Bangladeshi migrant associations in Italy: transnational engagement, community formation and regional unity

Abstract

Referring to the case studies of two cities in Northern Italy, this article seeks to understand how Bangladeshi migrants use associations to seek transnational "ways of belonging" and "ways of being". It analyses how this transnational attachment to their home country has played an important role in building their own "community". The findings reveal that Bangladeshi migrant organizations work to maintain "transnational ways of belonging" by enabling migrants to retain their cultural roots; this is reflected in their observation of festivals, national days, and other practices and rituals. Although, as a relatively new migrant community, they do not share as many economic links through these associations as many other "diasporic" organizations, migrants widely express a sense that these economic connections are with their country of origin. However, there is competition within the community based on regional origin, as well as have many ambivalences and contradictions.

El islam en el espacio público de los barrios multiculturales del sur de Europa: el caso de Lavapiés, Madrid

“…La literatura española sobre la diáspora bangladesí y el papel en la misma de las comunidades islámicas es muy reciente y escasa (Martín-Saiz, 2019;Méndez, 2019;Salguero, 2018Salguero, , 2019Salguero y Hejazi, 2020), no así con otros colectivos nacionales de mayor implantación y arraigo, como el marroquí. En cambio, en los estados europeos donde el colectivo bangladesí tiene una dilatada trayectoria, ha gozado de una mayor atención, como en Reino Unido (Eade, 1996;Eade y Garbin, 2002Dench, Gavron y Young, 2006), Italia (Priori, 2010(Priori, y 2017Della Puppa, 2014;Morad and Della Puppa, 2018) y Portugal (Mapril, 2012(Mapril, , 2014(Mapril, , 2016(Mapril, y 2018. En ciudades como Roma, Lisboa y Londres se observan dinámicas generales que también se observan en Madrid, como la concentración residencial de población bangladesí en barrios muy multiculturales, como Lavapiés, donde residen casi la mitad de los 6.288 connacionales censados, superando a otras nacionalidades de tradición islámica como la marroquí, que, pese a ser la mayoritaria en la capital, y en España, en el distrito Centro ha quedado significativamente mermada por una tendencia residencial centrífuga hacia el área metropolitana y municipios del sur como Alcorcón, Móstoles, Fuenlabrada, Getafe, Leganés o Parla (Eguren y Fernández, 2011, p. 236).…”

“…Tampoco son un grupo cultural homogéneo. Sus integrantes proceden de distintas provincias, como Sylhet, Faridpur, Narayanganj, Barisal o Chittagong, y como en el caso italiano en el que existe una competencia dentro de la comunidad basada en el origen regional (Morad y Della Puppa, 2018), ello se traduce sobre el tejido asociativo local en varias agrupaciones informales de carácter regional, pues las "distintas etnias y dialectos o giros dialécticos dentro del bengalí, que suponen rasgos muy característicos" son "uno de los factores que sirven para diferenciar a la población y saber su lugar de procedencia", según fuentes municipales (Camacho, 2013, pp. 5-6).…”

Multiple Migration and Use of Ties: Bangladeshis in Italy and Beyond

“…In their seminal studies, Morad & Gomba c (2015) reveal that a high proportion of Bangladeshi migrants in Italy maintain strong social and symbolic ties with their family members, relatives, friends and neighbours in their local area of origin. These relationships are maintained by sending remittances home, visits home, regular communication and showing a strong transnational way of belonging, forming associations for retaining their Bangla identity by celebrating national days and taking part in cultural programmes (Morad & Gombac, 2015;Morad and Della Puppa, 2019). Our study suggests that the migrants kept alive their transnational social ties with their family members, friends and relatives whom they left and who live in their home country, by remaining in contact through regular visits and communication (Glick Schiller et al, 1995;Vertovec, 2003).…”

Banglascapes in Southern Europe: Im-mobilities, emplacements, temporalities

“…Despite the crucial role and importance of Southern Europe for Bangladeshis, and a growing body of literature on Bangladeshi migrants in countries such as Portugal (Mapril 2010;2014a;2014b;2019), Spain (Zeitlyn, 2006;Martín-Saiz 2017), Italy (Della Puppa 2014; King and Della Puppa 2020;Knights 1996;Knights and King 1998;Mantovan 2007;Morad and Della Puppa 2019;Priori 2010;2012a;2012b;Quattrocchi et al 2003), or Greece (Fouskas 2012;Kassimeris and Samouris 2012), there is still no comparative approach looking at the impact of the different national and city contexts on our interlocutors' experiences, nor at the connections (economic, political, religious, ritual, among others) which they have created between different European countries in the past decades. This special issue brings together scholars who focus on different features of Bangladeshi migrations in countries such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, with the aim of accounting for the intermeshing of Southern European destinations and routes into the worldwide dynamics of im-mobilities.…”

“…Similar dynamics, characterised by fractures and conflicts between associations -which take place along regional lines or personal differences -and political groups' struggling for community recognition, often supported by Italian institutional actors, have taken shape within other Bangladeshi communities in Italy (Mantovan 2007;Morad and Della Puppa 2019). In the case of the Bangladeshi community residing in the Province of Padua, the Shaheed Minar 5 is the result of a particular closeness and synergy between the traditionally politically left local government of the municipality of Cadoneghe -in which the main migrant community is by far the Bangladeshi one -, and the 'Bangladeshi Association' which has managed to hegemonically impose itself with respect to intra-community associations.…”