This oral history project captured the lives and experiences of three refugee communities in Manchester. The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Education Trust works with young people and educators to celebrate and share black history, culture and experience. They identified that the experience and lives of refugees and refugee communities in Manchester had largely gone undocumented.
Interviews were recorded with members of the Kurdish, Somali, and Afghan refugee communities, about their experiences of fleeing their own countries and making a new life in Britain. The interviews were used to create an exhibition about people’s life stories, and a pack of teaching materials for schools and adult education.
During the project, the Trust was supported by Refugee Action, the Manchester Refugee Support Network, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the Working Class Movement Library.
The two year project had three main aims:
- To record, catalogue and archive life story interviews with members of three refugee communities in Manchester.
- To produce and promote an exhibition of material documenting refugees’ experiences.
- To increase understanding about refugees, and challenge negative stereotypes.