Growing Up With London

Then and Now

Better food in Britain. Hounslow, Greater London.

By Joel Schalit

I first moved to London when I was ten. My father, a fifty-six-year-old widower, had gotten married to an Israeli expat, and his partner lived in the city.

I'll never forget how diminished I felt moving there from Tel Aviv. Everything was so big it made me feel much smaller - physically and intellectually.

One of the most curious things about it was how Middle Eastern Britain was. Arab men and women, in keffiyeh and hijab, were everywhere.

Much more so than in the parts of Israel where we had lived, where the Arab presence was receding. Their London counterparts were clearly on the rise.

My school was even more diverse. Indians, Iranians, and Turks counted for nearly half of my classmates. I often wondered if I'd moved further East, not West.

This was 1977. Every time I've since returned, it's been the same. Even more so, in some ways, despite the racism that's become so integral to UK politics.

Taken in Central London, Brentford and Hounslow, the following photographs reflect that. They mirror British diversity and its inequality as I encounter it.

It's not like I didn't witness this as a child. I got it, sort of, even then. But I was too focused on my culture shock to look up. Now I'm taking pictures.

Still subject to colonial rule. Waterloo station, London.

Post-colonial Underground. Bakerloo Line, London.

Hard to trust. Human rights messaging, Brentford.

Missionaries in the jungle. Jehovah’s Witnesses at work, Hounslow.

Looks like Great Britain. Secular and religious South Asians, Hounslow.

It's not just about culture. Father and daughter, Hounslow.

Obvious hierarchy. South Asians and white cop, Hounslow.

Harkens back to empire. 1980s shopping mall entrance, Hounslow.

Photographs courtesy of the author. All rights reserved.