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This essay considers the function of the grotesque mode in Rawi Hage’s novels Cockroach (2008) and Carnival (2012). The grotesque is an artistic form with which Hage draws attention to the predicament of the class of poor and disadvantaged new immigrants in contemporary Montreal. He thereby offers a recent immigrant’s unsettling, ex-centric perspective on the Canadian multicultural ideal that proclaims the acceptance of ethnic and racial difference.Formal aspects that generate a grotesque effect include the first-person narrator’s self-image, his disruptive discourse of resistance, his disorienting view of urban reality, and spatial metaphors in the context of the protagonist’s social alienation and marginalisation. Influential theories of the grotesque, introduced by Mikhail Bakhtin and Wolfgang Kayser, help to describe recurrent shifts in the literary text from “the carnivalesque” to “the demonic grotesque”. In addition, Julia Kristeva’s related notions of “the abject” and “semiotic discourse” throw light on the sense of fear and repulsion felt towards the urban poor, and on the protagonist’s deliberate identification with vermin in the context of his discourse of resistance.Even though the underprivileged migrant is able to answer back, Hage’s novels are devoid of true regenerative and liberating power. As soon as the literary carnivalesque shifts towards the demonic grotesque, the narrative gives prominence to the migrant’s isolation and socio-economic outsider position. Nonetheless, the grotesque mode, being typically associated with flux and the rupturing of boundaries, does function as a powerful tool with which the author depicts the recent immigrant as an individual with an indomitable spirit.

Objectives A population survey was conducted in an urban shantytown in Bangladesh, as a baseline study of future epidemiological studies. This paper aims to describe the findings of the study, including the population profile and residential environment of the urban poor. Methods We conducted a complete count household survey in an urban poor community in Dhaka. Using a brief structured questionnaire in Bengali language, trained interviewers visited each household and asked questions such as: duration of residence; ownership of house, toilet and kitchen; water supply; number of family members; age, sex, education, occupation, tobacco use, and history of diseases of each family member. Results We found that there were 8604 households and 34,170 people in the community. Average number of household members was 4.0. Most people had access to safe water, but only 16% lived in the house with a toilet. Based on the proxy indicators of household wealth levels, we identified that about 39% were relatively well-off, while the rest were very poor. Tobacco use was prevalent in men regardless of age and in women aged over 35 years. Prevalence of self-reported hypertension and diabetes was slightly higher in women than in men, although over 70% of the respondents didn’t know if they had such diseases. Incidences of diarrhea in the last one month were relatively low. Conclusions The study showed population profile and sanitation environment in an urban poor community by a complete count survey. We expect the study to serve as a baseline for future epidemiological studies.

ObjectivesThis study aims to describe the prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors among the urban poor in Bangladesh.DesignWe conducted a community-based cross-sectional epidemiological study.SettingThe study was conducted in a shantytown in the city of Dhaka. There were 8604 households with 34 170 residents in the community. Those households were categorised into two wealth strata based on the housing structure.ParticipantsThe study targeted residents aged 18–64 years. A total of 2986 eligible households with one eligible individual were selected by simple random sampling stratified by household wealth status. A total of 2551 residents completed the questionnaire survey, and 2009 participated in the subsequent physical and biochemical measurements.Outcome measuresA modified WHO survey instrument was used for assessing behavioural risk factors and physical and biochemical measurements, including glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). The prevalence of NCD risk factors, such as tobacco use, fruit and vegetable intake, overweight/obesity, hypertension, diabetes (HbA1c ≥6.5%) and dyslipidaemia, was described according to household wealth status and gender differences.ResultsThe prevalence of current tobacco use was 60.4% in men and 23.5% in women. Most of them (90.8%) consumed more than 1 serving of fruits and vegetables per day; however, only 2.1% consumed more than 5 servings. Overweight/obesity was more common in women (39.2%) than in men (18.9%), while underweight was more common in men (21.0%) than in women (7.1%). The prevalence of hypertension was 18.6% in men and 20.7% in women. The prevalence of diabetes was 15.6% in men and 22.5% in women, which was much higher than the estimated national prevalence (7%). The prevalence of raised total cholesterol (≥190 mg/dL) was 25.7% in men and 34.0% in women.ConclusionThe study identified that tobacco use, both overweight and underweight, diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia were prevalent among the urban poor in Bangladesh.