https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j A conversation involving education. en-us 2020-09-27 14:29:17 UTC 2020-09-30 05:22:38 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f91d.png saleems9 https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/782411149 As a south Asian I wanted to know how many other minority groups feel the way I feel about the distance between living away from my heritage and having to be taught more on it. It's ok if you don't want to mention what gender you are, it would however help with my research.

To write how you feel, in the right corner there's a plus. as soon as you start writing the message is displayed on the board, there is no save button so don't worry, it will just show up so you can click off it.

Please do not feel pressured into saying anything, this is really a topic of discussion and just having a conversation about how we feel is important. I want there to be more awareness of it. By all means stay anonymous when you discuss. 

Thank you for contributing to the conversation, I really appreciate it!]]> 2020-09-27 14:30:33 UTC https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/782411149 saleems9 https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/782420578 I've only grown up in Britain so I've always felt a big gap between me and my culture. There were some things i was taught that came from my heritage but realistically that isn't enough. I always felt like a foreigner to my culture. No matter how much I would learn about Pakistani life, i know that there will always be a gap. It makes living as a British citizen more difficult because I'm not 100% British, like i say i am south Asian so it isn't so simple for me to live in Britain the same way many white British people do. I have to be more conscious of what I'm doing, how I'm looking, where I'm going etc. I'm sure some of that also stems from being a female but i know a part of it is simply just from being a British Pakistani. I remember as a child feeling like an outcast for wearing traditional south Asian clothing to school. I felt extremely out of place, i was asked questions as to why i was wearing what i was wearing and it has always stuck with me. I feel like those are the moments that really added to my anxiety and continue to with having to find the balance in being a British Pakistani. I would say I'm quite lucky to have not experienced much prejudice or racism compared to others living in Britain, there were the occasional moments of ignorance and insults being thrown at me for being myself, but these experiences only add to my desire to fix these issues. Now an adult, I am seeing it all in my favor, granting me the strength to initiate something big; a huge educational conversation that can keep going until we get the messages around the world and ignite change. ]]> 2020-09-27 14:40:58 UTC https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/782420578 https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/782480939 So, I’ve lived in Pakistan my whole life and so has my father but I’ve still felt a disconnect from Britain and British culture because of my ethnicity. As a child, I was somewhat unaware of the Asian Muslim stereotypes because I went to schools with mostly Asians anyway, however as I grew up I started to experience passive racism and discrimination and of course, I’ve seen this behavior on TV but to experience it in real life is a whole other matter. When these situations occurred I never knew what to say because as both a female and an Asian I didn’t want to overstep my ‘limits’ per se but I regret that now because the only way to change people is to speak up about their unacceptable behavior. In all honesty, it makes sense that a lot of British citizens are racist since the prime minister himself has a disregard towards us too - he forced most of Lancashire and places densely populated with Asians to have a local lockdown a day before our Eid and now, when the cases have been rising he has been considering lifting lockdown for Christmas!? Where was this generosity when it came to our celebrations? If Boris Johnson had cancelled Christmas the day before the whole of England would be raging and their rage would be taken seriously, unlike ours when it came to this. I didn’t mean to turn so political but these are just my personal experience and opinion. Asians are treated really badly by most of the ignorant, British population. I know an Asian male that was called a rapist by a white girl as a joke because he ‘looked like one’. These ‘jokes’ are not simply jokes but they’re laced with racism and prejudice and it is silence that makes people think that this behavior is acceptable. To conclude, living in England as a British Pakistani Muslim is not easy but that doesn’t mean change cannot happen - if we speak up and challenge such behavior we can genuinely change minds and help people to see their disgusting behavior towards the same people who’s jewel The Queen wears in her crown. As if the oppression caused by British people in the past wasn’t enough, it has continued through generations and into the present - I will not back down, I will not hide my religion or my culture, I won’t tolerate any other racist behavior and I speak until there is proper change in both attitudes and opinions. ]]> 2020-09-27 15:50:32 UTC https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/782480939 https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/785999826   Being a British Pakistani has been something that I’ve struggled with throughout my whole life but wasn’t aware of the struggle up until pretty recently. When I was younger I was so proud of being Pakistani I would wear the beautiful traditional happily and love the food. But when I hit secondary school it changed. From going to a majority asian school to one more heavily weighted by white students I definitely felt a sense of otherness. People would make racist and stereotypical comments and it wasn’t always obvious if they were ignorant or trying to make a joke, either way they never funny. I used to straighten the life out of my hair to try and fit on more and there was hardly any asian clothes is my wardrobe. I hung out with a lot of different groups of people and a lot of them where white. Although I was not in touch with my culture at that point at all I still felt a feeling of otherness and they would constantly make me feel like I had to explain my culture in a patronising was. I think people are so used to being racist it’s not even that obvious anymore.

Anyway I’m the type of person to always think and question myself I used to go home and cook asian food with my mum and watch asian dramas and it felt good and I started to realise that this was my identity not just the part I played when I was at school. I question why I was so ashamed of being who I am. The media definitely doesn’t help and the ignorance of white people certainly didn’t. The truth is you can never truly fit into this box that was never really made for us we will never be British enough no matter how much we ‘intergrate’  and honestly our culture is so much more rich than it seems so much history they don’t want to tell us.  Being a British Pakistani is like a live hate relationship with yourself.]]> 2020-09-28 21:24:52 UTC https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/785999826 https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/790288038 I was born in my native land but I’ve lived in the uk for 15 yrs, I was raised here but still was taught a lot of my mother land culture. This really helped understand it when I do go back to visit. It’s honestly not that difficult in a normal situation, it’s fine to be so far away because I get to miss them so much so when I do finally go back to see them it feels amazing. However, I believe the most difficult thing is when someone I know and am close to is sick I can’t be there for them, I can’t hold their hand I can’t show my love, yes I can call and text but it’s not the same as being there. So in that sense being so far is horrible. 
In terms of missing out on the culture, we do activities that ppl do in my country and eat the same food, we also are able to bring those foods back home and enjoy them months after. ]]> 2020-09-30 05:22:38 UTC https://padlet.com/saleems9/btwc71s3ab6m8e2j/wish/790288038