Running head: ETHNIC ROOTS
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Ethnic Roots
Samit Hassan
Lynn University
11/13/2018
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Part I Background of Self and family
My name is Samit Hassan, and I was born in 29 April 1994. I am Bangladeshi, hailing
from the country of Bangladesh in South Asia. My country shares borders with Burma and India.
I was born in Bangladesh, a beautiful country which has a maritime territory that is almost equal
to the dry land area. The country is rated the eighth most populous country in the world. Our
capital city is Dhaka which is also the largest city. The second largest city is Chittagong which
hosts the largest port in the country (Majumder, Hossain & Nayeem, 2018). Bangladesh forms
the easternmost and most substantial part of the Bengal region, and it holds people from a wide
range of religions and ethnic groups.
The Bengali language is the official language, and those who speak Bengalis make up 98
percent of the Bangladesh population. The Bengali Muslims make the country the third largest
Muslim region across the world as they are politically dominant. Islam is the official religion in
the country. The more substantial part of my birthplaceIs covered by the largest delta in the
world, the Bengal Delta (Bhattacharyya, 2018), and we have 700 rivers besides 8,046 kilometers
of inland waterways. The southeastern and northeastern parts of the country have highlands
which covered with evergreen forests. Besides, my beautiful country has many islands and a
fantastic coral reef. Cox's Bazar Beach is the longest unbroken sea beach in the world, found on
the southeast side of Bangladeshi (Hossain et al., 2016). Besides, this marvelous country also
plays host to the largest mangrove forest worldwide, called Sundarbans. We have an array of
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wildlife and plants forming the country's biodiversity, and this included the Bengal tigers, an
endangered species.
Bangladesh is one of the largest exporters of textiles in the world although is a
developing country and a middle power nation (Mirdha, 2016). My father owns one of the textile
companies in the country called the Silver global fashion. My father is called M.A.H Salim, and
he is 63 years old. He has five brothers and one sister, but I never got to meet his parents because
they passed away before I was born. My father was initially a member of parliament, and after
leaving office, he became an industrialist who owns a textile company. Besides, he has ventured
into real estate and workforce business. He is a first generation rich thus has a lot of money to
take care of all of us. My father pays for everything in my life, and because of his continuous
support, I have never worked. He also supports my mother even though they are divorced.
My mother lives with my elder sister in our other house while my brother, father and I
live in another house. She is aged 57 years, and she has three sisters. I did not meet her parents
because the passed away long ago. My mother is very religious; she prays five times a day and
follows Islam religiously.
Ethnicity and culture are essential to my family because it keeps us together and helps us
have a sense of identity. We are able to identify ourselves with the family and maximize positive
distinctiveness. Ethnicity and culture tells us where we belong and who we are thus building our
self-esteem
Part II Religion, Economy, and Education
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I went to high school in California and currently, I am studying in Florida, Lynn
University. Education is not everything to me as I do not like to study but I do it anyway because
it pleases my father and again, I have to get an education in this competitive world. Some time
back, in 2016, I studied in Switzerland for a while. After school, I intend to work with my father
in his company which he will have expanded. The company makes fabric and clothes for H&M
Zara tom Tailors and other companies in large volumes. I want to join the fabric production line
like my father.
My siblings are well educated too; my sister, named Sahara Salim, who is 42 years old,
took her studies in London. Currently, she is a housewife who lives in Bangladesh with her
husband and two kids. My brother Mehdi Hassan Salim, aged 40, also took his studies in London
and he currently works with my father in the textile company. He lives with my father, his wife
and one daughter in Bangladesh.
My parents are not well educated as their highest level of education is high school.
However, through hard work and commitment, they have managed to give us what they did not
get, a good education. My father insists on education because he believes it changes lives.
Consequently, we have learned how to appreciate and value education in our home. I do not
know the levels of education acquired by my grandparents.
We are a typical family who can afford a luxurious life; the best basic needs, the, and
vacations. My father can be classified among the rich, and that is probably why I am a spoilt kid.
I believe the position of my father as a former member of parliament helped a lot in shaping the
business because he made the right connections while in the government. I love cars, and I own
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a GTR R35 and M4. I love shopping and buying beautiful things. I can afford a good life.
Therefore, I opt to eat out more so because I cannot cook. I do not know how to cook. Our
religion is Muslim, and my mother is the most religious person in the house. We focus on the
Quran, a dogma, and this religion has helped us connect and the community. The teachings of the
Islam religion help us to relate and serve other people regardless of our differences.
Part III Deviance and Social Control
My family experience with the larger society has not been bad. We have been able to
adapt to the culture and norms of the society. Therefore, we do not have cases that would lead us
to have a negative relationship with society. Our family is well off so, we support the less
fortunate people in the society whenever we can. As a result, the larger society appreciates us and
seeks help when they need it. My father’s company also gives people opportunities to get an
income to raise their families and pursue their dreams
Deviance is defined as the violation of set standards, established context, socially
accepted norms and cultural laws (Van et al., 2015). The word deviance has associated with bad
rebellion, but sometimes, it is not the case. Deviance fosters social change when used positively.
