MIGRATION
Pakistanis in Watford
The first multimedia exhibition exploring the history, experiences, and lives of Pakistani migrants in Watford, Greater London
Background
Before we can dive right into the exhibition, there is something that needs to be clarified. Firstly, Pakistani migrants didn’t just come flooding into the UK out of nowhere, neither did any other South Asian migrants or African and Caribbean migrants for that matter. You see, a long time ago many white Europeans decided that they wanted control, quite a lot of control in fact, over chunks of Asia and Africa. Empire, as it is more commonly known, established these trans-continental links which, in the case of the British Raj (British rule in India), resulted in the movement of Indians into Britain and Brits into the Indian Subcontinent. And yes, when I say Indians here, it refers to Pakistanis and Bangladeshis too, since it was the Partition of the Indian Subcontinent in 1947 that created the separate nations.
So, if one thing is clear then, it’s that it wasn’t just after the Second World War that Britain saw the influx of those pesky foreigners coming in to take all of the jobs. They'd been doing that for centuries. Practise makes perfect, I say.
What we can say for certainty, however, is that the end of World War Two in 1945 and, more importantly, the end of the Raj in 1947 saw the rise in migration into England by members of the “New Commonwealth”, which included Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis. These communities had to start afresh, building their social networks and professional lives from scratch across the country, seeing a particular appeal in the textiles and steel industrial cities of the North, such as Bradford, Sheffield, and Birmingham. As a result, migrant history there has been well-documented, or at least it is more tangible, with a walk down Manchester’s Wilmslow Road able to immerse you in one of the best reconstructions of Pakistan…in England. Honestly, I’d recommend it for a life-defining out-of-body experience. But in all seriousness, down south, obviously discounting Central London as the hub of cosmopolitanism, you have Southall, AKA ‘Little Punjab’, Luton, and then…nada.
An estate agent in Southall with signs in Punjabi and Urdu (1967).
Nasta, Susheila, Asian Britain: A Photographic History (London: The Westbourne Press, 2013)
A (not so) distant cousin of Luton, my birthplace and home, Watford, has grown and changed in demographics just in my two decades of living there. I have grown up seeing the construction of convenience stores and restaurants to suit just about every culture on the planet (only a slight exaggeration). Really and truly though, if you need a Romanian bakery, Turkish barbers, Afro-Caribbean mart, Italian delicatessen, Portuguese bar, or Afghan bridal wear, all you need to do is head to Watford’s Market Street – a hotspot which has rapidly developed and diversified in just the last ten years or so. And with Pakistani migrant parents of my own, it’s safe to say that I’ve been subjected to my fair share of tales about their lives when they first came here, at a time that any migrant, let alone a Pakistani, was a rarity in Watford - ha, imagine?!
Whilst in Luton it's known that many Pakistanis migrated to find employment in car and engineering factories, it’s a little more unknown as to why Watford became such an attractive prospect for families, especially given its healthy Pakistani population now. Regardless, it’s safe to say that the mid-60s onwards saw the onset of Pakistanis settling into the town; they set up some of the best corner shops, ran the local halal butchers and greengrocer’s, drove the locals from A to B as part of their cabby duties, and taught the Watfordians to love chicken tikka masala – the true and authentic taste of Pakistan. Bon appétit.
All things Watfordian
BASED ON 2018 STATISTICS FROM THE WATFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL EQUALITY ANALYSIS REPORT
97,767
RESIDENTS IN WATFORD
17.9%
IDENTIFY AS ASIAN OR BRITISH ASIAN
8th
LARGEST ETHNIC GROUP ARE PAKISTANIS
3rd
MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE IS URDU
It’s the everyday experiences and lives of Pakistani migrants coming from humble beginnings that I hope to share with you, so get ready to dive into some pretty funky family photographs, objects and mementos, audio interviews, and all things from the archives in the following few pages. Whilst flicking, or clicking through, take a minute to remember the stories you may have heard from your parents or the life you yourself experienced in Watford, and other similar small towns across the UK, from the late 60s onwards. These stories may resonate with you and these photos may very well be taken from your own family albums, so I urge you to consider the value of understanding shared experiences with those around you, whether they were born in your birthplace or not.
And...remember to hover over the CULTURE VULTURE cards when they pop up every now and again, so you can leave with some top-notch Urdu language skills to impress your neighbours and workmates.
If you're feeling spontaneous, you can now start navigating the toolbar at the top of the page to leaf through the various items in the exhibition. Or if you'd prefer a more structured approach, click the button below!
GET IN TOUCH
Did you like what you saw in this exhibition and want to leave some feedback?
Do you have ideas for any other topics which I could explore in a digital format?
Or...have you found the picture of Kevin Keegan visiting the Watford sewing factory which my mum speaks about in her interview (part 6)?
If yes to any of these, please do let me know by getting in touch!