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Journey to Leicester |
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In 1967, my mother, Manju, joined my father in Britain. Although she intended only to stay a short while before returning to India, she remained in Britain with my father as she fell pregnant with my older sister. My mother was highly educated, having completed her MA in Bengali literature at Kolkata University. She had worked as a deputy headmistress before moving to Britain. Despite her experience and qualifications, Manju had great difficulty finding employment. “I called the employment centre the ‘unemployment centre’, because I made many trips there, with no success.”
Manju Bhattacharyya, in Britain, 1968
© Courtesy of the Bhattacharyya family |
This was a common experience of many immigrants, no matter how qualified; they were often forced to take the most menial, low-paid jobs on offer. For example in West Yorkshire, 50-80% of mill workers were South Asian. My mother was no different.
“In Leicester, I found a really tough job on a production line in a factory. I was desperate for work and was prepared to do anything, but it was hard work. I was the only Asian woman in the factory, and I had one of the hardest jobs as a ‘cutter’ (of cloth).”
Manju was determined to become a social worker and gained a place on a BA Sociology course. She graduated in 1975 but it took her until 1976 to find a job. Similar to her husband, she faced discrimination at work in her first job, at a daycentre.
“I felt that I faced racism at work on a daily basis. For instance, even after I had worked there for several years, National Front literature was left on my desk. I was the only Asian member of staff despite Leicester’s ethnic diversity.”
After returning to academic life once more and gaining another MA, my mother got a new job with Leicester Social Services.
Words: Sonali Bhattacharyya
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