A date with death after chasing European dream

Seventeen-year-old Kazi Sajeeb, born into a family of day labourers in Madaripur's Rajoir upazila, embarked on a long and somewhat dangerous journey on 14 December last year with the aspiration of reaching Italy, crossing several countries and the Mediterranean Sea. 

His family had to sell their land, borrow money from relatives, and take out high-interest loans from private sources to arrange around Tk20 lakh needed for his migration.

After traveling for one week through India and Dubai, Sajeeb arrived in Benghazi, Libya.

Unfortunately, the attempt to fulfill his family's dream of migrating to Europe ended in tragedy as he met with a fatal accident while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

At least nine people, including eight Bangladeshis, died when a boat carrying 52 migrants of different nationalities to Europe sank in the sea off the Tunisian coast following a fire accident on 15 February, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya.   

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the identities of the eight Bangladeshis, including Sajeeb, on Tuesday.

This incident is but one of countless illustrations of how individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, venturing out on unauthorised and perilous voyages from Libya to Europe, tragically have lost their lives in pursuit of a better life abroad.

The victims are identified as Sajal, Nayan Biswas, Mamun Seikh, Kazi Sajeeb, Kaisar, Rifat, Russell, and Imrul Kayes Apon. All of them hailed from the Madaripur and Gopalganj districts of Bangladesh.

Coincidentally, the first five victims originated from various villages within the Rajoir upazila of Madaripur, while the remaining were from Muksudpur upazila in Gopalganj.

"Sajeeb was the eldest among two brothers and a sister. His father, a daily labourer in Dhaka, sent him abroad in the hope of improving the family's fortunes. Upon hearing the news of his death, the family was completely devastated," said Sajeeb's elder cousin Sabbir Kazi during a phone interview with TBS on Tuesday.

He further said, "My cousin had to endure torture by middlemen in Libya, including deprivation of food, imprisonment alongside numerous others, and psychological torment. During that time, the middlemen received Tk10 lakh from us in two phases."

There were a total of 53 individuals on board, of whom 44 were rescued alive following the incident. Among the survivors, 27 are Bangladeshi nationals.

The Bangladesh Embassy has said efforts are underway to repatriate the deceased and the rescued Bangladeshi nationals.

For several years, Bangladesh has consistently ranked among the top three countries, identified by the UN refugee agency UNHCR, from which a significant number of people embark on the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

From January 2021 to July 2023, around 19% of migrants reaching Italy illegally were Tunisian citizens, 18% were from Egypt and 14% or 22,778 migrants were Bangladeshi citizens.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, over 3,000 migrants have died or gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from various countries to Europe in 2023.

Libya has become a major route for human smuggling to Europe amid internal conflict in the country.