Free to be me

One of the people we interviewed in our pilot project was of Somali heritage. She moved to Leicester from the Netherlands. She found the Netherlands to be claustrophobic and racist and moved to Leicester to escape the judgment she encountered daily. It was Leicester’s diversity that made her feel safe and at home. Not simply being with people like her, but being with people from a variety of countries, backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, worldviews, perspectives and life experiences.

As she put it, in Leicester, ‘You see the world, and no one finds you strange.’

This appears to be a common experience among those who have moved to Leicester both from elsewhere in the country and from overseas.