Set of photographs #7

Commentary from Participant

I am from India. I am a doctor. When I first thought about coming to Northern Ireland, my aunt said, ‘My God don’t go there.’ As if a bomb is dropping every five minutes.

We came in 2002. It was a big shock to the system. There was no induction programme. The weather was very cold and we had no car at the start. We experienced a lot of isolation. I was the only brown person among my colleagues. I was left behind if people went for coffee. In India juniors [junior doctors] are not supposed to ask questions. I felt like a Junior, even though I had many years of training and experience. I was homesick. Other Indians helped to make us feel at home. I never thought my patients were white. I love to serve my patients, I did not think of their colour. We felt the loneliness even more because my partner and myself were on shifts, we never saw each other, we just wanted to get to bed, we were so exhausted.

After the first year, we began to develop friendships at various levels. In India, after the third time of meeting, people come to each other’s houses for lunch or dinner. We tried the same thing here. We never got any response back after we had hosted the meal. During the Diwali Festival it is customary to exchange food [The Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major festivals celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. The festival usually lasts five days and is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November). One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism.] I would bring a big plate to neighbours. But they would just take the plate and say ‘Bye, bye’.

In spite of my long training, my qualifications are not recognised. It is very unfair. I am paid as a Junior doctor, and have only the status of a Junior, even though I am working at Senior level. I did exams here as well and in each case, the fee was £1000. That is a lot of money.

When we first came, it was a difficult time. There were no Indian shops, we had no social life. We went to the Parks, I love nature.

1. The first picture is of a rose.

2. There is another photograph of a plate of Sago salad. Things have improved.

3. I spent ten years training in India, ten years here. Racism is there, but it is subtle. People would stare at you. They are curious. There is a lack of awareness about other cultures. When it comes to a Senior post, white colleagues get it. I experienced this many times. Ultimately, I did get a post.

I have good and bad experiences. I love my NHS. There are good things, patients don’t have to pay. That is a blessing. The NHS has been good to me and my family.

4. 5. The photos of the cats. The cat adopted us. Like a child, it was a great kind of comfort. He was always there when I came home, waiting for me. He played a big role. He was like a family member. That is his son, in the other photograph.

5. The picture features the NHS rainbow which featured during the Covid Pandemic. It was really scary. All the ‘thank you’s’ from the public were very good.

6. This is a very old fashioned hospital, like the hospitals at home in India. It is old style, creaking doors. I like it.

7. These are medical journals. I did a Fellowship in Pain Medicine. It would be good if India and the UK could recognise each other’s qualifications.

Participant 3 & 4, ‘Fees for international students are very high.’

Participant 1, ‘Like Participant 8, I worked in the Public Sector, my experience is the same. I was talking to some Fillipino nurses a couple of years ago and they are experiencing the same thing , they struggle to get any promotion and they get the s*** shifts.’

Participant 8, ‘Yes, I know the Filipino and Indian nurses. They are confined to the lower bands. They are not allowed to go to study days, so skilled but...

Participant 1, ‘It is the clients, the patients that you work for. These problems are invisible. Talking about them is so important.’

Participant 3 & 4, ‘I spoke to someone here about poverty, they could not believe it.

Participant 8, ‘BME minorities were more affected by discrimination. There was a meeting – people had so much to talk about, many told of being bullied or harassed and their objections were brushed away. Now there is a BME group in the Trust. One of the things that is close to our heart is bereavement leave. It takes so long to even get to India. We did get them to offer longer bereavement leave.’

Participant 3 & 4, ‘That’s what inclusion is all about.’

Participant 8, ‘We treat all patients the same.’

Participant 3 & 4, ‘Change has to come from the top.’

Tess, ‘But change is mostly driven by people at the bottom. Those who have power do not easily give any of it up.’

Participant 8, ‘It would be great if we had a citizenship visa for our parents. The UK is not very fair or friendly. Many of our parents have aged a lot, they are struggling and we can do so little to help because we are so far away.’

Participant 1, ‘I failed to get appointed on 17 different occasions. It is like any form of abuse, you think at the start that it is your fault.’