BANGLADESH → UK - New Dynamics of Ageing

BANGLADESH > UK
The Stories of Food, Ageing and Migration
A Photo Exhibition by Vanja Garaj
Venues:
Senedd - The National Assembly for Wales
Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, CF99 1NA
15 - 22 November, 2011
The Cardiff Story - The new museum of Cardiff’s history
The Old Library, The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1BH
15 November 2011 - 15 December 2011
Part of Project MINA: Migration, Nutrition and Ageing across the
Lifecourse in Bangladeshi Families: A Transnational Perspective
Economic and Social Research Council UK (ESRC)
New Dynamics of Ageing Programme (NDA)
Curators: Anna Gormely, Bablin Molik and Janice Thompson
Text: Nick Hunt
Press Pack ( Full ) - 11 November, 2011
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
The Bangladeshi community is one of the UK’s most disadvantaged, suffering
from high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The burdens of ill
health and social exclusion fall most heavily on older women – who often bear
the responsibility for taking care of large families – but little is known about
how their health, nutritional status and diet are affected by the experience of
migration.
Using a visual ethnography approach, the photographs in this exhibition
explore the complicated interplay between migration, nutrition and ageing
in a cross-section of Bengali women in the UK and in Bangladesh. Taken
mostly in Cardiff, London and Sylhet – the region in north-east Bangladesh
where the majority of the UK’s Bangladeshi community originates – some are
observational portraits exploring the lives and situations of the women who
took part, while others touch upon wider cultural issues, such as the position
of women in society.
The photographs are an outcome of Project MINA: Migration, Nutrition
and Ageing across the Lifecourse in Bangladeshi Families: A Transnational
Perspective – a three-year (2008 - 2011) research project funded by the
Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) under the New Dynamics
of Ageing (NDA) programme. The project aims to aid the development of
culturally sensitive interventions to improve the health of the UK’s growing
Bangladeshi population.
The exhibition is divided between two venues, with several photographs on
display in the Senedd, the National Assembly for Wales (15 - 22 November
2011), and the majority in the Cardiff Story, the new museum of Cardiff’s
history (15 November - 15 December 2011). The voices of Bengali women –
both in their motherland and in their adopted home – often go unheard.
These photographs tell their stories.
BIO & CONTACT
Photographs:
Vanja Garaj is a documentary photographer based in London. He is also a
lecturer in digital media design at the School of Engineering and Design,
Brunel University.
e-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 07775 735 289
Text:
Nick Hunt is a London-based freelance journalist. His articles have appeared
in The Economist, The Guardian Travel, New Internationalist, Resurgence,
Search, Geographical, World Conservation and other publications.
e-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 07929 710 316
www.nickhuntscrutiny.com
More Info on Project MINA:
www.projectmina.org
www.bris.ac.uk/mina/
NOTES
All photographs are available in 21 MP resolution.
The names of all women in the text have been pseudonymised.
All photos © Vanja Garaj
Bianibazar, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Fariha, 20, left school at the age of 14. Although education in
Bangladesh has greatly improved in recent years – particularly education for girls – leaving school around
this age is still common in the countryside, where families require their children to work or help with
chores around the house. Five years later, Fariha stays at home, helping her sister-in-law cook and clean for
a household of ten people. Women of Fariha’s generation are likely to have greater access to information
about health and diet than their parents or grandparents did, and a higher economic status – the family is
supported by money from her brother, who works as a taxi driver in Dubai. ‘It is nice to eat here, it is airy
and bright’ says Fariha when asked about eating at home. ‘But we need a supply of gas and more furniture.’
1
Moulvibazar, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Like almost 10% of Bangladesh’s population, Chandra, 55, is a
Hindu. ‘We have a mandir (temple) in our village. We don’t feel isolated here as Hindus. But we don’t have
electricity. I don’t know what are the reasons.’ Some years ago, Chandra’s husband sold off the family’s
land to pay for a UK visa. The agent ran off with the money, and the visa never came. The stress gave her
husband a heart attack and he died shortly after, leaving Chandra and her children landless and without
money. Due to the family’s poverty, the daughters are finding it difficult to marry – although technically
illegal, the dowry system is still common in most parts of Bangladesh, and they lack the money or material
possessions to offer to the relatives of potential husbands.
2
Borjan Tea Estate, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Mira is 90 years old, her family migrated from India in the days
of the British Empire, and she still practices Hinduism. Of the 14 children she had in her life, only six are
still alive – she witnessed three of her sons being killed during Bangladesh’s bloody Liberation War in 1971.
