28 The New Londoners | Crunch busters
Life | The New Londoners 29
Shoestring city
Our journeys to the big Smoke
For creative ways to make your money stretch further, look to London’s refugees, asylum seekers and migrants – they are experts in living on a tight budget . Compiled by Yasmin Salem
Refugee Mariam Ahmed finds out how and why some of her friends made the journey
• Charity shops and second-hand stores: markets can be a good place for hidden gems and why not try to haggle? Pound shops are good, too. • Car-boot sales: sometimes overlooked as good for shopping around. For car boot sales around London see: www.carbootjunction.co.uk. • Ask for discounts: donÕ t be shy, wherever itÕ s appropriate, check if you can get a discount.
• Travel on the cheap: London buses are the cheapest form of public transport. A bus pass can get you all around London. Or just walk. ItÕ s healthy and youÕ ll discover interesting corners of the capital.
• Try to avoid ready meals. They might seem cheap, but the price will soon add up.
Buying food • Do an evening supermarket shop for good deals on products that have nearly reached their use-by dates.
• Why not keep your bread in the fridge or in the freezer? It will last longer.
• Local markets are a good alternative for cheap vegetables, fruits and even meat. • Always make a shopping list and prioritise week by week. Take your time and compare prices.
• use cash instead of cards: try to pay with cash wherever possible. YouÕ ll keep a better track of your outgoings
• DonÕ t shop when youÕ re hungry as youÕ ll end up buying food that you donÕ t need.
• Saving energy saves you money: use energysaving bulbs and make sure lights are switched off in unoccupied rooms. Keep doors shut and use a draught-stopper to contain the heat.
Smart cooking • Research recipes: youÕ ll be able to cook a nutritious meal for four for the price of a fast-food meal.
• Socialise for free: why not volunteer at an NGO? You can acquire new skills and youÕ ll meet new people.
• Prepare ahead: cook for two days or more and freeze portions for another day. YouÕ ll save a bit of time and energy next time.
• Take a home-made meal with you when youÕ re out and about. YouÕ ll avoid the temptation to spend your money on snacks.
Leisure in London Many London museums and galleries offer free entry Look out for free concerts on the South Bank over the summer months. Some park festivals are free as well. Research and plan your outing well. YouÕ ll be surprised how much you can do free around London. All the big parks are free. Sit down and enjoy. Or just walk around town and marvel at LondonÕ s architecture.
Mariam
Dr Shibeika
I made my journey to London to seek protection from persecution in my country of origin Ð ethiopia. The journey was full of fear and uncertainty. Now I have been living in limbo for seven years, not knowing what the future could hold for me and my family. I asked friends from different countries who also made their journey to London if they felt as I did. Mr and Mrs J from eritrea: Ò We reached London by crossing the high deserts of eritrea to Sudan, paying money to save our lives from war and arbitrary detention by our own government. We crossed the Sahara desert to Libya and then jumped on to the insecure smuggling boats to Malta.Ó
My first visit to London was in the mid-Sixties. I saw few Londoners from different ethnic minorities living here. I visited London often after that date but finally arrived for good in 1997. This time I chose to join our Sudanese national community. London had changed a lot. It had become common to see different costumes, have different kinds of food, join social cultural events presented by many ethnic minorities. London became cosmopolitan, receiving more residents from different races bringing their culture, giving the city the taste and flavour of multiculturalism.
Coffee and love taste best when hot
PHOTOGRAPH: JOS e SOuTO
How to find bargains • Go to sales at any time: during peak time, but also just after the sale rush is over. You still might be able to pick up a great bargain.
- Ethiopian proverb
Flavour of Bangladesh
There’s no better way to fight your recession blues than with a few easy beauty tips. Members of the Migrant Resource Centre from as far as iraq and Sudan have put their heads together and shared with us some culturally diverse beauty tips. best of all, the ingredients can all be found in your kitchen cabinet or at your nearest market. So the recipes are not only natural, but they will make you feel salon-gorgeous without spending much.
Eyes After youÕ ve brewed yourself a nice cup of camomile tea, keep back some of the brew. let it cool down. Take two pieces of cotton wool and dip in the cool camomile tea. Squeeze them out a little and let them rest on your eyes for a few minutes. Wipe off with some water. This soothes tired eyes. Sunburned skin Take a cup of vinegar and mix with two cups of cool tap water. Dip a cloth into the mix and squeeze it out a little before placing it onto the sunburned area for about five minutes. Then wash off. It will provide some relief, but do not use this remedy on your face. Hands Mix a few drops of olive oil with a few drops of lemon juice. Apply to your dry or chapped skin. it will leave your skin feeling wonderfully soft.
Please note: as with any beauty treatment, test on a small patch first, take care if you have sensitive skin, and if a product irritates you, wash it off or stop the treatment immediately. Hair Take a ripe avocado, mash it and put it in your hair for about five minutes. Then wash out normally with shampoo. it will leave your hair beautifully soft.
