A BURNLEY woman has published a book celebrating the town’s Pakistani connections.
Our Work, Our Lives, Our Town: Burnley People, Pakistani Roots, chronicles the history of the ‘pioneer immigrants’ who went on to excel in health, education and manufacturing.
Editor Sobia Malik spent two years collecting dozens of stories from the most influential people with Pakistani heritage in Burnley.
She also used stories from the Lancashire Telegraph’s archives and received help from historian Roger Frost and Towneley Hall curator Mike Townend.
The project received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the 212-page paperback was published by the graphics department at Burnley Council.
Ms Malik, an education consultant at the Jinnah Community Development Trust in Brougham Street, said: “This book is a wonderful chance for younger generations to capture a rare glimpse of those early days as elders now share their stories of leaving their homeland to become pioneers.
“The project is a vehicle to bring the community together, “Those of us who have benefited from the challenges these pioneers undertook owe them a debt of gratitude and of humble remembrance.”
Among those interviewed by Ms Malik are her brother, Shahid Malik, Britain’s first British-born Pakistani Muslim MP and her father, Mohammed Rafique Malik, Burnley’s first Asian councillor and mayor.
Others featured in the book include Riaz Ahmed, who founded Martin Street sofa firm Sweet Dreams and Dr Misfar Hassan, a Lancashire county councillor.
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