Nowadays she lives in the Borjan Tea Garden, Sylhet, with three of her daughters. ‘I am old now. I cannot
digest all food, and not every food is good for this age,’ she says. ‘I don’t eat spicy food, sugar and salt.
Sometimes my daughters make different types of pitha (traditional cake), but I don’t eat them because they
are oily and not good for my health. My daughter cooks rice softer, so that I can digest it easily.’
3
Wood Green, North London, UK – Hasna, 46, has been living in the UK for almost 20 years. ‘When I first
came to the UK I felt good,’ she says, ‘everything new, a different country. I can’t tell you how I felt, it was
like a dream.’ Her kitchen is still too small here, though. ‘If I put one pot there, there is no place for another
one. I have space for an extension but it needs money. I don’t want to get a loan.’
As in urbanised parts of Bangladesh, ‘Londoni’ women have kitchens equipped with electric kettles,
microwaves and other labour-saving devices (the term ‘Londoni’ is typically used within the Bengali
community to describe any Bangladeshi living in the UK). For most women in Bangladesh, preparing food
involves longer hours and more demanding physical work, which is reflected in their health. A lifetime of
squatting, standing and bending over hot stoves gives older women in Bangladesh higher physical function
than their UK counterparts.
4
Wood Green, North London, UK – Ruhi, 18, helps her mother Hasna by working in the kitchen. She was
born in the UK but visits Bangladesh almost every year, and thinks it’s important to know how to cook
traditional Bengali food. As a second-generation ‘Londoni,’ however, she also enjoys multicultural cuisines
like Italian, Chinese and Japanese. Sushi is her favourite dish when she goes to college.
5
Wood Green, North London, UK – Ruhi serves Bengali-style Sunday lunch to a couple of friends from college,
one from Mexico and one from England. Social integration is easier for second and third generation
Bangladeshis, with fluency in English, better education, and access to a wider social group from many
different cultural backgrounds.
6
Bishwanath, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Bengali food is traditionally cooked over a wood fire, and the vast
majority of Bangladeshi women still prepare food this way. It’s not only a matter of tradition, but of
economic status – cooking with gas is not an option for families in the countryside, and wood remains
the cheapest and most readily-available fuel, providing over 60% of the country’s energy. The downside is
constant exposure to wood smoke, which can damage the lungs. Salma, aged 22, says she suffers constant
headaches, but does not regard this as a sign of illness.
7
Bishwanath, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – ‘When I can work and I don’t have weakness, then I can claim myself
healthy,’ says Salma, who cooks for a household of seven. Providing for a large family like this is a full-time
job in Bangladesh, made even harder by lack of facilities and cramped living conditions. ‘I want a clean
kitchen,’ she says, ‘and some shelves to store my food.’
8
Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh – Bangladesh is one of the world’s poorest countries, and many
families have no option but to send their sons and husbands abroad in the hope of finding work. Bengali
migrant workers flock to the construction sites of the Gulf and the Middle East, as well as to the UK and
other European countries. Their families can benefit hugely from the remittances they send home – as
does Bangladesh’s economy – but wives must suffer long years without husbands, and children without
fathers. In the absence of the men, it is up to the women left behind to take charge of the family, and they
play a leading role in keeping the household together.
9
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Cycle rickshaws are a common sight on the streets of Bangladeshi cities, and a cheap
and popular form of public transport. All rickshaw drivers are men – as women lack the physical strength
for this type of work. Division of labour between the sexes isn’t always a result of differences in body
strength, however – in many other forms of employment, and across society as a whole, men and women
generally stick to certain socially-approved roles stemming from cultural norms. Although rickshaw drivers
are extremely fit from a lifetime of physical exercise, they are mostly very poor, and consequently suffer low
nutritional status and a short life expectancy.
10
Cardiff, Wales, UK – Thamana, 40, was born in the UK but mostly brought up in Bangladesh. Now she
lives back in Cardiff with her husband and daughter. ‘I was happy when I came here,’ she says. In her back
garden at home she grows tomatoes, coriander, pumpkins, spinach, onions and lau, and buys the rest of
her food in Bangadeshi shops. ‘Bangladeshi stores should have expiry dates for fresh vegetables,’ she says.
