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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 ( Light) - 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
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.’
1
Wood Green, North London, UK – Hasna, 46, has been living in the UK for almost 20 years. ‘When I fi rst
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 refl ected 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.
2
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.
3
Bishwanath, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Bengali food is traditionally cooked over a wood fi re, 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.
4
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 fi nding work. Bengali
migrant workers fl ock to the construction sites of the Gulf and the Middle East, as well as to the UK and
other European countries. Their families can benefi t 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.
5
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 fi t from a lifetime of physical exercise, they are mostly very poor, and consequently suffer low
nutritional status and a short life expectancy.
6
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.
7
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 fi ve times a day and wearing a hijab. She keeps herself fi t 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.’
8
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 fi sh – both
saltwater and freshwater – plays a key role in the national diet. Much sea fi shing 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 fi shing industry is very important for the country’s economy, and large amounts of dried and
frozen fi sh are exported to the UK to cater to the Bengali expatriate population.
9
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 fi sh
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.
10
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.
11
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.’
12
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 fi ve years old.
‘Foods in Bangladesh are more fresh. Here you have to buy frozen fi shes which sometimes give a bad smell.
The local Asian store should be more clean, and supermarkets should have more Asian foods.’
13
Cardiff, Wales, UK – ‘I didn’t feel good when I fi rst 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, fi rst-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 fi nd 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.’
14
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.
15
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.
16
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 fi sh 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 fi nd 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.
17
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.’
18
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – A wedding party in Sylhet for a ‘Londoni’ family. It is common for second-
generation 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 fi nd 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.
19
Lalakhal River, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh – Freshwater fi shing is as important as the fi shing industry on the
coast, and employs many people on Bangladesh’s vast network of rivers and waterways. On the banks of
the Lalakhal River, fi shermen rest between setting their nets and heading off to sell their catch in the night-
time food markets of Sylhet.
20
Sylhet City, Bangladesh – A night-time seafood market in Sylhet, selling local river fi sh like chapila and ruhi.
The abundance of fresh fi sh 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.
21
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.
22
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.
23
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 fi nd work in shops, a job that is generally reserved for
men in Bangladesh.
24
