Lasagne Do Piazza

"Every time I attend a function, Italians tell me the Indians are a perfect example of a hard-working, disciplined and law-abiding community," says ambassador Dogra. He recalls a time in the mid-'80s when there were only 300 Indian passport-holders here, but today Indians are the second-largest group.

Indians have indeed largely escaped the anti-immigrant sentiment prevalent against Romanians, Albanians and many Africans who have been stereotyped as petty criminals. Illegal immigrants from Muslim countries have to battle a general fear and Islamophobia but India's credentials as a secular country help assimilation. The Sikhs also shed their long hair as the first act of sacrifice to be accepted. "A beard and a turban in their minds make a jehadi," says a long-time Sikh resident. As they acquire legal residency, many grow their hair again. "These chaps not only survive but adjust without any language skills in a white society," says another analyst.

Peter Schatzer, chief of mission in Italy for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), says that while Italy doesn't encourage immigrants, it recognises it needs them. It has a regime based on quotas and every four years many are regularised. Besides, the grey economy is extensive and employers exploit illegal workers by paying them half the regular wage.

Every year, new routes are devised by greedy agents to fleece young men in villages with dreams of a pot of gold. The chain oiled with hard cash begins with a flight out of Delhi to Moscow. A Russian visa is easier to procure. Once in Russia, the illegal immigrants go "donkey", a poignant euphemism for the land route. Hiding in trucks and airless lorries, they cross over to Ukraine. Some walk miles through dangerous roads, plodding through snow in canvas shoes. From Kiev, they are taken to Slovakia from where they slip into Austria, the edge of the western dream. They pass through forests on small roads, a method called 'Tarzan'. From Austria they either filter into Germany or Italy. The sea route begins with a flight to Libya or Greece from where they're taken to Malta and ultimately to Italy across the Mediterranean. That's 'Columbus'. They "lose" their passports, have little or no money, and only hope to hang on to. But that hasn't stopped them from being driven by dreams of la dolce vita in Italy.