A man who grew up in Ipswich as the son of immigrants from Bangladesh has shared his memories of the town, and his hopes for it going forward.
Ruman Muhith was born in Ipswich in 1981. His father, he explained, had travelled to the town during the mid-1960s, as one of the first Bangladeshis to arrive in Ipswich.
“My dad came straight to Ipswich, and started working at the old Crane factory in Nacton Road,” explained Ruman.
“There was a group of men who all came over from Bangladesh who worked in the factory.”
Of these 10 to 15 men, Ruman’s father spoke the best English, and so he would often be sought to help with translating, filling out forms, or even interpreting for the foreman of the factory in disciplinary matters.
These men all shared a house together in Nacton Road. For a number of years, they would work their shifts before returning home to eat and sleep, ready to repeat the cycle the following day.
“That was their whole life,” said Ruman. “They would earn money, save a bit, and send the rest back home to Bangladesh to support their families, be that a wife, a young family or their parents.”
By this time, Ruman’s parents were married, and for a few years his mother remained in Bangladesh with the couple's eldest son and daughter.
By 1973, his father had earned enough money to bring his family to England. They moved into their own home, a three-bedroom council house in Felix Road, in the Priory Heath area of Ipswich. They soon welcomed two more daughters and Ruman.
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“There was a lot of racism at that time,” said Ruman. “We used to get bricks thrown through our windows.
“It wasn’t just us. A lot of men who worked at Crane brought their families over and lived around Priory Heath and Nacton Road, and they all experienced racism too.
"Looking back, it was probably because people weren’t sure of who we were. There was uncertainty, like how we still sometimes see uncertainty about people coming to Ipswich who have a different culture, and a different way of life.”
The family later moved to Soane Street, and Ruman began attending St Helen’s Primary.
However, even though he was one of very few children of colour at the school, Ruman said he has no memory of he or his family experiencing racism after they moved to the town centre.
As the years went by, more and more workers from overseas had brought their families to Ipswich. These families had become an integral part of the Ipswich tapestry.
Ruman explained that many second-generation immigrants went on to establish their own restaurants and take-aways.
At his parents' insistence, he worked washing dishes at the Shapla in Woodbridge, which was run by a distant relative.
Now, he is grateful for the closer connection with his roots in Bangladesh that his time in restaurants brought him.
“I see what my parents were trying to do now,” he said. “I learned more about my culture, and I picked up my mother tongue.”
He is also able to empathise with people newly arriving in Ipswich, such as the many refugees now making their home in the town, who may be struggling to adapt to British culture.
Now, Ruman is the Digital and IT Service Lead at the University of Suffolk in Ipswich. He will also be standing as a councillor for the Priory Heath ward in the council’s elections in May.
He is hoping to make history as the first councillor of Bangladeshi origin in Ipswich and Suffolk.
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