Exeter Community Stories

Mr Pang was born in Swindon in 1932, but his father took the family back to China in 1934, where they spent the war. They returned to England in 1947 and lived in Weston-super-Mare. The family opened a restaurant in Taunton in 1960, and in 1968 they opened the first...

Mustafa Tellesy, with Hashim Rashid, is the proprietor of the New Horizon café in Exeter. He came to Exeter from Tripoli in  Libya in 1982 to study for a PhD. Nazima Khan & Richard Bradbury interviewed him at the café on 21st December 2012. You may hear some...

Dr Hashim Rashid has lived in Exeter for over thirty years and owns the New Horizon café on Longbrook Street, with Mustafa Tellesy. Originally from Jerusalem, Dr. Rashid arrived in Exeter in 1982 to do his Masters at the University of Exeter. He went on to complete a...

Olive was born in Nairobi, Kenya during the Second World War. Her parents were from Goa in India, so she was brought up a Catholic in a British Imperial system, which she describes as a "semi-Apartheid' system, wherein the Asians lived within their own communities,...

Professor Tim Niblock set up Exeter University's Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. Before that, he worked in Sudan for eight years, and married a Sudanese Coptic Christian. He has lived in Exeter since 1978, and has a unique perspective on Exeter's Arab and...

Samoala Jackson is from the island of Funafuti in Tuvalu, South Pacific. She married an Englishman and they lived and worked in many countries, setttling in Devon in the 1970s. They have three children. Myra Fonceca and Ravi Nathwani interviewed her at her home in...

Ilana Pires came to Exeter from Brazil in 1998, with her then husband. She has three children and works as a Cultural Champion in Devon schools. Ravi Nathwani and Myra Fonceca interviewed Ilana in her home in Exeter in February 2013. There are six extracts here. Read...

Chukes was interviewed by Di Cooper and Abigail Mureva on January 24th 2013. In his fascinating interview he talked about all aspects of his life – attending the elite Christ's Hospital School in Horsham, being a paramedic and a social worker, his daughters, his...

John Antat is a rooted community member, and was the manager of the Phoenix Youth Club in Wonford. His parents came from the Seychelles. He's lived in Exeter for 35 years. There are three extracts here. Listen to the extracts by clicking on the play button on the...

Terry Bissessar is a police inspector based in Exeter. His parents came from Guyana in the 1960s. Sandhya Dave and Bati Ghimire interviewed him at Heavitree Police station in December 2012. Read the full transcript of the interview here. Listen to the extracts by...