 phone before. He is building a house within a year and half after reaching Italy and the next time he comes, he will marry and settle down."

Shariful Islam, who heads Brac's Migration Programme, said that the exact number of how many people went to Italy cannot be found because many are undocumented immigrants. 

"Stating any definite number thus would be absurd because their number is not documented anywhere," he said

"And even if they die this way, that data too is not documented. But we know that it is the people from Madaripur, Shariatpur and Gopalganj area who go to Italy or Europe the most from Bangladesh," he added. 

An empty 'Italy village' in Madaripur 

As we patrolled on the bikes across the Hasankandi village in Madaripur, the spectacular buildings by the street caught our attention. This village is known as Italy's Mor because here most, if not all, families have members in Italy. 

And that also explained the deserted look of the village because after a couple of years, most expatriates start to take their families to Italy too. 

There is the Italy House-1 in this village. If you have seen Shonir Akhra's Italy Houses in the capital, you can bet their owners come from this village. 

The Italy House-1 is a nice building in the Hasnabad village. Surrounding this are several other spectacular buildings. On top of one of these buildings is a model plane — if you have watched Shah Rukh Khan's movie Dunki, then you know it means the owners of the house are abroad. 

Italy House-1 belongs to late Jabbar Matubbar, his son Atiar Matubbar was one of the firsts to embark on the journey to Italy from this village in the '90s.

An elderly lady working outside the house said that none of Jabbar Matubbar's six sons live there. One of the sons lives in Shonir Akhra's Italy House, others are in Italy or some other countries with their families. 

We found two young men in these houses, one of them was Jasim Matubbar. Jasim, in his early 20s, said he has submitted his papers for a sponsored visa to Italy.  Amir Hossain, another young man, said he is also preparing to go to Italy. 

Although none of Jabbar Matubbar's son live in Italy House-1, his widowed daughter Ranu Begum live there with her daughter. 

"My brothers went to Italy with great difficulty through jungles and hills. They starved, served prison time and suffered many other difficulties," said a proud Ranu Begum.

Five teens of 54 houses and a Dunki survivor

Badol Khan was an exception in the Italy village; while others were chasing after the Italian dream, he went to Singapore as a migrant worker. But he too wants to go to Italy now. 

"Italian expatriates have changed the face of our village. This change has happened in front of our eyes. Everyone here now has a house in Dhaka and Madaripur town. If we have 100 families in our village, 40 of them own a house in Dhaka," Badol said. 

As we were speaking loudly, Mohsin Khan, a curious man, came out of his house. He is a survivor of the Italy fever from back in the Dunki days. 

The dalal has told Mohsin that the Dunki method would be taken from Hungary; he would fly to Russia on a student visa, from there to Ukraine, and then to Italy on a plane. 

But the dalal had lied. He said that they would take a transit in Uzbekistan before flying to Russia. 

"But we realised in Uzbekistan that it was a trick. They stuffed five of us in a car trunk to transport us through to Turkmenistan, and tortured us in a way I cannot describe," Mohsin said. 

"At some point we had nothing to eat for 17 days. We tied our sweaters to our stomachs in hunger. They would give one litre of water to 22 people for 24 hours. We fought with death." 

In the tormenting six months they spent in Turkmenistan, he endured the most grueling torture and all his dollars were taken away. He was then transported to Kazakhstan and again stuffed in a car trunk. 

On the Kazakh-Russian border, they tried to enter Russia on a horse carriage. But their dalal got arrested by Russian police. 

"We were discovered. They took our passports, punched holes into them and deported us back to Bangladesh," Mohsin said. "I lost Tk12 that time (2000) when many did not even see Tk1 lakh."

In front of Mohsin's house, we met five teenagers gossiping beside the street. When asked which one of them had family members in Italy, all of them raised their hands. 

Yamin Sharif, an SSC candidate, said that his elder brother was in Italy. There were five members of his family residing in Italy, including his uncles. 

"I want to go to Italy as well," he said. 

All of them, when asked what they want to do once they have grown up, replied the same – they wanted to go to Italy. 

"We are the only remaining youths in the 54 houses of this area. Everyone has gone or is going to Italy," one of the teens added. 

The Italy fever that has gripped Madaripur cannot be prevented with legal measures alone, according to policeman Masud Alam. 

"It is not like someone is forcing them to go there. When someone sees that his neighbour went to Italy and built a building in two years, their parents and family are well-off, then he doesn't pay heed to the risks that he might drown to his death in the sea or face many dangers," he said. 

"We have arrested many dalals, as you know there is a syndicate of dalals here. With it are connected the people from other districts and areas. But only arrest will not solve this problem. Without social awareness, this cannot be stopped only by applying the law," Masud Alam said.

This article was first published on 30 March 2024. We have changed some names at their request. 

The Business Standard's Shariatpur Correspondent Kazi Monirujjaman Monir contributed to this report. Madaripur journalists Monasif Faraji Sajib and Akash Ahammed Sohel assisted during the field visits.