The Migrants Table

To most of us the food that we associate with home-our national and familial homes-is an essential part of our cultural heritage. In this book, Krishnendu Ray examines the changing food habits of Bengali immigrants to the United States as they deal with the tension between their nostalgia for home and their desire to escape from its confinements.

To most of us the food that we associate with home—our national and familial homes—is an essential part of our cultural heritage. No matter how open we become to other cuisines, we regard home-cooking as an intrinsic part of who we are. In this book, Krishnendu Ray examines the changing food habits of Bengali immigrants to the United States as they deal with the tension between their nostalgia for home and their desire to escape from its confinements.As Ray says, "This is a story about rice and water and the violations of geography by history." Focusing on mundane matters of immigrant life (for example, what to eat for breakfast in America), he connects food choices to issues of globalization and modernization. By showing how Bengali immigrants decide what defines their ethnic cuisine and differentiates it from American food, he reminds us that such boundaries are uncertain for all newcomers. By drawing on literary sources, family menus and recipes for traditional dishes, interviews with Bengali household members, and his own experience as an immigrant, Ray presents a vivid picture of immigrants grappling with the grave and immediate problem of defining themselves in their home away from home.

This comprehensive Handbook provides an in-depth analysis of the nature of East Asian economic integration alongside thoughtful insights into contemporary issues, such as agricultural development, structural transformation and East Asian trade, alongside skills and human capital development policies of ASEAN. Contributors also provide detailed explanations on trade, poverty and Aid for Trade, institutional reforms, regulatory reform and measuring integration.

This book describes the worrying scenario that reflects the urgency and importance of dealing with the situation of environmental migrants, especially considering that the environmental migration crisis is already greater than the migratory crisis due to war refugees. The first major problem in this environmental context is that there is no specific rule in international law to address this issue. In the face of this problem, far from exhausting all possible solutions on the theme, this book intended to plant a seed of reflection, based on an analysis of the current legal and political context, and outlining the possible paths to follow. New living conditions demand a paradigm shift in the human lifestyle, changing thoughts and attitudes at the individual and group level as reflected in national and international policies. It begins with the notion of conscience and interdependence. It begins, above all, with the notion of empathy and solidarity, understanding that tomorrow it may be one of us that needs this help that we are denying today.

Living and working in a host country is challenging both for the host country as well as for the incoming migrants. Therefore, integration activities are essential for easing the transition. This book examines various practices of integrating migrants in European countries from national, organizational and individual perspectives.