Journey to Italy becomes more dangerous and expensive

A group of poor men in Bangladesh have keen interested to go abroad for seeking better life. In exchange for one million taka($12,780), they raise fund from selling family land and loans from moneylenders, People are then set off on a boat from Dubai with companions, headed for Europe. They make journey expedition through Oman, Iran, and Turkey that seems to be fraught with risks and exact a heavy toll on the men both physically and mentally. They cover long distances in overcrowded jeeps or on foot for days, often after dark. Every few hundred kilometers, the group - which once swell to innumerable people - is handed down to local smugglers, who routinely banded them with other groups that also included girls before arranging crossings across borders. The human traders demand another million taka for the journey forward or they will slash the throats and throw them in the Bosporus, the strait that divides Europe and Asia, In recent years a lot of men have gone to Sicily and Venice. They are now crossing on boats from Libya, opines a victim, who arrives in Italy on a six-month agriculture visa. Overland routes have become more dangerous and expensive, an eye witness adds. According to many, Italy has become a highly desirable destination for Bangladeshi immigrants due to its lax entry controls and mass drives to legalize migrants. Since 1986, its government has absorbed over a million immigrants under its quota system. Italy is now attracting university-educated, urban Bangladeshi youth says a lot about its appeal, another eyewitness adds.