{"id":13089,"date":"2022-09-28T23:28:15","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T22:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/?p=13089"},"modified":"2022-10-26T15:42:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T14:42:37","slug":"their-father-who-stepped-out-of-that-door-and-never-returned-a-community-reflects-on-their-ancestors-and-how-they-are-remembered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/their-father-who-stepped-out-of-that-door-and-never-returned-a-community-reflects-on-their-ancestors-and-how-they-are-remembered\/","title":{"rendered":"“We became part of this country”: Is the Welsh-Yemeni history and contribution acknowledged?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Welsh-Yemeni community is one of the country’s oldest diaspora groups, with a contribution that stretches over a century, not least in war-time. However, how has a lack of acknowledgement and government immigration policy made their sacrifices feel unappreciated?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The black and white pictures of east African and Arabic men sat proudly was only the start of the story. Accompanying identity cards, just as weathered by time, detailed name, height, place of origin and physical features. The collection of dogeared pictures and handwritten identity cards displayed the start of a new community\u2019s story in Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohamed Yusef, a Somali-Cardiff resident, gathered thousands of pictures and identity cards, some over 100 years old, of Yemeni and Somalian seamen as they stepped off ships into British ports. For two years he sieved through each piece creating a one-stop window into two of the oldest Islamic communities in the UK, with the aim of educating Yemenis and Somalians, both here in Britain and in their countries of origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He sees that people should learn more about their ancestors: \u201chow they lived, how they worked, what kind of work they were doing and how they survived during the time they were here,\u201d says Mohamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British-Yemeni story started when Queen Victoria made the port of Aden, in southern Yemen, her first addition to the empire. The port served as a stopover between the Suez Canal and Britain\u2019s imperial jewel: India. From Aden Yemenis would serve as stokers and sailors, transporting resources to and from Britain, fueling the country and its colonial territories. After arriving in the UK many would step off and live in port cities like Cardiff, Swansea, and South Shields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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