Umar Hameed

My father was sent to England by the Pakistani Air Force to get advanced electronics training with the Royal Air Force. As soon as he arrived he fell in love with the West. He realized that anyone with a bright idea and the resolve to get ahead could build an amazing life. This was not possible in Pakistan.

When I was three, my family immigrated to England to begin our new life. We were not welcomed. The locals saw us and other immigrants as a threat. “You are stealing our jobs,” they said.

It turned out they were right, my dad got a job at Hewlett-Packard as an engineer and we had a good standard of living. However, I felt considerable racism and bigotry at school. My experience led me to become a more compassionate person. Looking back, I managed to walk through hell and then emerged in a better place.