Kashmir United -- A Peek into a Luton Ghetto

#11 by kaurasach on December 6, 2005 10:01am PT


However, the situation of muslim youth is extreme


And yet brit-pakis vote based on the iraq war, the Kashmir issue and the rights of the palestenians...

go figure..

#14 by jang
jang this article is a work of fiction, i`ve been to luton at least dozen times, i can`t relate to the luton the author describes here, may be he visited the mirpuri ghetto in brooklyn (new york).

great article, congrats to the editor.
i would love to go to Luton, looks like a real unique place in todays homogenized world.
tahmed, you come across in your post kinda bigoted.

This was an awesome read, thanks!

zarrar - i`m glad i logged in today... this was very good.

I noticed and observed the same on my trip to England. The children, without proprer guidance, go wayward. However, the situation of muslim youth is extreme ( a result of their own doings) compared to grievances of other migrants.

gb

Your large-heartedness is refreshing as well: nobody can be blamed for anything.

Mr Said,
This was probably the best article that I have read on Chowk. I love your writing style, it describes the events in a very captivating manner.

Kudos

I have always held the belief that DESIs(Indi/Paki) living in U.K are worst off than DESIs in North America. Your comment about English being sarcastic to others is so true.

I dont think that Non Anglos will ever fit in U.K`s social structure. Unlike USA there is no such thing as ``us``. Every immigrant in U.K is still referred to as Asian.

At least here our second/third generation has a very good chance of being called Amrikan.

Good Job.

Re: # 9

I appreciate the fact that you appreciate my article.. will write some more jibberish when i get the chance. thank you very much.

Z

I found the article very well written, the narration, the insights, use of language ...

I logged into Chowk after a long time and it was so refreshing to read this one.

The story is actually quite universal, so it doesn`t matter when one reader says ``all Kashmiris are not like that`` - that is not the point. It is not about Kashmiris or Pakistanis or a particular ethnic group - to me it is about a group of young people who for no fault of theirs have ended up in a mess. The older group, the migrants, who may be considered responsible for the mess, along with the peculiar nature of cultural differences between their original country and UK, also cannot be really blamed for it is beyond their scope to completely comprehend their own actions.

Informative article, and very well written. Sheds light on an aspect of Pakistani immigrant culture in England that I, for one, know nothing about.

I do know a bit about the previous generation of ``mirpurias`` (the one`s who migrated to UK in the 1960`s) who are now parents of the lot described in this article - one of them was our sweeper who begged my brother to take him to ``vilayat`` with him (my brother was not in UK, but the west in general was ``vilayat`` to this man). His cousins were all in vilayat now, the man would say, and once he is in vilayat he will have a house bigger than ours in Pakistan. There used to be tons of jokes about mirpurias in Pakistan back then - e.g., mirpuria steps off plane in London, sees gora sweeping the streets ``sahib, what you doing?``, says the mirpuria, ``aeh sahda kam ai!``. Then there was the mirpuria who goes into a restaurant, and asks ``head foot is??`` (siri paye haiN?), and it goes on from there.

some lines in the article above are particularly insightful I think:

``Religion was forced upon them like a spoonful of horrible medicine. They swallowed it and were now intoxicated with it. The thought of going against the will of their parents never occurred to them because it was a forbidden thought. Almost like a thought crime, almost... ``

Very well put indeed!!

Said,

This is quite interesting. You have a good narrative style. Hope you continue to publish.

Thanks,

said
I think nearest you`ve been in luton is in your dreams!

Very interesting!!!

Damn, i like the rough writing style. Its graphic and real, enjoyed reading it.

Luton is a dump!

Tho not all Kashmiris are like what you describe, there are many suljhey huey loag as well.