Faces in Westminster

was an oral history project documenting the migration histories of early migrants to Central London, managing language barriers, cultural differences and religious obligations. We interviewed them on various struggles and obstacles with adapting their lives and raising a new generation of British Bengalis. In the early stages of this community's integration, Bengali families displayed many hopes and fears of settling in a very different culture. As a research team, we sought to understand how they were empowered, built their confidence and enacted their courage to participate in local community matters, maintaining their own culture and family life whilst balancing it with the demands of a new culture. Our group of 23 young people were trained to collect their memories and compile it all for a physical publication and launch event at the House of Commons.