Here to Stay was a year-long oral history project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and hosted by Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre in 2005.
Here to Stay project booklet
Over 130 interviews captured the memories of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani people who came to live in Tameside, in their own words. Most interviewees talk about their family and early life, migration to the UK, along with their work, home life and community involvement. Interviews were recorded in whatever language the interviewee was happy with (including Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Pothwari, Punjabi and Urdu) but almost all have been transcribed into English.
The oral history project also collected related material, including photographs and family or business papers from many of the interviewees. Original minidiscs are held at Manchester Central Library; with duplicate transfers on CD and summaries and transcripts for almost all of the interviews held at Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre.
English language playlist created by one of our volunteers, Isaac
Working for Tameside Council as a social worker, and dealing with changing English attitudes.
Dealing with the English weather and the smog after living in Uganda.
Entering an arranged marriage, the process of calling his wife over to the UK, and his wife's difficulty adapting to life in the UK.
Celebrating Diwali and other festivals, watching Gujarati films, and going on holidays.
Subject didn't feel like his race was a barrier, on the lack of further education, and the lack of Indian foods available.
Renting out a hall to celebrate Hindu festivals, his involvement with the Indian Association.
Description of being escorted from the airport by the British Consul personnel to Leeds University, the cold weather, and deciding to stay.
The cultural problems of raising children in UK, being supported by his wife, and on seeing the UK as home.
Gujarati language playlist created by one of our volunteers, Uma
Kantibhai talks about how he was living with his brother and how at that time there weren't many houses in Ashton. His brother's house had four bedrooms, which at the time were all full, meaning that Kantibhai, his brother, and his sister-in-law had to sleep in one room - an arrangement which continued for six months. After seven months his wife arrived from India, and so his brother gave him one of the rooms for just them. His wife then became pregnant and so they had to buy a house. Kantibhai bought a small one-bedroom house from his friend for £175 in cash. Then they lived there and their first son was born.
Interviewer asks Kantibhai about how he would communicate with his relatives in India. He replies saying that they would write letters, as it wasn't commonplace to own telephones at that time. As the Indian calendar is different to the English one, the interviewer asks Kantibhai how he would find out what days Hindu festivals were on. Kantibhai replies saying that there was no way for them to know at that time. He goes on to explain that at that time, they could only shower once a week for half an hour in public baths for fifty pence. The access that they had at that time was limited, and so communication with their relatives was difficult; there was no way for them to know what was going on all the time in India.
Paliben explains how they had three months to leave Africa. As their passports were British, the British government brought them to England. They were only given fifty pounds per family. They were not allowed to bring any of the money they had in the bank in Uganda, or the Mercedes car they had - nothing but the clothes they were wearing.
Interviewer asks Paliben about what the houses were like when they got them. She replies saying that their house was old, dirty and didn't have any facilities because people used to live in it and they had ruined the house. The house was big but the people who used to live in it didn't take good care of it, so Paliben and her family had to work very hard to clean it. One day they came and were looking at how nice Paliben's family had made the house. Paliben's family asked them what they were looking at and they told them that they used to live there and that Paliben's family had made the house up very nicely.
Maganbhai talks about how when came to England the weather was very bad. He says that it would get very cold and there was also a lot of snow, whereas now it no longer snows that badly. There also used to be a lot of fog, meaning that it would get dark at three or four o'clock; it was difficult and you had to be careful. He mentions how there was no central heating at that time either. They would wear huge coats, gloves and big boots to work. He says that the weather has generally improved a lot since then.
The interviewer asks Maganbhai if when he came here he went to explore places; holidays, day trips, do touristy things. He replies saying that he did, as they had the Shree Bharatiya Mandal, an organisation that is still running today. At that time they didn't really have their own cars, so the Shree Bharatiya Mandal would organise everything. They would do trips to the seaside, to North Wales, and other places, and then they would get everyone together to travel on two coaches, and we all used to go with the Shree Bharatiya Mandal, and we would have a great time.
Maganbhai talks about how they would celebrate Hindu festivals together as a community. Even from when they first came to the UK, when it was Diwali they would have a proper celebration with lights in their houses, sending and recieving Diwali cards between friends and family. The Shree Bharatiya Mandal would also hold a Diwali function on the day which was very fun. They would also make special dishes like ghughra, chevdo and kharkharia. The interviewer then asks Maganbhai if they had Gujarati calenders at that time, so they could know when the Hindu festivals were. He replies saying that they did have them from India, but also people would tell each other about which days the festivals were on. Many people would take the day off work so that they could celebrate.
Ambaben talks about how she found a job at a cotton mill when her husband was ill, and how there were plenty of other Indians working at the mill. The interviewer asks her how she got the job and she explains that her husband worked the night shift there, so when he became ill they gave her a job there winding. She tells the interviewer that she worked there for six or seven years, she would work eight hours a day and she would earn seven or eight pounds which was a great wage at that time, in 1968.
Interviewer asks Ambaben about how she would get Indian food supplies. Ambaben explains that they coud get some, but they were all in tins, so they would get these tinned foods and other vegetables such as cabbages. She explains that there was a shop there in Ashton ran by Dhansukh Bharti, so from there you could get some flours and things. It was a lot harder to get your hands on green vegetables used for Indian cooking at that time.
The interviewer asks Ambaben about how she would find out what days Hindu festivals were on, as the Hindu calendar is very different and follows the moon. Ambaben tells her that she would get a Gujarati calendar so she would know when the different dates were. They would get them imported from India and they would be available at Bharti's shop.
The full-length interviews will be available at Tameside Local Studies and Archives Centre in due course. You can read the full descriptions online at the British Library’s Sound and Moving Image catalogue. The British Library collection reference is UAP015. The local reference is TOHP/.
