Courtesy of Zetecs
BBC Wales has recently launched a series of documentaries exploring the landscape of multicultural Wales. Each 30-minute piece charts the journey of integration and discovery of one particular ethnic or religious group. Part 1, entitled White, Welsh and Muslim, tells the story of two brothers, Omer and Stuart Williams, both converts to Islam who insist they feel Welsh and Muslim wherever they go. Viewers also get the chance to witness the birth of Wales’ first white Muslim.
Hijabs and Hairdos, the second in the series, follows the story of Farrah Illahi, an ambitious Pakistani businesswoman and mother of five. And as if that’s not enough, she somehow finds the time to question her cultural identity in this, a lighthearted look at life in two seemingly conflicting cultures.
The next instalment, Chips and Chopsticks furthers the debate around whether or not its possible for an eastern culture to harmonise with a western one. As the title suggests, there is a lot of food involved, so too are there a lot of interesting ideas for viewers to themselves digest.
Part 4, Jacek’s Welsh Road Trip was, I found, the least enlightening of the series. One man and his clapped-out Rover take on Wales in a bid to find the perfect place to settle down – Personally I think I’ve saved you half an hour of wholly uninspiring television.
I found Dolybollywood, the most recent documentary a little thin on content too. A nice tale of Mayur Verma‘s efforts to bring Bollywood glamour to the people of tranquil Dolgellau. However, no mention of the many challenges faced by immigrants in rural Wales, and as a result no real message to be gained.
