[LINK] "Bangladeshi migrants eke out a living in Rome"

[rfmcdonald]

Al Jazeera's Nishtha Chugh writes about the lives of Italy's large and growing community of Bangladeshi migrants.

[Italy] is now home to a growing number of Bangladeshi migrants, many of whom have been smuggled or trafficked into the country.

According to the Italian Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT), in 2009, 11,000 Bangladeshi migrants were living in the country on unverified documents. New estimates released since then by various independent sources suggest their number could now be as high as 70,000. With 122,000 residents, Italy has the second largest Bangladeshi community in Europe after Britain.

"In scale it may not seem comparable with the crisis involving migrants from North Africa making a perilous attempt to reach Italy in overcrowded boats. But due to fewer economic opportunities at home, many Bangladeshis are resorting to equally desperate measures and facing similar levels of risk in the hope of a better life in Europe," said Dr Md Mizanur Rahman, senior research fellow in migration studies at National University of Singapore.

Poverty and high unemployment have made migration an integral part of Bangladeshi society and culture, Rahman said. "Male members are now invariably expected to migrate to cities or overseas to uplift the family financially," he said.

It took Faisal 11 months and 1,600,000 Bangladeshi takas ($20,535) to reach Rome from Dubai, where he and his father were employed as construction workers. By air, the two cities are six hours apart and a one-way ticket costs about $400.

In 2011, things took a turn for the worse when his father lost use of his hands in an accident months before Faisal's visa was due for renewal. The responsibility for providing for his elderly parents, four sisters, wife and two children now rested on him.

"Poor men have poorer luck, you see," Faisal tries to force a smile. "I didn't get my [visa] extension and going home was not an option. I had too many mouths to feed."