As recorded in the 2021 UK census, one in six Bangladeshi residents across England and Wales live in Tower Hamlets, making this London borough’s local Bangladeshi population almost twice the size of the next largest within a local authority. 

Within that, Whitechapel is a major area for the Bangladeshi community, with many local specialist shops providing food from Bangladesh and beyond, such as Mas Bazaar. 

In this recording we can hear the butchers at the back of the shop sawing and chopping meat for preparation in their extensive fresh meat counter and enormous freezer stock. 

Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world’s first collection of the sounds of human migration. 

For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration