Embassy of Bangladesh visits Michigan
Mobile consular services for third-largest U.S. Bangladeshi population
In this edition of Saa Nasta, we’ll be taking a look at how Michigan Bangladeshis are affected by COVID-19, important dates for consular services by the Embassy of Bangladesh, and tips on getting your kids to eat Bangladeshi foods.
If you’re new to Saa Nasta, check out my previous posts about Bangladeshi food and culture here. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @thesaanasta.
Mobile Consular Services
Every year the Embassy of Bangladesh visits Michigan to provide consular services to Bangladeshis for No Visa Requirement (NVR) or notary services related to Bangladesh property. Without the Embassy coming to town, Bangladeshis have to travel or mail-in requests to the central office in Washington D.C.
The Embassy will provide consular services Feb. 26- March 1 at the Kabob House, 11405 Conant St, Hamtramck, MI 48212 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Find out more info here on scheduling appointments.
We’ll be reporting more about how these services impact Michigan Bangladeshis in the upcoming week(s).
Why understanding the impact of the pandemic in Detroit’s Bangladeshi community is more complicated than you think.
by Nargis Hakim Rahman
Growing up in my Bangladeshi family in Hamtramck, I could literally hear someone turn on the shower next door. In the summer months, I could almost eavesdrop on entire conversations taking place through the windows. When I was younger, I remember having to keep the curtains closed at all times because our neighbors could see everything in our home if we left them open.
With homes less than five feet away from each other, often separated by only a narrow breezeway, people are cramped into one or two-story bungalows and two-flats. In some cases, two or three families live in intergenerational households, consisting of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. In addition to focusing on getting good grades, doing chores, and watching over siblings, many younger family members serve as part-time caretaker for their older relatives. Helping with meal preparation, filling out important forms, translating messages from English to Bangla are all common tasks. According to Bangladeshi tradition, it’s the responsibility of the younger family members to ensure that the older generation was unencumbered by undue burdens. In my first few years of marriage, I found myself beginning to take on this role as well.
It wasn’t until I moved to Warren to raise my own family that I could finally draw the curtains and let some light and air inside without worrying about the neighbors being able to peek inside. Our neighbors here are more than an arm’s length away. They tend to keep to themselves. The most we see each other is on the driveway where we exchange pleasantries.
In COVID times, I can’t help but think about this contrast when I look at the alarming number of people in my adopted hometown of Hamtramck who’ve been impacted by the pandemic. In cities across America, Black and Brown residents have been sickened or died at much more alarming rates and under much more dire circumstances by the spread of COVID-19. An inability to social distance — either because of economic hardship or because of cultural norms — a lack of access to reliable information in languages other than English, and a dearth of data available about how specific ethnic populations are hurt by the virus all illustrate the many vulnerabilities that immigrant communities face during this crisis.
Older Bangladeshi women, in particular, are among the most vulnerable to being infected and are also far more likely to be exposed to misinformation because of this reliance on younger generations conveying information, often unverified, to assist with daily life.
With a population of about 22,000, Hamtramck has the largest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases — 1,815 — of any small city in Wayne County, according to county data. The city ranks at 10 in Wayne County, trailing cities that are as much as three times its size. While cities like Dearborn and Dearborn Heights — other largely immigrant communities — have higher rates than Hamtramck, the sheer density of the city is especially troublesome to public health experts. Hamtramck is one of the densest cities in Michigan, making social distancing measures like quarantining alone untenable.
Alex B. Hill, Geographic Information Systems director with Wayne State University’s Center for Translational Science and Clinical Research Innovation’s PHOENIX Project, says Hamtramck has repeatedly shown up as a major hotspot for the spread of COVID-19 in Metro Detroit in 2020, including a sharp spike in early November when cases jumped 13 to 27 percent in just a single week.
“There were weeks where we were like, ‘holy crap, we need to get to Hamtramck,’” says Hill, whose work with the PHOENIX Project involves tracking reported cases of COVID-19 each week throughout the region and uses that data to inform where to send a fleet of mobile testing sites.
In the days following the Nov. 3 election, the Hamtramck City Clerk’s office was closed temporarily after the city clerk and at least two employees tested positive for the virus. In August, Mayor Karen Majewski also tested positive.
According to an interim report published in December by the Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities, as many as 10,700 Asian American Pacific Islanders had a “cumulative confirmed probable COVID-19 cases and deaths in Michigan per million,” between March 1 and October 31, 2020. The task force was created by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office to track and report on these disparities while increasing access to health services.
