A London diaspora district remembers a queen — ambivalently
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The congregation of 300 is made up largely of the South Asian diaspora, like the majority of the estimated 70,000 people living in the district of Southall, a community tucked away in London's outer reaches of London and built on waves of migration that span 100 years. “But depending on where you are, the length of your mourning will vary.” Southall's early South Asian immigrants left the subcontinent within a decade of Partition in 1947, arriving in London to work in factory assembly lines and as custodial crews at Heathrow Airport. “It’s tough,” said Narvir Singh, an artist whose grandfather was among the first wave of Punjabi migrants to Southall, “It’s a day-to-day struggle … as a person who exists as a consequence of so many upsetting horrible events.” Singh's work has dissected the history of the 1970s Southall race riots. “It’s just one of those things, the forces of change.” Pru Miah, 46, a former counselor in East London, said that “most people are respectful that the queen died, because we are taught to be respectful of our elders."
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LONDON DIARY: Reflections from the queue to mourn the queen
Associated Press
LONDON DIARY: Reflections from the queue to mourn the queen
The Independent
A London diaspora district remembers a queen — ambivalently
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