Mohammed Hansdat

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Mohammed, whose parents hail from Gujarat in India, is a Gloucester resident and apart from his years at university, he has lived in the city for most of his life. He graduated from Royal Holloway College (University of London) with BSc (Hons) in Physics and is now a member of the IT support staff at a software company in Cheltenham.

He has been a youth worker with Gloucestershire County Council's Youth Service; a role that included enhancing the confidence of young people with outdoor adventure activities and fun sports.

Mohammed has traveled to several Middle Eastern and European countries on his own and with friends. He personally knows two of the interviewees. Mr Surty and Mehmoud Patel, who is, in fact, a close friend. Meanwhile colleagues at Gloucestershire Social Services introduced an enthusiastic Mr Shariff, who wholeheartedly supported the Ethnic History Project. Sadly, Mr Shariff has passed away since the interview. He will be sadly missed by his friends and family.

All project members were selected for their particular ethnic and cultural backgrounds. A suitable background would allow for easier rapport with prospective interviewees. Mohammed's parents bequeathed the language and cultural sensibilities particular to a Muslim Indian society. Therefore, Mohammed as the interviewer, is an ethnic Indian whose first language is English and whose religious belief is of Arab origin.

The project aims to address important questions purely from a personal perspective. Why would young men and their families travel far from home to a strange land, away from friends and family and reside in a strange culture? Yes, there are economic reasons but it was still a sacrifice.

The Ethnic History Projects seeks, in a modest way, to record the narratives of a few of these migrants. Their stories may surprise you! There is a wealth of detail, not just of their countries of origin, but of England itself, as the participants recall their memories, to paint a fresh view of England.