What statistics do not show are the many ethnicities that fall into that racial category, making it difficult to track how specific ethnicities or nationalities are impacted by the virus. Similarly, while a large portion of Hamtramck’s population is of Arab backgrounds, that number is not reflected in Census data. At least 80 percent of Hamtramck’s population comes from Black or Brown backgrounds. Bangladeshis make up nearly 30 percent of the city’s population and are also the third-largest concentration of Bengali immigrants in the United States. About half of Hamtramck is estimated to live below the poverty line and about two-thirds of adults in the city speak a language other than English. The population is constantly fluctuating as many people move out of town as they move up economically and relocate to more affluent suburbs.
As part of the Journalists in Aging Fellows Program, I will be writing a three-part series in partnership with Tostada Magazine on Bangladeshi older adults, especially women, and how local leaders combat misinformation in immigrant communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for the first in our series in which I’ll unpack how the Bangladeshi community is especially vulnerable during the pandemic. I will also look at how language access plays into the crisis, followed by reporting on the solutions that groups are coming up with to address these disparities.
This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, The Journalists Network on Generations and the Silver Century Foundation.
This story was originally published in Tostada Magazine. It was edited by Tostada Magazine’s co-founder and editor Serena Maria Daniels.
Publisher of Saa Nasta speaks to “Dining for Women”
Nargis Hakim Rahman spoke to a local group of Dining for Women about life in Bangladesh and growing up in the Metro Detroit. Rahman was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh and moved to New York in 1989 with her parents.
Her family moved to Florida and then relocated to Michigan in 2000, when many Bangladeshis moved from New York to Michigan in what’s known as the “second immigration,” for jobs and affordable housing.
Today it’s estimated that 15,000 to upwards of 50,000 Bangladeshis live in Michigan.
In 2008 Conant St. in Hamtramck, Mich. was given the honorary name “Bangladesh Ave.” to celebrate Bangladeshi businesses from restaurants and groceries to clothing stores that opened up shop.
A decade later the Bangladeshi Mural was unveiled on Carpenter St., bordering Hamtramck and Detroit, to honor the growing Bangladeshi population in Michigan. The project was commissioned by OneHamtramck, a group that aims to bring diverse communities together.
The mural commemorates late OneHamtramck board member Abu Hanif, who passed away in 2016 before the mural came together. His family helped organize, fundraise and complete the project in his honor.
Rahman reports on the Bangladeshi population in Michigan. Recently she’s been reporting about Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs in Metro Detroit for the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA). Learn more here.
How do you get people [kids] to eat Bangladeshi foods?
From our Instagram followers:
@maf.ruza: My little one loves lotha (Bengali slimy veggie.) Started liking it on her own!
@kneeleema: I tricked my husband into eating cauliflower by throwing hot sauce on it.
@sabirar99: My mom didn’t expect me to like khasa sana (raw chickpea) salad but I love it.
Weeknight Dinner Ideas
Whether you’re trying to get your family to eat more vegetables, or just need a quick one-pot dinner, here are a few of our favorite meals with recipes and tips!
Ramen: For soup lovers who aren’t able to get that homey feeling of ramen at the restaurants like Ima or Tomo Japenese Cuisine & Karaoke, here’s a quick recipe which I made in 15 min., like by picky eaters and ramen lovers in my house.
Tip: Let the kids who don’t like vegetables use the broth and add instant noodles to give them an add of nutrition.
Recipe: Simple Homemade Chicken Ramen (Fork Knives Swoon)
Chicken Alfredo- Remember ordering alfredo at the restaurant? Well, you don’t have to anymore. It’s a fairly simple recipe with ingredients you may already have at home.
Tip: Keep the chicken aside for those who want the pasta alone.
Recipe: Easy Chicken Alfredo Penne (Tasty)
Arroz con Pollo: What started off as a project from my son’s Spanish class - to cook a Spanish dish and share a picture - became a household favorite. With simple ingredients, this one-pot chicken and rice dish is good for a quick meal with all the basics: protein, carbs, and vegetables. It’s not too spicy but has a pop of flavor with paprika.
Tip: Add red pepper flakes for added 🔥. Add ghee to give it a desi taste for people who enjoy more of a South Asian taste palette. Use chicken breast which cooks faster and is great for bite-sized portions.
Recipe: https://simply-delicious-food.com/arroz-con-pollo-recipe/
Mac & Cheese: While I’m not a big fan of mac & cheese, my kids occasionally enjoy this quick fix of carbs and comfort food. My favorite part of this recipe is it can be made in the instant pot - no boiling pasta separately - and it’s creamy and rich.
Tip: After adding the cheese, cook for another 2 min. on “pressure cooker” setting.
Recipe: Instant Pot Mac and Cheese (The Salty Marshmallow)
Let us know if you’re cooking any of these recipes at home. Tag us at @thesaanasta on social, or #SaaNasta.