What immediately catches a visitor’s eye in Shariatpur’s Nalta village is colourful, multi-storey buildings standing out against the rural surroundings.
Painted in shades of pink, red and blue, the houses feature ornate balconies, tiled entrances and gleaming glass windows. Beside them lie ponds lined with coconut trees and narrow paths.
Locals fondly call the village “Italy Graam”.
For nearly four decades, migration to Italy has transformed the village close to the Padma river -- socially, economically and culturally. Almost every family here has someone living in Italy, while countless others dream of making it to the European country.
“In Nalta village, 90 percent of families have relatives in Italy. That’s why people call it Italy Graam,” Faraz Ali Dhali, a farmer in his late 60s, told these correspondents who visited Nalta recently.
The story behind the link between this village and Italy can be traced back to the 1980s.
Floods and river erosion, which displaced thousands in Naria upazila, acted as a key driver of migration to Italy during that period.
“In Nalta village, 90 percent of families have relatives in Italy. That’s why people call it Italy Graam.”
Faraz Ali Dhali, a farmer in Nalta village, Shariatpur
Shariatpur had long struggled with economic insecurity. Major floods in 1988, 1998 and 2004 destroyed crops and displaced thousands, said Mahbub Alam, a local journalist.
“Most of these people were involved in agriculture or worked as labourers. Many of them went to Italy in search of stability and security. And their lives changed.”
Mohammad Ali, a 58-year-old businessman, is one of those early migrants.
With the help of his maternal uncle, he moved to Italy in 1985, studied there, and later set up a restaurant. Back then, many migrants travelled to the European country through irregular routes. Yet, the opportunities they found there quickly changed the fortunes of families back home.
His uncle, Matiur Rahman Bhulu, had earlier migrated to Italy, along with a small group of people from Naria, in the early 1980s.
In 1987, Italy regularised hundreds of undocumented Bangladeshis, opening a path to stability and long-term residency for them. In the 1990s, Italy began recruiting foreign workers through sponsors, which was a boon to people in Naria, said Ali.
Bangladeshis already settled in Italy started helping their relatives and neighbours migrate by arranging jobs and documents for visas, said Ali, who runs various businesses, including an engineering firm, in Bangladesh and Italy.
Over time, Italy became woven into the identity of the village. Remittances reshaped the local economy. Many families bought plots of land, and mud houses were converted into concrete buildings. Some migrants built multiple homes in Shariatpur and Dhaka.
“Those who had moved to Italy earlier earned much more than migrants do now,” Faraz said, adding that many Bangladeshis are involved in businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector, in Rome, Milan and Venice and other cities.
“In Italy, Bangladeshis are widely known for their hard work and low levels of involvement in crime,” he said.
As success stories spread, migration became more than an economic choice -- it became a symbol of dignity and social status.
Children grew up listening to stories about Europe. Young people saw their neighbours, dressed in fashionable clothes, return from Italy during holidays, carrying expensive goods.
For many here, the dream of a better life in Italy seems almost inevitable.
Sadhin Sarder, a student of Class-V, is growing up with such a dream.
“My father went to Italy through Libya 10 years ago. He works as a chef there. I dream of going to Italy one day,” he said.
Noting that many of his classmates have similar ambitions, he said, “Only a few students in my school want to become doctors, engineers or teachers. Most of them want to go abroad.”
Faraz believes the culture of migration has significantly undermined students’ motivation to pursue education.
“Many boys don’t focus on their studies. They think if they can make it to Italy, they do not need much education. They’ll learn Italian and some skills. That’s it.”
But it has become more difficult to migrate to Italy. Over the past few years,legal migration costs soared and the demand for visas outpaced the labour market needs in Italy. Many fortune seekers now seek cheaper but far riskier alternatives -- perilous journeys through Libya and the Mediterranean Sea.
Migrants travelling through Libya often fall prey to human traffickers and armed groups. Many are detained in camps known as “game ghar”, where migrants are tortured for ransoms.
Ali said migrants taking the Libya route are not only risking their lives but also damaging Bangladesh’s image abroad.
“Italy does not need so many people. Job opportunities for Bangladeshi workers are now limited.
“The Libya route is extremely dangerous. There are frequent reports of people drowning in the sea. Nobody should take this route to go to Italy,” he added.