Face mask Mix a few droplets of lemon with a bit of cornflour and one or two spoonfuls of rosewater to create a mask. Apply it to your face, keeping it on for up to 30 minutes. Then wash it off in the shower. it will leave your skin looking radiant.
illuSTRATiOnS: CHING-LI CHEW
you can save money, create a nourishing meal while exploring eclectic recipes from around the world. A Moveable Feast is a healthy living centre in Westminster that has brought together a group of Arab and bangladeshi locals to cook their favourite family recipes. A community dietitian gave the recipes a healthy makeover to ensure they are balanced meals. Their book of recipes, Shop and Cook Arab and bangladeshi Healthy Meals (£5) is available from: www.amazon.co.uk. Tuna roti wraps A favourite with families from towns in north bangladesh
Avtandil shopping list 4 teaspoons vegetable oil 2 medium onions, chopped 1 green chilli, chopped and deseeded W HDvSRRQvDO W 4 teaspoons mild curry powder 1 teaspoon tumeric 320g can tinned tuna 2 diced peppers 1 chopped tomato 25g chopped fresh coriander W HDvSRRQJuRX QGeO DfnSHSSHu 4 medium grilled tortillas Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add onions, green chilli and salt. Stir until onions are golden brown. Add curry powder and tumeric. Stir for two minutes. Add tinned tuna, peppers, tomato and two tablespoons of water. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add fresh coriander and black pepper. Stir for one minute. Serve in tortillas with salad.
Sparks of Recession by Handsen Chikowore Day after day, the flow of redundancy erodes our hope as our minds can’t capture what the heap for tomorrow is Even the economists are swimming in swampy streams as their education has failed to give birth to fruitful solution The destination to breakthrough is nowhere near our reach as the pathway is dazzled with a dark heap of sorrow
Najah
e SOuTO PHOTOGRAPH: JOS
Budget beauty
The withering economy cannot withstand the pressure whilst the storms are leaving no stones unturned An avalanche of debris lies beneath the banks and factories as their lifeline has been ground to a halt The pain has penetrated deeper into everyone’s pockets and the global solution has failed to soothe our wounds
u from Somalia: Ò I fled death and insurgency to reach the blessed land where humans are treated with equal rights and dignity is respected, but it is not believed that I am Somali and I am living in limbo. I am no-lands woman.Ó S from Zimbabwe: Ò I fled the brutal regime, and left my green and beloved country to be rescued from imprisonment. but I am in exile. I have waited for a decision for eight years, neither working nor studying.Ó I from Zambia: Ò I feel that I am a British citizen, but I have been waiting for a decision for nine years. I am sitting idle, which is a mental torture.Ó C from Iraq: Ò I fled the Sunni and Shia insurgency, but I am told that it is safe and am advised to return voluntarily.Ó e and G from uganda and Tanzania. Ò We fled the ethnic war, but have been waiting for a decision for seven years.Ó Yes, all of us are fleeing persecution but can fall into destitution or life in limbo. human suffering is not acceptable to Britons, because their forefathers laid the stone of equality, humanity and tolerance. So I and my fellow travellers are appealing to the minds that built democracy and equality. We have ideas and skills to contribute to the society protecting us.
London is not all I expected it to be. When I was growing up under the Soviet system in my country, Georgia, I learnt about Britain and London from pictures in magazines which were illegal in my country. I was very keen on bands like Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd; those famous British poets Byron and Shakespeare; painting and sculpture; and, of course, politics. I read all about Britain. I wanted to understand how a capitalist system worked, and from our perspective we thought it was much better. These positive memories still stay with me but they donÕ t mirror my experience here. Maybe you have to be free and to be born here to experience the things I had read about, the things that make BritainÕ s reputation abroad. My time here as an asylum seeker has been very tough. My first week in London was strange. London was a very big, bewildering city. I saw Tower Bridge open and close, which was impressive. I like the parks. Without them London would be a completely different urban experience. I also admire how, when you get to know it, London is not just one city but many small cities.
You donÕ t know how many times I have starved in this country. Because I had no money, I didnÕ t eat most of the time. I was very grateful to people who gave me their sofa so I could have a place to sleep. But I did not want to impose further, so every day when they were getting ready to eat, I would put my coat on and stroll up and down the road until I knew they would have finished eating. As a woman, I was especially afraid of ending up on the street. What would I
do if I needed to go to the toilet or take a shower? I was afraid of having an accident. One day I was hit by a bicycle. The cyclist wanted to call an ambulance and take me to the hospital but I was very scared because I am an asylum seeker without papers. I had bad bruises, but I panicked and refused to go. I am always scared when I get ill. Ten years of struggling is frustrating. We are like prisoners, afraid to go out. It feels as if people look suspiciously at us because we are so conscious that we are not supposed to be here. I canÕ t wait to be free.
Gealas inspired by PlatoÕ s Republic, i am dreaming of A beautiful world, so different from our present world Where mothers give birth painlessly Where scientists discover medications to relieve one’s pain Where each child is born with good health, education and safe places to play Where the air is clean and unpolluted A world clear of any epidemic disease and illness Where people move freely without the restrictions of passports and visas Where gardens full of trees and flowers replace military camps and bases Where our homes are places of safety and security Where all nations will be speaking one language Where jails become institutions of the past and arms and missiles are destroyed Where the words unfairness, killing, lying, violence, envy, hatred, grudge, failing, depression, poverty, illness, ignorance, corruption and greed are deleted from dictionaries Where schools teach the principles of love, peace, co-operation, generosity, and honesty Where no one suffers from injustice and poverty My imagination went wild while writing those dreams, but when i return to reality, i wonder how much effort is needed to make those dreams true.