Migration is transforming the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. For over seventy years, migrants have come to Britain in search of work and education and the fruits of their labour have impacts throughout Sylhet. Through remittances, investment, education, marriage and family the region, once part of the British Raj, has undergone a cultural and economic metamorphosis unique in Bangladesh.
Ninety percent of the UK's half-a-million British-Bangladeshis are Sylheti. In the 1960s and 70s the British Government invited foreign workers to the UK's mills and factories. Thousand of Sylhetis accepted the invitation. As the economy changed some opened Indian-style restaurants. There are now 12,000 of these restaurants in the UK of which 10,000 are Sylheti-owned. They generate billions of pounds in profits some of which are invested, donated or sent as remittances to Sylhet. The British-Bangladeshi community is now in its forth generation and is involved in many types of work and walks of life.
Money generated in Britain is critical for the Sylhet's economy and many families still rely on remittances from their relatives in Britain. Shopping centers, hotels and restaurants have grown to cater for so-called Londonis on their regular visits. The countryside is dotted by Londoni mansions that provide a striking testament to the success of some migrants. Every year Londoni charity has affected the lives of thousands through education and healthcare.
Most Sylhetis in Britain have never lost their link to the region while aspirant migrants still view Britain as an route to betterment. As young Sylhetis dream of a British education, British-Bangladeshi parents send their children to schools in Sylhet to reinforce their sense of a Sylheti-identity. Marriages between Sylheti and British Bangladeshi maintain the familial link between the two communities; with brides and grooms moving too and from both countries. Britain is transforming Sylhet and Sylhet is transforming Britain.
In the words of eleven Sylhetis, this audio-visual documentary tells the stories of weddings, politics, marriage, religion and schools to offer a view of the unseen face of British-Bangladeshi migration and its impact on Sylhet.