11
Cardiff, Wales, UK – Leena, 37, was born in Cardiff, and her family speaks English at home – her children
understand the Sylheti dialect, but cannot speak it well. She regularly visits Bangladesh to keep in touch
with her family. ‘I go for holiday every year’, she says. ‘For me, when you go for a week, that makes a
big difference. My view is ‘go for holiday, enjoy and come back happy.’ Leena has devout Islamic beliefs,
praying five times a day and wearing a hijab. She keeps herself fit with regular exercise. ‘I am a healthy
person. I go to the gym, I keep myself active. It’s very important to have some time out from your children
and everyday household chores. I don’t have any depression.’
12
Inani Beach, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh – Bangladesh has hundreds of miles of coastline and countless
rivers, lakes and chars (inhabited islands in the Ganges (Padma) Delta), so it isn’t surprising that fish – both
saltwater and freshwater – plays a key role in the national diet. Much sea fishing is done by men who often
go out all night in small shampan boats like these, returning in the morning to deliver their catch fresh to
market. The fishing industry is very important for the country’s economy, and large amounts of dried and
frozen fish are exported to the UK to cater to the Bengali expatriate population.
13
Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh – Cox’s Bazar is a popular holiday destination for Bangladeshis,
who come to enjoy its sandy beach (the longest natural beach in the world) and to stock up on dried sea fish
to take home as a souvenir. While shops and market stalls are typically run by men, women play important
supporting roles – this photograph shows the shopkeeper’s wife helping operate the store while looking
after her children.
14
Limehouse, East London, UK – These allotments are popular with Bengali families for growing their own
fruit and vegetables. Gardening enables women not only to provide for their families with food they have
grown themselves – as many people do in Bangladesh – but also to socialise outside the home, exercise
regularly, and mix with the community. Recently, part of this community resource was demolished to
make way for the London Crossrail. As a result, each family is now limited to one box only, decreasing the
amount of food they can grow and reducing an important social space that women can enjoy.
15
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – The capital of Sylhet Division in Bangladesh’s north-east, Sylhet City is home to
around half a million people. Historically poorer than other urban centres like Dhaka and Chittagong,
the city is now undergoing something of an economic boom, due mostly to the remittances sent back by
migrants working in the UK. The links between Sylhet and the UK date back to the 17th century – the
days of the British Empire, when Sylhetis were employed as lascars (sailors) by the East India Company,
with many moving to London to work as cooks or Cardiff to work in the shipping industry. Lack of
opportunities at home still compels many to migrate – as testified by the hundreds of agencies offering
visas for the UK, many of which are bogus.
16
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – ‘I have learnt about nutrition from my mother,’ says Rabeya, 50, who lives in Sylhet
City with her daughter, two sons and a daughter-in-law. Her husband died from a heart attack several years
ago, but she has two servants to help prepare food and to clean the house. Her garden provides her with
fresh fruit like coconut, guava, papaya and jackfruit, which she likes to serve to guests. ‘I don’t have any
physical problem... I am always moving. When I don’t need to cook I walk around my house and look after
my plants.’
17
Cardiff, Wales, UK – Bengali women in the UK spend much of their time in the kitchen, preparing food for
the whole family as well as for serving to guests. In their roles as wives, mothers and hostesses, women cook
throughout the day and provide a steady supply of snacks. Eating and snacking regularly can contribute to
problems with health, which is compounded by a home-bound lifestyle and lack of exercise.
‘There are many differences in foods,’ says Hena, 38, who has lived in the UK since she was five years old.
‘Foods in Bangladesh are more fresh. Here you have to buy frozen fishes which sometimes give a bad smell.
The local Asian store should be more clean, and supermarkets should have more Asian foods.’
18
Cardiff, Wales, UK – ‘I didn’t feel good when I first came here, but slowly I got used to it,’ says Sapna, 60,
who came to the UK almost 30 years ago. Living in an unfamiliar society and struggling with the English
language, lacking opportunities to socialise with the wider community, first-generation migrants can often
suffer loneliness and depression – regardless of the fact that their economic status may have improved. The
problem is worse for older women, who often find themselves isolated at home.
The difference in culture and lifestyle also extends to diet. ‘Bangladeshi food is tasteless here in the UK.
Back home we all eat together, but here it is not possible. Good health means free movement... I exercise
twice a week.’
19
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Most street restaurants in Bangladesh cater for rickshaw drivers and other
male workers, and women generally feel uncomfortable to visit these places. Other more upscale food
establishments, however, are frequented by both men and women, particularly in urban centres like Dhaka
and Sylhet City. In the UK, public space is more mixed, and younger generations of Bengali women are
starting to socialise outside the home. Even mosques – traditionally the social hub for Bangladeshi men –
are now accommodating women, giving them a meeting space in many UK cities.
