SWEETS Yusuf Mohammad Iqbal 1 minute, 25 seconds, 2D animation, Colour, University of East London 2018

 

Saher and Yusuf Iqbal remember what it wa slike when they first moved to the UK.

Saher: Yeah, when we first moved to this country, we lived with them for about six months. I suppose that's like a second home to us, our aunt’s home, because we've spent a lot of time there as well. No there wasn't that much space, we were probably all stepping on each other’s toes. But everyone knew it was a temporary arrangement.

For those six months, we used to get ready for school together. They used to put their school uniform on, on top of their pyjamas, so that they didn't have to change their clothes. They were that lazy but I suppose that's boys. We were the complete opposite, we used to wake up half an hour earlier, be perfectly ready, hair made, Weetabix eaten.

We used to go cycling around their area, cycle down to the sweet shop. We only had two pounds between four of us cos we got 50p each. But it went a long way in the nineties.

Yusuf: Ibrahim bhai would convince you to give him some of your money, to pitch in for something bigger.

Saher: Of course, standard procedure. Ever the businessman.

Yusuf: He always has a master plan.

Saher: He always has a master plan. So, he would try to convince us to put all our money together, so that we couldn't get what we wanted, but what he thought would be best for everyone to get. We used to eat sweets like we'd never had them before. So, we used to get it in a plastic tube with a cap, and then we used to open the cap and just down the whole tube like it was a drink. And then if we had any pennies left over, we used to buy 1p sherbet sticks, because heaven forbid there be any change left over.