FAMILY’S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
Documentary tells their amazing story
A Paisley family will take the starring roles in a new documentary.
The British Council film tells the story of one of town’s first Asian families and their journey from India to Paisley.
The documentary – A Journey Worth 70 Years – looks at how migration to the UK following Partition affected those who later came to the UK, and still shapes their lives.
Aisha Hussain, 29, was scrolling through social media when she noticed an advertisement looking for people to take part in a film focusing on Pakistani communities over the past 70 years.
The lawyer, who had grown up listening to her grandfather’s stories and learning about her family’s ties to India and Pakistan, jumped at the opportunity.
She ran home to persuade the rest of her clan – 83-year-old grandfather Rana Asim Khan, grandmother Manzoor Begum, 80, dad Fareed Hussain, 57, and countless other siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins – to sign up for it.
“There is a lot of us,” joked Fareed, who says he’s delighted that his family’s culture and heritage will be celebrated on the big screen.
“We were all very excited for the opportunity to share our journey.”
At the centre of the story – and the Hussain family – is much-loved grandfather Rana Asim.
Born in India in 1935, Rana was the youngest of six siblings and the family’s only son.
He had a happy childhood but, by the age of 13, he became one of the 10 million people forced to leave their homes in one of the largest migrations in human history.
Muslims who lived in what would become independent India were urged to move to Pakistan, while Hindus and Sikhs who lived in what would become Pakistan headed in the opposite direction.
Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, who had spent decades living side by side, turned on each other in a frenzy of crime and chaos that claimed the lives of more than one million people.
Fareed said: “My father talks about his experience a lot. He has a very good memory and is a wonderful storyteller.
“He tells us about the journeys they took, the months that they had hardly anything to eat or drink and the attacks from the other side.
“Women and children were taken away and they had to go into hiding. It was a very difficult time.”
Not long after Rana settled in east Punjab, Pakistan, he was on the move again.
In 1950, the British Government introduced the Open Door Policy – granting citizen-like rights the people of the Commonwealth – attracting many people from India and Pakistan to move to the UK in the hopes of finding work.
The family arrived in Paisley by way of Yorkshire in 1976 and determined Rana soon set about launching the town’s first Indian restaurant Raja, which is still open today.
Now the hard-working 83-yearold has earned a well-deserved rest and enjoys spending time with his six children, 23 grandkids and seven great-grandchildren.
“We are really proud of the fact we were pioneers in Paisley,” explained Fareed.
“Paisley has always felt like home to us. We are very comfortable here.
“We’d like people here to know more about Partition.
“This film marks the 70th year and it is so important we record these stories while the people who lived through it are still alive.
“It can be really eye opening for the younger generation.”
For more information about the film and how to watch it, got to https://bit.ly/2NDMSxX