Hope, Challenges and Survival: Undocumented Bangladeshi Migrants in Italy After Crossing the Mediterranean Sea
Authors
Ghosh, Topu ; Emran, Ibrahim ; Ziku, Md Noor-E-Alam
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-28
Abstract
This thesis examines the post‑arrival lives of undocumented Bangladeshi migrants in Italy who reached Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. Drawing on eight semi‑structured interviews, it explores how migrants understand their decision to leave Bangladesh, the challenges they face after arrival, how they manage everyday survival, and how hope, family responsibilities and transnational ties shape their future plans. The interviews were conducted in Bangla, translated into English and analysed using manual thematic analysis. The findings show that migration was shaped by both hope and pressure: participants left with expectations of earning money, supporting relatives, repaying debts and building a better future, but the journey through Libya and across the Mediterranean exposed them to dependence on brokers, fear, uncertainty, financial losses and, in some cases, violence or illness. After arrival in Italy, the lack of secure residence documents and the long waiting period for papers emerged as the central challenge, because legal status was closely linked to work, mobility, safety and the ability to plan ahead. In the meantime, participants relied on temporary permits, camp support, informal work, shared housing and assistance from fellow Bangladeshis. The study shows that everyday survival was active yet constrained, involving low‑paid or irregular jobs, cutting living costs, learning Italian where possible, avoiding legal trouble and depending on social networks. Cross‑border family ties provided emotional meaning and motivation but also generated pressure through debt, remittance expectations and the need to demonstrate that migration was worthwhile. Overall, the thesis concludes that arrival in Italy does not end uncertainty for these migrants but instead opens a new phase of waiting, survival and responsibility in which hope persists alongside legal precarity, economic hardship and transnational obligations.
Denne afhandling undersøger livet for papirløse bangladeshiske migranter i Italien, som er ankommet til Europa via Middelhavsruten. Med udgangspunkt i otte semistrukturerede interviews analyserer studiet, hvordan migranterne selv forstår beslutningen om at forlade Bangladesh, hvilke udfordringer de møder efter ankomst, hvordan de organiserer hverdagens overlevelse, og hvordan håb, familiefølelse og transnationale bånd præger deres fremtidsplaner. Interviewene blev gennemført på bangla, oversat til engelsk og analyseret gennem manuel tematisk analyse. Resultaterne viser, at migrationen både var drevet af håb og af pres: deltagerne rejste med forventning om at tjene penge, forsørge familien, tilbagebetale gæld og skabe en bedre fremtid, men blev under rejsen gennem Libyen og over Middelhavet konfronteret med afhængighed af mellemmænd, frygt, usikkerhed, økonomiske tab og i nogle tilfælde vold eller sygdom. Ved ankomsten til Italien blev manglen på opholdspapirer og den lange ventetid på dokumenter den centrale udfordring, fordi papirerne var tæt knyttet til arbejde, bevægelsesfrihed, sikkerhed og mulighed for at planlægge fremtiden. I mellemtiden måtte deltagerne klare sig gennem midlertidige opholdstilladelser, støtte fra asylcentre, uformelt arbejde, delt bolig og hjælp fra andre bangladeshere. Afhandlingen viser, at hverdagens overlevelse er aktiv, men stærkt begrænset af lavtlønnede eller uregelmæssige jobs, behovet for at holde udgifterne nede, læring af italiensk hvor muligt, undgåelse af juridiske risici og afhængighed af sociale netværk. Familierelationer på tværs af grænser giver mening og motivation til migrationen, men skaber også pres gennem gæld, krav om pengeoverførsler og behovet for at bevise, at rejsen var det værd. Samlet konkluderer afhandlingen, at ankomsten til Italien ikke afslutter usikkerheden for disse migranter, men åbner en ny fase af venten, overlevelse og ansvar, hvor håb eksisterer side om side med juridisk usikkerhed, økonomiske vanskeligheder og transnationale forpligtelser.
[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]
Keywords