ABSTRACT

This article examines the issue of ongoing transnational tensions and disputes around land and property ownership that the members of the British-Bangladeshi diaspora are encountering in rural Sylhet, their origin region in their home country. While the existing literature on transnational communities documents migrants’ land-purchasing and house-building practices in their country of origin, too often in a celebratory way, the material disputes and tensions that arise from these investments, and their effect on transnational personal, familial and social relationships, have yet to be exposed. For British Bangladeshis, these disputes are rife and in some cases are being articulated through intimidation and even violence. My research suggests that these evolving phenomena of land and property disputes threaten to disrupt the transnational relationships that were established and maintained by one generation after another.

摘要

本文探讨了英国-孟加拉侨民成员在家乡锡尔赫特农村遇到的围绕土地和财产所有权的持续跨国紧张局势和争端问题。虽然现有的关于跨国社区的文献记录了移民在其原籍国的土地购买和房屋建造实践，但往往以庆祝的方式，这些投资引起的重大争端和紧张局势，以及它们对跨国个人、家庭的影响和社会关系，尚未暴露。对英属孟加拉人来说，这些争端很普遍，在某些情况下是通过恐吓甚至暴力来表达的。