Set of photographs #26

Commentary from Participant

I have not only included things from my perspective but from the perspective of my friends and family. Maybe it looks like there is a lot of exclusion here, but being able to express inclusion was a step forward.

1. The first one is celebrating Eid. Somebody has said that an alternate for Christmas decoration is not available. There are not many decorations for Eid. People are not able to celebrate together. Those wee decorations are from the year last or the year before, because of Covid. If these were put on social media, and the information made available, it will help neighbours [who are British or Irish] understand. We could even have neighbours over. These are wee sweeties, they are not Pakistani sweets, they are Maltesers.

2. This picture shows a high-rise building. It was brought to my attention, as a place for housing refugees and many people arriving here are placed in working-class or poor areas and not placed in middle class or upper-class areas. But the natives will get housing in better areas [though many poor people from here live in the high-rise buildings and other substandard housing].

3. This is from BBC news and is about the fire at the BMCA [Belfast multicultural association]. It was a hate crime. When there are walk-in mosque events for people to learn about the religion, they are vulnerable to attack. Unfortunately, there are many attacks, and they make us feel excluded. Even in Ballymena, a Facebook page was made, they want to destroy Muslims, and point out our different attire, there was a certain name being called.

4. This is the police. Racial profiling does happen. I do have male relatives. And they have lovely cars, it happened to them a few times. They have been stopped and questioned more than others I suppose. My relatives have darker skin colour than me. In an environment where that happens, it saddens me. You hear on TV you think it happens elsewhere, but when happens to you, you feel that you are less than a Ballymena person.

5.This is an advertisement for food. But you cannot get halal food in Ballymena. You can’t go to the supermarket. There are vegetarian options but there are no halal ready meals available. You might want an easy meal and just put it in the microwave. But I have to prepare the food from scratch.

6. It is difficult to get traditional clothes. We have to go to Birmingham or London to get them. We have to buy a plane ticket to get the dress, let’s say for a wedding. Online is available now but the return is a problem. There is no shop in Northern Ireland that caters for traditional clothes, every bride gets excited about the dress, but it is not available here. There are no tailors in Ballymena.

7. This is a tape and spool. It is symbolising the fact that there is no professional tailor. I wear western clothes, but my mother and grandmother would wear Pakistani clothes and they would struggle to find the clothes and to prepare them. My mother had suits, like shalwar kameez [Shalwar kameez is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia. Shalwars are trousers which are atypically wide at the waist but which narrow to a cuffed bottom. . . The kameez is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams are left open below the waist-line, which gives the wearer greater freedom of movement Shalwar kameez - Wikipedia]. My aunt would have to cut the suit down and was handed down to me from my mother.

7. This is a radio. I am not only coming from a Pakistani background, but we are Muslims too. We are not even represented on the radio here. If they hear us, they won’t fear us so much. We do a lot of good, but those good things are not highlighted. The news show negatives rather than anything that is successful.

8. Next is, a big dining room, there are no venues to cater for Muslim events such as marriages. Like halal food. For example, my cousins want to get married here. One of them got married at Belfast castle. We had to get our separate caterers as food is what everyone looks forward to at the weddings. People who prepare food and are in the food business should offer food options for Muslim events.

9. Islamic literature is not readily available, and we would have to go to Birmingham to get stuff. There are no literature shops. When I was a teenager, there were not many websites that would do Asian stuff but now you have the option of online. The shops would help people understand. We cannot even find out about our own backgrounds.

10. This symbolises the clothes you have to order online. I am kind of happy we can order things online, but at the same time, you can’t go down the street and get these things.

11. The next one is a plate, prayer mat and literature. Little decorations, like a prayer for the house.

12.This is the Government building, Stormont. There is no representation of Muslim people [or people of colour] and if we are given a voice and then we won’t feel this excluded.

13.This picture represents a jug for washing yourself (after using the toilet) is very important in Islam. The other object is for holding bakhoor [wood chips soaked in perfumed oils], to make the house smell lovely.

14. This is to demonstrate that you cannot get halal fast food. You can’t take your kids to MacDonald then you only have the options of fish burgers and chips. There are no halal butchers in Ballymena. We are not represented in the local newspapers either.

15.’ My name is Muhammed’; when people hear the name Mohammad, the person faces discrimination, maybe at a job interview, the person won’t get the same job as their counterparts. They face exclusion in their job interviews and workplaces.

16.This is the prayer room; it is one picture itself. We do wudu before prayer, we clean ourselves with water everytime we use toilet. In Pakistan, the church bells go off, and then the call for prayer will go out. And the Pakistani Christians would attend that church.

17. Nowadays, there are times allowed for prayer. In the Protestant school which I had attended, they didn’t entertain the prayer space or prayer time.

18. This is Castle Court and Victoria Square, shopping centres in Belfast. . In Belfast, Muslim people would be rushing home to do the prayers, because in the shopping centres, there is no such facility available. Inclusion is not as easy in public spaces.

19. This represents diversity. Translation and interpreting services are brilliant. Then people can access it. It wasn’t available 30 years ago or in Pakistani languages. But it is great that it is now available.

20. This is the food I was served when I was in. They gave me samosas for lunch and for dinner. And this was halal food. It was brilliant for inclusion. And, of course, HP sauce – with everything [a popular brown sauce]. I spent 10 months in hospital. You don’t think until it is part of your life.

21. This is the Belfast Mela. It is all about inclusion, it is a cultural festival that includes many cultures. You are mixing with people from different traditions. It happens once a year and it should be happening more. There are people wearing traditional clothes, so you don’t feel an odd one out as there are others wearing their traditional clothes.

22. Paracetamol [painkiller]. The hospital pharmacist was more culturally sensitive, and he told me that the medication given to me is all halal. The gelatine did not come from animals. And I was not aware, but the pharmacist saw my mother wearing the scarf and guessed that I am a Muslim.

23. Here are hotdog sausages and sweets. I found them in B&M bargains. When I saw them, I saw the halal label which is very rare to find in Ballymena. It hasn’t reached our small town. I emptied the shelves when I saw the halal Haribos.

I put a post up on Facebook to showcase what people have told me. When there is inclusion then there is no discrimination. If they see more of us doing good or on the radio, I am sure they would have normalised it.

Participant #14, ‘I thought the presentation was very confronting. Forty years ago, I adopted a Colombian child and the nurse shouted out, ’Is the father also a Columbian?’ In Holland people are getting more discontented, they want to blame. So you have to stick up for yourself. The police came to the door because my child had got into some trouble and their attitude changed when I opened the door as a white woman.‘

Participant #29, ‘I had to hit daily markers – how many people they stopped, how many from other cultures. It makes you feel subhuman.

Participant #14, ‘ I have lived in Africa. One child Black, the other White. They asked where I had stolen the Black child from.’