Patel talks about emigrating from India [OH847]
Patel [P]: I came in this country 18th of October 1972, yeah.
Soni Kaur [SK]: And how did you find that journey?
P: Journey was comfortable, we were welcomed here in this country by the government as refugees, so we came to resettlement centre and slowly and slowly we settled here. But that is all now – all useless now. I am grateful to the British government, that we were welcomed.
SK: Okay, and how did you find settling in England, how did you –
P: Settling was a little bit difficult, but ultimately I found a way.
SK: What was difficult about it?
P: Registration.
SK: What was that sorry?
P: Was – my problem was registration in this country. Without registration I was useless.
SK: And how was finding work here in England, how was that?
P: Difficult. The first job was the most difficult, afterwards there was no problem.
SK: And what was your first job?
P: First job, was a doctor in the hospital. Junior doctor in the hospital. Was junior, at age of forty-three, I was working as a doctor who was twenty-three, together with, is my colleague. So twenty years difference.
SK: And what hospital was that, was that in Bristol?
P: But what?
SK: What hospital was that, in Bristol?
P: That was Coventry.
SK: So when you came to England did you come straight to Bristol or did you go to somewhere else?
P: No, I went to Bradford-on-Avon, no firstly resettlement centre, and then I [inaudible 00:01:48] small flat in that Bradford-on-Avon, near Bath. From there my family left there, I went to Coventry to work, but it was difficult job to get it, because it was the worst junior job, and my education was a gap of twenty years, junior doctors, new education, mine was old one, this was difficult situation.
SK: And where – what part of India did you come from?
P: Gujarat, [inaudible 00:02:29].
SK: And did you come along, or did you come with your parents?
P: I came with our family, with four daughters.
SK: Oh right, so you were already married in India when you came?
P: I was married in India, and went to East Africa, from East Africa we came here.
SK: And had you studied there as a doctor, or did you study here as a doctor?
P: I studied in Bombay, practised in Uganda, so Uganda I came here. And then slowly and slowly I settled.
SK: And what was the most difficult thing here in England?
P: Beg your pardon?
SK: What was the most difficult thing in England?
P: It was difficult to find a post, for a job, I just – it’s the most difficult for me to find the first job.
SK: And how about in –
P: Because nobody would employ me, the senior doctor was supplied to employ me, was younger than me.
SK: And why do you think that is, why would they not employ you?
P: Because I was older than them, and more so there’s a gap of education. Different ed – this country has got in twenty years’ time, the lot of things in medicine, unfortunately I was not in Uganda, I did not keep up with the education for the education levels, developing for this country. I knew about that country. The whole system was different.
SK: And what about integration, how about integrating here in England with English people, how did you find that?
P: I don’t find it really, I was –
SK: Was it difficult?
P: If you expect too much this is a problem. In situation, human nature. It’s different, we are not – in India in our own culture we are not integrated. How we expect to be integrated here, are we integrated in India? Have you been to India, yeah? Are you integrated yet, no, how do you expect me to be integrated here? It’s the wrong expectation.
SK: Yeah, and what do you – do you miss anything about India?
P: I just say I lived in India only for study, up to age of twenty-four, after twenty-five I’m out of India.
SK: And what was your role, what did you want to achieve here in England, why did you come?
P: My goal to live in there was to get money, for everybody for the same goal [laughs]. And we left India because we found that there’s better prospects to earn money in Uganda, because our country didn’t have many doctors.
SK: Thank you.
P: Thank you.
Soni Kaur [SK]: And how did you find that journey?
P: Journey was comfortable, we were welcomed here in this country by the government as refugees, so we came to resettlement centre and slowly and slowly we settled here. But that is all now – all useless now. I am grateful to the British government, that we were welcomed.
SK: Okay, and how did you find settling in England, how did you –
P: Settling was a little bit difficult, but ultimately I found a way.
SK: What was difficult about it?
P: Registration.
SK: What was that sorry?
P: Was – my problem was registration in this country. Without registration I was useless.
SK: And how was finding work here in England, how was that?
P: Difficult. The first job was the most difficult, afterwards there was no problem.
SK: And what was your first job?
P: First job, was a doctor in the hospital. Junior doctor in the hospital. Was junior, at age of forty-three, I was working as a doctor who was twenty-three, together with, is my colleague. So twenty years difference.
SK: And what hospital was that, was that in Bristol?
P: But what?
SK: What hospital was that, in Bristol?
P: That was Coventry.
SK: So when you came to England did you come straight to Bristol or did you go to somewhere else?
P: No, I went to Bradford-on-Avon, no firstly resettlement centre, and then I [inaudible 00:01:48] small flat in that Bradford-on-Avon, near Bath. From there my family left there, I went to Coventry to work, but it was difficult job to get it, because it was the worst junior job, and my education was a gap of twenty years, junior doctors, new education, mine was old one, this was difficult situation.
SK: And where – what part of India did you come from?
P: Gujarat, [inaudible 00:02:29].
SK: And did you come along, or did you come with your parents?
P: I came with our family, with four daughters.
SK: Oh right, so you were already married in India when you came?
P: I was married in India, and went to East Africa, from East Africa we came here.
SK: And had you studied there as a doctor, or did you study here as a doctor?
P: I studied in Bombay, practised in Uganda, so Uganda I came here. And then slowly and slowly I settled.
SK: And what was the most difficult thing here in England?
P: Beg your pardon?
SK: What was the most difficult thing in England?
P: It was difficult to find a post, for a job, I just – it’s the most difficult for me to find the first job.
SK: And how about in –
P: Because nobody would employ me, the senior doctor was supplied to employ me, was younger than me.
SK: And why do you think that is, why would they not employ you?
P: Because I was older than them, and more so there’s a gap of education. Different ed – this country has got in twenty years’ time, the lot of things in medicine, unfortunately I was not in Uganda, I did not keep up with the education for the education levels, developing for this country. I knew about that country. The whole system was different.
SK: And what about integration, how about integrating here in England with English people, how did you find that?
P: I don’t find it really, I was –
SK: Was it difficult?
P: If you expect too much this is a problem. In situation, human nature. It’s different, we are not – in India in our own culture we are not integrated. How we expect to be integrated here, are we integrated in India? Have you been to India, yeah? Are you integrated yet, no, how do you expect me to be integrated here? It’s the wrong expectation.
SK: Yeah, and what do you – do you miss anything about India?
P: I just say I lived in India only for study, up to age of twenty-four, after twenty-five I’m out of India.
SK: And what was your role, what did you want to achieve here in England, why did you come?
P: My goal to live in there was to get money, for everybody for the same goal [laughs]. And we left India because we found that there’s better prospects to earn money in Uganda, because our country didn’t have many doctors.
SK: Thank you.
P: Thank you.