20
Cardiff, Wales, UK – Bethena migrated 40 years ago, and has only been back to visit Bangladesh three times
since then. ‘It is nice to have relatives all around you,’ she says, ‘but we are here for so long, all my children
and family are here. I don’t feel to go back to Bangladesh.’ Now 66 years old, she lives in Cardiff with her
son and daughter-in-law. ‘The kitchen and living room are on different floors. I am old and it is very hard to
move. They should be on the same floor. I like gardening but I don’t have space, so I do it in my daughter’s
place. I like the Bangladeshi store because I can speak in my own language.’
21
Borjan Tea Estate, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – The Sylhet region is famous for tea, produced at plantations
like this one at Borjan. To a tourist’s eye it might look picturesque, but tea pickers work six days a week
on salaries that seldom exceed 48 taka (around 50 pence) a day, depending on how many leaves they pick
– and even this sum can be slashed in the monsoon season. A socially excluded group due to the menial
status of the work, tea pickers – predominantly women – live in poor-quality housing and suffer from
discrimination, minimal or no education and chronic poverty.
22
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Sultana, 50, lives in Sylhet City. Her husband runs a business in Dubai and her
son-in-law owns a successful stockbroking firm, providing the family with a comfortable income. ‘I go
to a restaurant every week with my daughters,’ she says, ‘We eat pizza, Chinese or Indian food.’ In recent
years fast food chains like Pizza Hut and Nando’s have sprung up across Bangladesh – prices are typically
higher than in the UK, and eating Western-style fast food has become symbolic of a family’s wealth. The
lifestyles of women like Sultana contrast starkly with those of poorer families, who could never afford to
eat this type of food.
23
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Sultana, 50, employs four domestic staff to help her around the house. ‘I don’t go for
everyday food shopping,’ she says. ‘I have domestic staff who do it for me. There are a few supermarkets
in Sylhet City now. They are nice but have less varieties of fish and less fresh vegetables.’ Shopping in
supermarkets, a relatively new phenomenon in Bangladesh, is another symbol of status. They sell luxury
and imported goods like chocolate, which are hard to find elsewhere. Being much cleaner and less chaotic
than traditional food markets, supermarkets have proved popular with women, although their relative
expense means poorer families don’t shop there.
24
Cardiff, Wales, UK – ‘Here I have only my children but in Bangladesh I have so many relatives around
me,’ says Lubna, 52, who has been living in the UK for 31 years. ‘I used to feel like going back home. I
was feeling so bad, but slowly everything was OK.’ She learnt to cook from her aunt and her sister, as her
mother died when she was young, and still occasionally prepares food with a boti da, a traditional coconut
grater and knife. ‘Foods in Bangladesh are good. We cannot get fresh Bangladeshi foods here in the UK. I
like the supermarket because it is big and spacious but they don’t have Bangladeshi food.’
25
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – A wedding party in Sylhet for a ‘Londoni’ family. It is common for secondgeneration British Bangladeshi women, born and brought up in Cardiff or London, to seek husbands back
in Bangladesh. After a lavish traditional wedding, the husband then migrates to the UK to live with his
new wife’s family, and find employment. This way, women can continue living at home with their parents
in the UK, and taking care of them in their old age. These changes to traditional family structure and
caring roles have important implications for families, communities and social and health care policies and
practice.
26
Cardiff, Wales, UK – Fosia, 46, migrated from Bangladesh with her family as a girl. ‘I came to the UK when
I was very young. I can’t remember anything,’ she says. She grows tomatoes, chillies, coriander, cucumber
and lau (a type of gourd or calabash) in her back garden in Cardiff, and runs a successful catering business,
preparing authentic Bangladeshi food for parties and events. ‘I extended my cooking skills to business.
I attended a cookery class where I learnt how much oil and salt to put in food. Good health comes from
healthy eating, happiness and exercise.’
27
Lalakhal River, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Freshwater fishing is as important as the fishing industry on the
coast, and employs many people on Bangladesh’s vast network of rivers and waterways. On the banks of
the Lalakhal River, fishermen rest between setting their nets and heading off to sell their catch in the nighttime food markets of Sylhet.
28
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – A night-time seafood market in Sylhet, selling local river fish like chapila and ruhi.
The abundance of fresh fish is a key factor in the healthy diet of many people in Bangladesh, who come
daily to markets like this to get the freshest catch. As in most public food environments – markets, street
food stands, cafes and restaurants – the majority of vendors and cooks are men, which contrasts with
domestic kitchens, where women dominate and men are seldom seen.
