Asha Ajab
Home life in Burao, SomaliaIntroductionAsha Ajab was born in Somalia in 1972 and came to England in 1990. She lived first in London and then Sweden. She came to Burngreave when her husband started a degree in chemical engineering at Sheffield University This extract has been taken from an interview with Asha recorded by Ingrid Hanson for the Burngreave Voices oral history archive in June 2006. I come from a big family, I have seven brothers and sisters. When I was nine, I started learning how to cook. By the time I was ten I was cooking for the whole family. My dad died when I was only six and so my mum had to go out and earn money for the family. She used to go to the Middle East and sell camels and sheep and so she was away sometimes for a month or two months. My older brothers and sisters left home to continue their education. So my grandmother used to look after us children but then she wasn't feeling well and so I had to do the housework and the cooking. I started cooking at an early age! But I still went to school in the mornings. |