Kee Khobor Stories
Kee Khobor will feature blogs, poems, vlogs and podcasts. The reflections will be shared publicly throughout the year, with our official launch on 26th March 2021.
The various identities of the Bengali community in the UK will be explored and celebrated. We will facilitate an open exchange of ideas and give voice to views, some of which may otherwise not be heard.
The project will leave a legacy that provides stewardship for future generations to not only have pride in their identity but to own it and derive strength from it, and give younger people who may be struggling the confidence and opportunity to belong to something wider.
The reflections will provide an opportunity to look ahead to the future development of the community and not only stay relevant as a community within a changing society but be inspirational to the development of wider British society.
A woman who is changing her world through law, art and her children
She was the first in her family to go to university and allowed by her dad to live away from home. This was a big ask of a man from his generation and background, but he believed wholeheartedly in her. She felt she was leading the way, not only for her younger siblings but for the Bangladeshi community that surrounded her. Like her father, she was willing to go against the expectations that the world had on them. Together they were brave and pushed boundaries.
Unashamedly Bangladeshi
Being the last commonwealth cohort to arrive certainly put us at the bottom of the pecking order and a smaller build from the other South Asian communities meant that we were easy targets. Growing up, we had to learn to defend ourselves or run. My understanding was: if you run you would have to do that all your life. I chose to stand and fight when I was able to.
Remembering 1971: Bangladesh’s Year Of Tragedy And Triumph
Aminul Hoque’s story.
1971 acts as an emotional, cultural and political reminder to both older and younger generations of British-Bangladeshis of a motherland that exists both in memory, but also culturally and physically.
When I Speak Bengali
Mohsina Alam’s story.
I wish I could tell my 14 year old self that there are no standards you have to meet to belong to a culture… 50 years from now, I hope to see more successful Bengali women in the public eye.