Leaving home is often an inevitable part of life. A vast number of Bangladeshis leave their homeland every year to pursue work and higher education abroad. While these expatriates miss "home" every day of the year, they miss it even more during Ramadan, when a festive atmosphere permeates the nation. Most Bangladeshis fast from dawn until sunset, gather with friends and family, and make preparations for Eid-ul-Fitr. We spoke to the Bangladeshi diaspora spread across the globe to learn what they miss and how they observe Ramadan away from home.

Haseen Cherry, Oxford, United Kingdom

Haseen Cherry is a senior scientist and head of applications at Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. She moved to the UK twenty years ago. She recounted her experience of observing Ramadan in Bangladesh.

"Although the holy month of Ramadan was primarily about fasting, praying, reciting the Holy Quran, and giving Zakat, the true essence of Ramadan transcended these practices," she said. 

Cherry recalls that in the early morning, a band of volunteers would walk in their neighbourhood and sing "Sehri-r shomoy holo jaago mumin/ Rahmat er bhaagi hote jaago mumin" to rouse people from their deep sleep. The tune of the Islamic song still lingers in her mind even after decades. 

She also recalls that exchanging iftar with neighbours was a common practice. "Exchanging iftar with neighbours was a daily practice back in the day. I remember running to the houses of our neighbours with trays full of food and making sure that all of it was distributed before the siren from the mosques went off."

However, Ramadan in her life in the UK is not as joyous as she grew up experiencing. Life abroad is busy and often solitary. However, Cherry brings home the joy of sharing a communal iftar by inviting her Muslim friends over to her place on weekends.

Farhan Reza, Shanghai, China

Farhan Reza is a finance professional working at a multilateral development bank headquartered in Shanghai, China. This is Reza and his family's first Ramadan away from home, and he says that he misses the iftar and sehri announcements that play from Dhaka's mosques during Ramadan time. Reza also misses the iftar gatherings with his colleagues.

"In Dhaka, my colleagues and I would have iftar gatherings almost every week. This is something I miss here in Shanghai," he said. 

Unlike in Bangladesh, where there is a special Ramadan working routine, in non-Muslim majority countries, it is life as usual.

"In Bangladesh, you have reduced working hours during the month of Ramadan. Here, it is business as usual, so it is challenging to have iftar at home on working days, especially at this time of the year when the sun sets early," Reza said. 

Fatima Ferdousi, Sydney, Australia 

Fatima Ferdousi is an analytics manager at one of the Big Four banks of Australia. During the month of Ramadan, Ferdousi misses Dhaka's iftar delicacies as well as the iftar time ambience. 

"I miss having chola, peyaju, and haleem for iftar," she said. "Although I try to make traditional iftar items on weekends, it does not happen on a daily basis."

As Maghrib in Sydney is now at around 7.30, which is past the family's usual dinner time, Fatima and her family break their fast with light appetisers followed by a proper deshi dinner.

"For sehri, I just take a cup of milk and a banana," she said. 

"My 11-year-old son, however, likes to eat rice for his sehri, and I think if we observed Ramadan in Dhaka, he would have loved eating the steaming rice that his nanu would have freshly prepared for him," she added.

Ferdousi shared with us how her workplace accommodates Muslim employees; they have separate prayer rooms for men and women and even special arrangements to perform wudu. 

"The prayer rooms at my bank are modelled after the prayer rooms you will see at Malaysian workplaces," said Ferdousi, who lived and worked in Malaysia before moving to Australia a decade ago. 

"My previous workplace here in Australia also had a proper prayer room for its employees," she added. "I think this sort of inclusiveness boosts employee morale and productivity." 

Sabriya Fatema Zahra, Minnesota, USA

A mother of three children, with the oldest one only 7, Sabriya Fatema Zahra is a supermum. Zahra enjoys preparing traditional Bangladeshi iftar items for their fast-breaking meal, which includes lemonade, masala chickpeas, lentil fritters, and vegetable pakoras.

"On some days, I like to add beef or mutton biriyani, haleem, or nihari to the iftar spread," she said. "On weekends, we try to go to an Indian, Pakistani, or Arab restaurant to enjoy iftar." 

Zahra, her husband, and their three children say the Maghrib prayer together during this month of Ramadan. "My husband leads the prayer, and my children love seeing their father in the role of an imam," she said. 

Zahra misses the month-long festive atmosphere that envelops the country at this time of the year. She misses fasting as a community and the delicious Ramadan delicacies sold by iftar vendors.

"I also miss Dhaka's Eid shopping scene, when shops and malls across the country are bedecked with string lights, festoons, streamers, hanging swirls, and whatnot, adding extra joy to Eid preparations," she said.

"Here in the US, I also miss Bangladesh's long Eid holidays, and I miss visiting my grandparents, uncles, and aunts to exchange Eid greetings," she added. 

However, in her new reality, thousands of miles away from Bangladesh, Zahra tries to observe Ramadan and celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr in her own way. Surrounded by her three children, she decorates the house with Ramadan and Eid-themed décor to bring holiday vibes to her home in America.

"We also prepare iftar platters for our Muslim friends and neighbours to share the joy of Ramadan. We visit malls with friends to buy Eid clothes and arrange a mehendi night the day before Eid," Zahra said.

The Bangladeshi diaspora misses the tantalising aroma of masala chickpeas, crispy lentil fritters, and warm, moist jilapi that wafted across the house at sundown. They miss the melodious voice of the local muezzin and his call to Maghrib prayer, and they miss gathering around the dinner table with their families to break fast with bites of Arabian dates. However, life goes on; they gradually adapt to their new surroundings, observing Ramadan in their own unique ways.