29
Ilford, East London, UK – ‘People in Bangladesh know about cleanliness, but they don’t maintain it,’ says
Farhana, 42. ‘Even the shopping areas are dirty. In Bangladesh foods are cooked by domestic staff, so they
don’t know about washing their hands before preparing food. But the social environment is nice there:
everyone comes back home at a specific time and eats together.’ She came to the UK when she was 13, and
has a Higher National Diploma in Childcare. ‘I felt different when I first came here. It was hard to adjust
but after I was admitted to school everything was OK.’
30
Ilford, East London, UK – Much traditional Bangladeshi food is prepared by deep frying in corn or sunflower
oil. Ghee (clarified butter) is also a commonly used ingredient. While undoubtedly tasty, an overuse of oil in
cooking can contribute to obesity and heart disease, particularly when combined with fatty Western foods.
31
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Lentils form an important part of the Bangladeshi diet. Here they are being washed
before being boiled to make dahl, a simple but tasty stew-like dish usually eaten with rice. Easy to prepare
and high in protein, dahl is a staple meal across the Indian Subcontinent.
32
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Two women returning from work in late afternoon, in a residential part of Sylhet
City. Poor and working class women generally spend more time outside the home than women from
more affluent backgrounds, as their economic status requires them to earn extra money to supplement
the family’s income. Many poorer women find work as domestic servants for middle class families – due
to cheaper wages and availability of labour, the employment of household staff is much more common in
Bangladesh than it is in the UK.
33
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Although Bengali women are generally in charge of the domestic food environment,
many of the places where food is sourced – markets and food stands on the street – are the domain of men.
Halal butcher shops like this, which are often dirty, crowded and chaotic, are not considered appropriate
environments for women to enter. Food shopping is generally done by male relatives as women prefer not
to go to these places, and this social division between public and private is maintained, and reinforced, by
women as much as by men.
34
Cardiff, Wales, UK – ‘Londoni’ diet in the UK reflects the mingling of the two cultures: a mixture of
traditional food, with Bangladeshi herbs and spices, alongside Western snacks and fast food. Traditional
Bangladeshi cuisine includes fatty ingredients like oil and ghee, but is generally balanced by fresh fish, fruit
and vegetables. When migrants come to the UK, they often end up eating the worst of both worlds – the
Western portion of this diet and low physical activity contribute to obesity and heart disease, especially
among older women.
35
Jaintia, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Farideh, 48, is a Khasi, an indigenous group that inhabits north-east India
and parts of Bangladesh. Her husband is a convert to Christianity but she still follows Synteng, a tribal
religion that worships Ublai, a supreme deity with both male and female aspects. The Khasi diet revolves
around pork, but Farideh’s family can’t afford it – she saves pork fat throughout the year to cook food for
special guests. ‘I like to eat vegetables,’ she says, ‘they have vitamins. I have known it from doctors and
sometimes it has been shown on television. When I don’t have any diseases then I feel I am in good health.’
36
Laua, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – While many Bengalis settle permanently in the UK, others move back to
Bangladesh after years of working and saving up money to invest in their home towns and villages. Often,
ex-migrants help their communities through education projects, such as this madrasa (Islamic school) in the
village of Laua. Providing education for boys and girls, the establishment is run by a man who lived and
worked in London for most of his life, and is mostly funded by money sent back by British Bangladeshis.
37
Bishwanath, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Shahena, 55, lives in the village called Bishwanath in Sylhet District,
but two of her sons have moved to the UK to work in a restaurant, sending home a vital contribution of
£300 per month. ‘I like my kitchen but it is smoky. I want to fit tiles and I want a gas burner as well,’ she
says. In the Bangladeshi countryside food is often prepared on the floor – as a result rural women develop
more lower body strength than their UK counterparts, which generally contributes to higher physical
function in older women.
38
Bianibazar, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Aunika is 29, and lives with her mother and children in Bianibazaar,
Sylhet Division. This picture shows her using a boti, a type of knife common in Bangladeshi kitchens, to
prepare lak shal, a red spinach-like vegetable with a high iron content. The family has a small patch of land
on which to grow lak shal, and other vegetables like pumpkin and chilli, to help feed a household of 15
people, but it doesn’t provide enough. She would like to take greater care of her health, but this is not always
possible. ‘I don’t have money to feed my children – how can I think of myself?’
