Asim Aziz

Bettina Garai

I’m going to make this interview with my aunt’s husband, who is from Pakistan and now they live in England. His name is Asim Aziz.

·         Hello Asim!

-          Hello!

·         First of all, I would like to ask you to introduce yourself… Where did you live before England? Where did you start?

-          Well, I’m already 32 years old and I was born in Islamabad which is the capital city of my country, Pakistan as you mentioned before.

·         When and why did you leave your home and family?

-          It was quite long time ago. I moved to Manchester about 10 years ago when I started a course at the university. So I came here to study first of all but I wanted to support my family from here as well.

·         And what did you learn?

-          I learnt IT, programming and such things.

·         But you don’t work in your profession… Why is this so?

-          Yeah, I was a taxi driver for years and now I work as a car mechanic. It’s a bit of injustice but I cannot find work in context with IT because of stereotypes. So it’s really hard but still better than in Pakistan.

·         How do you imagine yourself in 5 years?

-          Wow, it’s difficult. I would really want to work in my profession. I’m looking for jobs continuously. And then I would like to move to our own house with your aunt. Simple plans but these are really important for me.

·         Do you ever think about moving to Hungary and trying yourself here?

-          It would be complicated because I don’t know the language but I’m trying! I looked around a bit in Miskolc but I didn’t find anything where I would be adequate.

·         What do you think about Hungarian and English people? Are there any similarities or differences?

-          Well, you guys are very so pessimistic and you take a big emphasis on material things but it is similar in England as well. But unlike you, the majority of English people are snobs.

·         Do you feel xenophobia in everyday life?

-          Definitely, yes. As I said before I cannot find a job because of stereotypes. It makes me very angry because I have lived here for a long time and I don’t see change or any progress in this problem. Especially, I felt it when I was driving because I met varied people and I saw and tolerated so many bad and disgusting things.

·         What it feels like you are a husband of a foreign woman?

-          Ha-ha… I don’t really feel that we are very different from each other because we had already known the other 3 years before we got married. It could be interesting, we have different cultures and habits but we understand each other very well. So I can consider myself a really lucky guy.

·         Thank you so much your time and answers! Bye…

-          You’re welcome! Bye-bye!