The Interviewees

The Voices project aims to capture the stories and memories of local people.

The archive contains the interviews recorded with the participants about the experiences of their personal journey from their country of origin to Bedford and the objects they brought with them.

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The interviews and transcriptions were conducted by volunteers.

Oral History recordings

Click on the dropdown lists below to hear the stories from the eleven interviewees where you will also find a short summary and links to the full transcripts.

Anonymous from Eritrea
Anonymous Male
Country of Origin - Eritrea
This interviewee was forced to leave his country while he was studying. Eritrea had at the time had problems politically and militarily with children as young as 11 being forced to join the military. The interviewee describes their journey to Britain.

Click here for full transcript.
Chantal from Rwanda
Chantal left Rwanda in east Africa due to the genocide in April 1994. Chantal describes bring reunited with her Mother, and her arrival in Britain in the Winter of 1995.
Click here for full transcript.
Gabrielle Dobrady from Budapest
Gabrielle Dobrady describes the family decision to leave Hungary when she was 4 years old, and the political reasons behind this. She describes how her parents talked with great gratitude about the reception that they had in Bedford. But one of the difficulties was her father’s homesickness; he found it hard to leave.
Her particular object his a Brown leather shoulder bag her mother’s handbag who had it for 60 years
Her other object is a Teddy bear given by a distant relative in Austria. Named Dorca a girl’s name

Click here for full transcript.
Siham Brown from Haifa
Siham Brown from Haifa had lived in Bedford for 56 years.
Siham was forced to leave Palestine in 1948 due to the conflict between Jews and Arabs leading up to and after the formation of Israel. Siham describes her journey to England and feelings on arrival.
Her Object is a little pot to brew coffee, which she feels gives her a connection to home.
Click here for full transcript.
Sumana from Calcutta
Sumana has lived in England for 25 years after leaving India to study when she was a child. She discusses her feelings about England and her home in India.
Josepa Munoz
Josepa talks of an old leather briefcase which had been in her family for many years, and the full story behind it. She describes what life was like in the small village for her grandparents and her mother and father, following the civil war, and her journey to England.
Click here for full transcript.
Irina from Poland
Irina describes her Grandfather's journey to England and how he initially settled in the East End of London and found others from the Polish community.
Her object is a Matryoshka – Russian Dolls. One is from her mother and one brought from a shop. She intends to pass them down to her son once he gets older and wants to learn more about his past.
Click here for full transcript.
Mags from Poland
Mags is interviewed in Polish.
Ali Aljaza from Iraq
Ali Aljaza is Student from Iraq Currently studying Pharmacy. He describes his sadness when he first came to England and the mixed feelings he has about leaving Iraq.
Click here for full transcript.
Denisa from Romania
Denisa Nusica is a Travel and Tourism Student from Romania. She lived in Bedford for nearly 8 years. She talks about her feelings for Romania and the mixed reception she received at School.
She describes her particular object which is a beautiful rug.
Click here for full transcript.

The Interviewees

Oral History recordings

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