39
Bianibazar, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Some years ago Aunika’s husband left her for another woman, and
now she works as a maidservant, earning just 3000 taka (£30) a month. She says her cooking facilities are
not adequate for her family, as, like many poor people in Bangladesh, she doesn’t have space for a kitchen
and is forced to cook outside. ‘It is very difficult to cook in monsoon,’ she says. ‘It would be better if we
had a proper kitchen area.’
40
Central London, UK – Nayima, 51, is a first-generation migrant who has lived in the UK for 31 years. ‘I
came in 1980,’ she says. ‘It was completely different. There were less people (Bangladeshis) at that time. I
used to feel cold, and language was another problem. I could read and write English, but speaking needs
practice. Then I went to an English language school and got a part-time job in another school.’ Now she
complements the family’s income by child-minding from home during the daytime.
She says supermarkets should provide a better range of Halal and Asian food, but there is still more choice
than in Bangladesh: ‘They just eat rice and curry, but there are so many options in the UK.’
41
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Sabina was taught to cook by her aunt, as her mother died when she was very young.
Now aged 25, she lives in Sylhet City with her husband and four sons. ‘I want a separate eating area,’
she says, as currently her family must eat in the kitchen. She has low blood pressure but no other health
problems, and says she is aware of the importance of a nutritious diet: ‘I don’t boil vegetables that much,
to keep their food value.’
42
Wood Green, North London, UK – Bengali cuisine makes frequent use of spices like chilli, holud, dhany and
deera, mixed here with tomato puree to produce a typically ‘Londoni’ blend of flavours. This intermingling
of cultures can be seen in the restaurant trade – in which most British Bangladeshi men are employed – as
many supposedly ‘Indian’ restaurants are owned and run by Bangladeshis, offering a hybrid of traditional
Indian and Bengali food adjusted for Western tastes.
43
Cardiff, Wales, UK – While many women find it hard to adjust to their new life in the UK, for some the
transition is smoother, particularly with the help of friends and family. ‘I felt good in the new environment,’
says Rukia, 55, who migrated here when she was 20 years old. ‘Food quality is better in the UK than
Bangladesh.’ Now she lives in Cardiff with 22 members of her extended family, including her children,
daughters-in-law and grandchildren. In contrast to many modern British families, Bangladeshi families
stick closely together, with several different generations living under one roof.
44
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – A woman working as a domestic servant in the household of a middle class family
in Sylhet City. While food in the countryside is generally cooked over wood fires, in most big cities cookers
are connected to a gas supply. In this way, although ingredients may differ, cooking techniques do not vary
that much from the kitchens of urban, middle class Bangladeshis to those of their ‘Londoni’ counterparts.
45
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Ruby, 20, is studying for a Business Administration degree at a private university. ‘We
have two domestic staff to prepare food, and my mother cooks,’ she says. But outside the home she goes
out with her friends for pizza, burgers and Chinese food, showing that multicultural cuisine is available in
urban Bangladesh as well as the UK. Bangladesh has seen a steady improvement in education provision
for girls, and the rise of Western-style fast food reflects the global consciousness of a growing middle class.
46
Sadatikor, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Asma is 75 years old, and lives in Sylhet in a household of 10 people.
She employs a domestic servant to do most of the housework, and one of her sons does the food shopping
so she doesn’t have to leave the house to go to the market. Three of her sons live and work abroad – one in
the UK, two in Dubai – sending regular payments of money back to keep the family going. Many people
in Bangladesh survive off remittances like this, which are vital to the country’s economy as well as to
individual families.
47
Cardiff, Wales, UK – Anwara is 60 years old, and came to the UK when she got married. ‘My parents, my family,
all were left behind,’ she says. ‘I used to feel so alone. Slowly when my children started to go to school, and
I started to mix with people, I felt better.’ She still struggles with English, however, and sometimes feels
lonely and depressed. She goes food shopping with her daughter every two or three weeks, and sometimes
visits family for dinner, but would like more opportunities to socialise. ‘Markets in Bangladesh are crowded.
Here you see less people.’ Social isolation is a common problem for first-generation migrants, and there
have been calls for government services to provide more community activities, especially for older women.
48
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Najia, 26, lives in a household of 14 people, including her mother, father and
siblings, in one of the sprawling slums of Sylhet City. Although her husband is a plumber, their home has
no running water or sewage system, a common problem in a country where fewer than 40% of houses
have sanitary latrines. Drinking dirty and polluted water causes Najia’s family frequent stomach aches and
outbreaks of diarrhoea – a problem affecting a large proportion of the Bangladeshi population. Lack of
air and light is another complaint. ‘We are asking for a window next to our cooker, but our landlord is not
making it for us,’ she says. ‘There are no windows in the house. We need fresh air, but we are poor people.
