Safe Guarding Culture/Advice for Next Generations
Waseema Azfar
In terms of what aspect of Asian Culture is in danger of being lost, for people who are living Britain now:
“Honesty I think. Yeah…they say we’re…we know the religion. But I think they’re making a…they’re going against it, put it that way. To me, to me what they’re doing is wrong. There’s all this fighting over…and mujahideen (term used generally for one engaged in the “lesser” Jihad, i.e. in the promotion or defence of Islam. Current popular usage refers to those who take up arms in this context), and this and that…where does it say in the Qur’an? I haven’t read it. I don’t know. I don’t agree with them to tell you the truth. It’s my opinion. Yeah…(honesty) it’s gone. It’s gone.”
Sufia Choudhury
“First thing I think the next generation are going to lose their mother tongue. This is my concern – they are going to lose their mother tongue. Because my grand-daughter, we have three grand-daughters, we try very hard to talk mother tongue but they do understand but they give you (the) answer in English. It’s really a shame, tho’. We always talk to them in mother tongue, but they give you the answer in English…
So the only thing I think is that the mother tongue is going to vanish soon…“
Advice for future generations:
“I would say, the first thing, because in this country there is a really good facility to do higher education, in Bangladesh it’s really expensive, and then…so, get a good education, and respect elders and even the youngsters, and then try to, you know… and I said about mother tongue…try to speak mother tongue, because we’re nearly going to lose our mother tongue. That’s it – and don’t forget your own culture, wherever you go take your culture with you, and don’t lose your identity, your religion as a Muslim. Yeah, our identity as a Muslim.”
Mazhar Hussain (Urdu)
“Aghar Ghalti hui hai, maafi maangli, tou uss se izzath bharthi hai, kamm nahin hoti.
(If a mistake has been made, you’ve asked for forgiveness, then from that your respect grows, it doesn’t get less.)
Theek hai bacche ek dusron ke saath mazaaq karte rehte hain. Unke shayad… ghalti kar jaate hain, par kaun nahin karte?
(Okay, children make fun between themselves. They maybe make a mistake, who doesn’t?)
Bahray bhi kartain hain aur, chotay bhi kartain hain, laikin usko realise kar latain hain, some stage, aur us ko crack kar layna wo sab se barri…, taleem wo hai.
(Adults do, and younger ones do too, but they realise at some stage, and they crack it. That is the biggest… that is education.)…
Bilkul, uss ko realise kar layna. (Absolutely, to realise this). At some stage you can say, that was wrong. I said this wrong, I did it wrong… ho ja’ae (becomes). A big achievement. Maafi maang layna.” (You ask forgiveness).
Samina Hussain (Urdu)
“Bilkul, Barron ki jo experience hai unse learn karo.
(Exactly, learn from the experience of the elders.)
Uss mein jo khaamiyan hain, unko aap correct karlo, jab aap karo usko, tou.
(The shortcomings they have, correct them, when you have done so in yourself.)
Laikin aap barron ko na shuroo ho jao… ke aap main ye… khaamiyan hain, aap ne ye kharabi ki thii, aap ne vo kharabi ki thii.
(But don’t start on your elders and say that you have…these short comings and you did this wrong and did that wrong.)
Kyon ke barre jo hain, wo aap ne hisaab se chalte hain. Aaj ka daur jo hai different hisaab se chalte hain . Laikin, I’m sure ke jo bhi kaam jo kar raha hota hai, wo sahi kar raha hota hai. Bura nahin chahta, aghar banda bura nahin hai tou.”
(This is because the elders follow in their own ways. The people of today follow in a different way. But, I’m sure that whoever is doing a job, they are doing it in a good way. If a person is not bad themselves, they wouldn’t intend to do it badly.)
Mohammed Ishaque
“No people are free to do whatever they like, within the, within the law, so there nothing in danger. Now look at this, I go out in this, by my own clothes (Mr Ishaque was wearing traditional Asian shalwaar kameez, long tunic and baggy trousers) nobody bothers. They’re used to it now, in old days it was a bit difficult, because there was no environment in those days. Now they have created an environment. When used to be when a, you know in Blackburn used to be a takeaway or restaurant you know in those days. They used to put their finger on…, they close their nose, it’s bad smell. Now they are eating raw garlic. (laughter)
So they go on weekends for eating here now. So we, what Asian people have done is they have created an environment for these people. There’s no such things of hatred or anything like that now. It’s a part of life now.”
Advice for future generations:
“You know the things have changed now all together. This is time of automation, you know that everything is, are now different things are invented and we have to go. We have to train our youngsters now. Don’t waste your time, don’t mix with the bad people. Get the good education, look for the Chinese and Japanese. They gone to the really top now. We can compete with them as well. So all my grandsons, and granddaughters they gone to grammar school…
I want them to have a good education. Because there’s no manual jobs any more. And if they are get any jobs there’s no money for them. So I will advise them to go to get the good education. Don’t waste your time, make the time valuable, you know.”
Aslom Miah
“I like to tell community as a whole, doesn’t matter where, which land, which country they’re born (in), they must go for education. Education is most important, education is the backbone, and then after education they can do what they like…but I would always help and advise and tell everyone, in the village, in the Rawtenstall community, everyone that that the future of children is education. Whether you’re starving, no money, doesn’t matter – get help and support from somebody, then educate your children. Doesn’t matter worrying about…as I said we found girl(s) is very intelligent, even in our village – I checked 4 years ago when I went there, and it’s a big change now. …Education is most important to anybody, it doesn’t matter poor – or rich…and once you get education, knowledge, you’re able to work, you’re able to get a job.
But if you have no knowledge, no education – even if you’re 7 foot tall, a big man – sorry (looking at Bob) (laughter) there’s nowhere you can get a job. You don’t have to wait for government, or Tony Blair, or this, that, you know…and again you have to stand on your own feet, and if you don’t try…you’ll never get anything. So this is what I would like to say, and I would like to finish on that.”
Farida Munir
“Yeah I would not like to lose my own language, the language is very important even though I know everybody can speak in English. We were used to speak Punjabi, Urdu in Pakistan, we can speak English no problem. The people who have been born here they obviously learning English, but I think our parents should speak their home language to their children and tell them about their culture. Tell them what our culture says, what the bad thing what, my idea is get the good of things from any culture, and ignore the bad thing. I know every culture has a bad and good thing. I won’t say you know we have all the good things, …European, English or western they haven’t got a good things no. If they have good things accept them, and follow those good things and if they have a bad thing ignore them. That is my, I always keep telling my children. You know you are going to university, you are going to go out, and parents are not going go out with you. You should know which is good and which is bad. And by the age of that you should know which is bad a thing, always accept those thing which is good.”
Luai Ullah (Bengali)
“Oy tho otha koy jubear reh koi. Tume thain leka for heko, mai zela heksoin
tumi oth heko. Bafe ze kam kora. Bafe kosto korer. Dekrai ne bafe soko. Bafe sobesh gonta kam korer. Time.
(Oh for Jubear (grandson) and them I say. You all write learn like how your mother has, you learn like them. The way your father is working, the way he’s working hard are you seeing it. He’s working twenty four hours.)…
Time amda o kam korsi. O tumi thain balan motho sola fera kor you, otha.”
(We also worked. You all be good, live with good, this is it.)