11/5/08 In Our Opinion

This Saturday, Hamtramck will come together and celebrate the Bangladesh community.

Their story is an extraordinary one and also a very American story. The community, which straddles Hamtramck and Detroit, has grown explosively during the 1990s. Bengali business owners transformed Conant from a seedy section of town filled with empty storefronts to a bustling market avenue that seems to run 24/7.

Hamtramck has also been infused with energy from this community and has added another layer of diversity that makes this city so unique.

On Saturday, four honorary signs will be placed on top of the existing Conant street signs. A ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. at the corner of Conant and Caniff.

Bengali immigrants came to Hamtramck for jobs and affordable housing. They are the latest wave of immigrants to come to America to better their lives. America was built by immigrants and continues to rely on immigrants to grow.

During the past 10 years we have seen an increasing interest in the Bengali community in local politics. And just like every immigrant group that came before, that emerging political awareness has created factions and division.

That divisiveness reared its head in the planning of Saturday’s ceremony. While we can understand some of the frustrations we have heard, the divisions too often spill out in public and show a deeply divided community.

Too often the fighting has hampered the community from moving forward. While it may be human nature for emerging immigrant groups to slug it out – politically speaking – this division is only serving to weaken the community.

Much of the fighting is totally unnecessary. While we are proud to celebrate the Bangladesh community, we suggest that the Bengali community learn to come together before it tears itself apart.