What can we do?’
49
Bianibazar, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Tamjida, 55, lives in a small village called Shewla, not far from
Bianibazar. ‘I feel healthy when both my physical and mental health are good,’ she says. Several years ago
she and her husband were both diagnosed with tuberculosis. She survived, but he was not so lucky. The
most prevalent – and deadly – infectious disease in Bangladesh, tuberculosis is transmitted to nearly 500
out of every 100,000 people, and last year killed an estimated 65,000.
50
Moulvibazar, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Jivana, 63, lives in a large house and is happy with her domestic
situation. In terms of health and diet, however, she knows little about nutrition. ‘I am too thin,’ she says.
‘I try to eat more, but I can’t put on weight.’ Bangladeshis have the world’s highest rates of malnutrition,
especially amongst women and children. According to UNICEF, millions suffer from more than one form
of malnutrition, and chronic undernourishment is passed from one generation to the next.
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Cardiff, Wales, UK – A female shop assistant serves customers in a Cardiff grocery store. In the UK it is
much more common for Bangladeshi women to find work in shops, a job that is generally reserved for
men in Bangladesh.
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Thanjina, 65 years old, lives with her son and three daughters. Her son is a professional
football player and the only earning member of the family, but the money he makes is not enough so they
depend upon monthly support from her brothers. ‘Being free of disease means good health,’ she says.
‘Good environment is very necessary for having good health. I think good health depends on our personal
hygiene as well as drinking boiled water. Once I was health conscious, but I can’t maintain it anymore.’
Thanjina often feels ill and depressed, and worries about the future. ‘Our days are over. Now we have to
think about our children.’
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Cardiff, UK – Dilura, 45, moved to the UK with her husband, who migrated 15 years ago to establish a
restaurant in Cardiff. When his business was up and running the couple were joined by their four children,
including Nita, 23, who found work as a sales assistant. Now she has a one year-old son, and is on maternity
leave. ‘I felt excited,’ she says about migrating. ‘It was not hard for us.’ Dilura and Nita often cook and go
food shopping together. ‘In Bangladesh only men can go to the food market, but here we can all go. But
the local Asian shops should be cleaner, and supermarkets like Tesco should have more choice of Asian
food.’ Nita enjoys trying different restaurants, and is especially fond of Arabic cuisine.
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Dhaka, Bangladesh – With all the members of her family squeezed into a single room in Bangladesh’s
overcrowded capital, Saleha, 24, (holding the baby), dreams of a day when she doesn’t have to share a
kitchen with six other families. She would also like a separate dining room, so they don’t have to eat and
sleep in the same space. Her husband is a driver for a local businessman, while she stays in and looks after
the home. She learned about nutrition in school and is trying to rely less on oil and rice, but thinks her
family’s diet could be improved.
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Jaintia, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Gulnaz, 25, comes from the Khasi community and follows the tribal
religion Synteng. She works as a Bengali teacher in a local primary school, and enjoys singing along with
the harmonium, a pedal-pumped keyboard instrument popular in traditional Indian and Bangladeshi
music. ‘Vegetables and small fishes are good for health, but I don’t maintain it,’ she says.
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – ‘Good health depends on my mind,’ says Jui, 53. ‘When my mind is at peace,
I feel healthy. I am satisfied with my health. If you are fat, you have more chance of having high
blood pressure.’ The wife of a retired civil servant, Jui lives with three daughters and a maid. Like
many urban, middle-class Bangladeshis, she enjoys eating in Chinese restaurants, and has learnt
about the importance of nutrition from television and books. She keeps fit by walking regularly and
often cooks together with her daughters, passing her wisdom about healthy eating to the younger
generation.
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Salwa is 25 years old, and married to a Charged Natural Gas (CNG) rickshaw driver.
In a good month her husband can make 3,000 TK (£30), but times are hard at the moment and she says
life is miserable without money. She suffers from chest problems and deteriorating eyesight, after a road
accident last year.
Salwa is eight months pregnant, and conscious of her health. ‘Vegetables are good for health, but we cannot
afford them most of the time because of our unstable financial condition. I am pregnant and I know what
I should eat at this time. The doctor has told me to eat meat, chicken, fish and egg, but I don’t have enough
money to buy.’