Deviant acts are defined based on many aspects, for example, the location, the community, the
audience and the person doing the deviant act. What may be considered reasonable by one
person or institution may be an act of deviance in a different setup, for example, listening to
music via headphones while walking to school is allowed. However, listening to music in class
during class hours is seen as deviance.
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Issues of deviance within our family have not been outrageous. We conform to most of
the social norms, and most of my family members do not participate in activities which may
result in disapproval. However, I become deviant at times and party a lot and, this attracts the
attention of some community members who do not approve of such behavior. They call my
parents to inform them of my ways, and my parents warn me against. In my community, the
consequences of deviance varied with the act committed. For instance, a murderer had a different
sentence from a thief of household items.
Informal social controls are those values norms that have internalized through the process
of socialization. This process can be defined as which a person is born with different behavioral
potentialities. Therefore, the person has led nature the actual behavior into that which may fit in
the acceptable standards for the group (Hirschi, 2017 ).
Formal social controls involve those who have been enforced externally by the
government in order to prevent the initialization of anomie and chaos (Weisburd, Groff & Yang,
2014). Experts say that informal social controls have more significant effects than formal social
controls.
Some of the formal and informal social controls that affected our family include practiced
norms, customs beliefs, and laws based on Islam religion. In the community, people have
internalized the values of the society even without the assurance of doctrines. In the past, My
family relied on informal controls that have instilled in the customary culture. Currently, we also
rely on the formal controls, for instance, the laws set out by the government.
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Formerly, Defiance met with certain sanctions such as ridicule, criticism, shaming
disapproval, and sarcasm. These sanctions were intended to push offenders back to the social
norm (Mclntosh & Tosh, 2018).
How did your family maintain connections to their culture, community, and/or society?
My family continues to keep the connections to culture society and community mostly
through sharing the same beliefs and norms. With similar believes and backgrounds, my family
was able to maintain the best connections with the rest of the community. Following the
teachings of the Quran, belonging to the same religion and keeping tabs on one another went a
long way in ensuring that the family and community stayed together. My family also participated
In social events in the community and ensured that they contributed to the growth and
development of the society.
We avoid conflicts by ensuring that we respect everybody in the community and the case
of disagreements, we ensure that they are checked into promptly.
Part IV Personal Reflections
Conclusion
Based on my ethnic group, occasion, and personal experience, I draw the fact that my
family has developed and changed a lot over time. Although I did not meet my grandparents, I
believe they helped a lot in shaping the future of the family. They taught my parents how to work
hard and pray. Therefore, they became successful. The cycle continues as my parents teach us the
good virtues of life for our success. I will teach the same virtues to my family when I get one.
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Prior to this assignment, I did not realize how much my parents give us their support to
achieve what they did not have for example luxurious things and a good education. I have also
understood that religion has played a significant role in keeping our family together. The
teachings of the Quran form the backbone of the beliefs and norms of our society. This research
has also brought to my attention the division that grew in the family because of the divorce
between my parents. We no longer live in the same house and to some extent; we have lost the
daily connection that would develop if we were all still together.
My emerging identity and belonging will be influenced a lot by my family, the culture
and the community. Some things have changed over time while some will probably remain the
same for a long time. So far, part of my identity has relied on my family, for example, My father
valued education and insisted that we all get it. My elder brother and sister have an education. I
follow in their footsteps whether I like it or not thus influencing my life identity and belonging.
In the future, I intend to join my father's production line, and that has affected my identity and
possession. It has made me not consider other options which might even be better than the
company. My life has also been influenced positively and negatively by the fact that my family
has enough money to afford luxuries. I used to party a lot because I could afford it and many
are the times when I ignored good advice. However, the identity and sense of belonging have
influenced positively, and I anticipate that it will be better with time.
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References
Bhattacharyya, D. (2018). Empire and Ecology in the Bengal Delta: The Making of Calcutta.
Cambridge University Press.
Hirschi, T. (2017). Causes of delinquency. Routledge.
Hossain, J., Mecrow, T., Wills, S., Willims, D., Rahman, A., & Rahman, F. (2016). 818
Effectiveness of sea safe lifeguard services in Cox's Bazar beach Bangladesh.
Majumder, A. K., Hossain, M. S., & Al Nayeem, A. (2018). Assessment of people's perception of
water logging in Chittagong city corporation area, Bangladesh. Assessment, 5(2).
McIntosh, M., & Rock, P. (2018). Deviance and social control. Routledge.
Mirdha, R.U., (2016) Bangladesh remains the second largest garments exporter, against all the
odds. Retrieved from https://www.thedailystar.net/country/bangladesh-remains-secondlargest-garments-exporter-against-all-odds-1255084
Van Gils, S., Van Quaquebeke, N., van Knippenberg, D., van Dijke, M., & De Cremer, D. (2015).
Ethical leadership and follower organizational deviance: The moderating role of follower
moral attentiveness. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), 190-203.
Weisburd, D., Groff, E. R., & Yang, S. M. (2014). Understanding and controlling hot spots of
crime: The importance of formal and informal social controls. Prevention Science, 15(1),
31-43.
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