'Being x Bangladeshi'
In this edition of Saa Nasta learn about a new show on BBC Three featuring UK’s Bangladeshis, and find out how Bangladeshi older women learned about COVID-19 and got through the pandemic, and a farm prepares for Eid Al-Adha.
BBC Three features ‘Being British Bangladeshi’ show
UK-based comedian Ali Shahalom is hosting a new show on BBC Three called “Being British Bangladeshi,” where he features and interviews famous British Bangladeshis, from British TV Chef Nadiya Hussain to MP Rushanara Ali, the first Bangladeshi elected to the UK Parliament.
Shahalom says being British Bangladeshi is many things representing an intersectional identity, from “speaking Bangla and English in the exact same sentence,” to “eating rice and curry for mains and British chocolates for dessert.”
What does it mean to be Bangladeshi American?
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Halal Pastures Farms provides an organic Eid Al-Adha experience
Diane Aboushi and her family set out to eating halal and organic food -something that was hard to find. That’s why she and her family decided to purchase a 14-acre plot of land and create it. Aboushi says she was inspired to eat better after reading a book about the fast-food industry. Now the family provides a unique experience for those in New York who wish to hand slaughter their own animals for Eid Al-Adha, while teaching others about Eid traditions. Read it at the Haute Hijab Blog.
Bangladeshi older women lean on family, doctors and social services for pandemic assistance
Last year the pandemic brought upon panic to immigrant communities, who often had to learn about the virus second hand, through family members, social media, and not in real-time as the CDC published information in English. While the CDC did translate much of the materials in multiple languages, a lot of the newer information was not translated immediately.
Many Bangladeshi older women are the caretakers of older parents. While some of them were learning how to take care of themselves and their families, they also had to look out for their parents who usually live in the same home.
I spoke to Shelly Begum* and her family to learn about some of the things they struggled with during the pandemic, as part of the Journalists in Aging fellowship with the Gerontological Society of America.
I also researched resources we have for Michigan Bangladeshis, who may struggle with language access, information translated in a different dialect of Bangla, and finding people to speak to during the pandemic — and looking at New York’s social services as an example of what’s working.
Read the stories at TostadaMagazine.com.