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Suraiya, 60, is a widow, and her sons had to leave school when their father died in
order to provide for the family. One works in a butcher’s shop, another in a steel factory, but the third is
deaf so needs to be given extra care and attention. They live in a single room, sharing the house with several
other families, and Suraiya is forced to cook on the porch as they do not have a kitchen. She suffers from
respiratory problems, but says she is otherwise healthy. The doctor told her she should include more fruit
and vegetables in her diet, but fresh produce is expensive, and the family cannot afford them.
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Cardiff, Wales, UK – A Bangladeshi woman prepares paan, a mixture of spices, slaked lime paste and areca
nut rolled inside a betel leaf and chewed for its stimulant properties. Other varieties can include tobacco,
or else sweet fillings like sugar and fennel seeds. Paan is popular as a palate cleanser and digestive, and is
chewed by both men and women, although often women indulge in the ritual more privately. The practice
has health implications: areca nut and betel leaf are known to be carcinogenic, and studies have shown that
the chewing of paan increases the risk of oral cancer.
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – A night-time market selling fruit and vegetables. In rural areas it is common for
villagers to supplement their diet by growing crops of their own, but the urban poor have no land on which
to cultivate food. Fruit and vegetables are too expensive for many families to afford, leading to inadequate
access to important health-promoting nutrients in the diet.
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Rehena, 45, lives with eight family members crammed into one windowless room
in which they must cook, eat and sleep. Their slum has no running water, and Rehena suffers recurrent
headaches and stomach problems. The population of Bangladesh is around 145 million, making it the
eighth most populous country in the world. It also ranks as the world’s most densely populated large
nation, and increasing urbanisation means a higher and higher concentration of people squeezed into
already overcrowded urban areas.
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Borjan Tea Estate, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Rice, the staple food of Bangladesh (and other countries in
South East Asia) is eaten seven days a week, often accompanying more than one meal, and has an absolutely
central role in the Bengali diet.
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Monowara is 48, and lives with her husband, one daughter and two maids. Her other
daughter is married in Dhaka, and her son is studying in a London university. The family’s main income
comes from renting property. Monowara doesn’t need to shop for food, as this is done by her husband or
the maids, and she generally leaves the cooking to her domestic staff. She suffers from diabetes, and tries
to walk every morning to maintain a healthy weight.
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Bishwanath, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – A large collection of pots and pans, known as hari patil in Bengali,
indicates a large family. Shahena, 55, uses them to prepare food for 11 people. The family grows some food
on their own land in the village. ‘We have land to grow food like rice and potatoes,’ says Shahena. ‘Too
much fat and too much thin is not good. Active people have good health. I maintain my food intake. I eat
milk and eggs every day. I have heard about nutrition from my mother and mother-in-law.’
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – TV cookery programmes are highly popular in Bangladesh, and many are broadcast
in the UK via satellite for the ‘Londoni’ population. Programmes like this have become important for
teaching British Bangladeshi women traditional Bengali recipes, and helping second and third generation
families maintain a sense of connection to their homeland.
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Jaintia, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Farideh’s mother Aloka is around 70 years old but, in common with
many women of her generation, doesn’t know her exact age. Birth record-keeping is poor in rural parts
of Bangladesh, and lack of data on age and medical history can have implications for health. For several
years Aloka has been suffering from memory problems, and also has difficulties with walking and hearing,
associated with her old age. Like her daughter, she follows the Synteng religion.
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Jaintia, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Farideh and Aloka live in the Jaintia Hills, which stretch across
Bangladesh’s northern border into India’s Meghalaya State, with their extended family. Despite Farideh’s
own problems with health, she says she is mindful of her family’s diet. ‘When people feel good, it means
somebody has good health,’ she says. ‘I know how to feed when people are sick. I don’t cook food with
pork fat because it is not good for health. I know vegetables are good. Vegetables contain vitamins, which
is good for children.’
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Sylhet City, Bangladesh – Rabeya’s daughter Emara is 19 years old, and studying for a Business degree in
a private university in Sylhet. She describes herself as a moderate Muslim woman, breaking from more
traditional Islamic practice by not covering her hair. She learned about cooking and nutrition from her
mother, the knowledge passed down from generation to generation. With other health issues, however,
she would prefer to use the Internet to find out information. ‘There are some feminine health problems
we cannot share with others, not even with mothers,’ she says. ‘I think information about those physical
problems should be on the website so that we can get some knowledge without asking anybody.’
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