News / Pakistani
Flag raised to celebrate Pakistan’s independence day
On Thursday, dozens of Pakistanis gathered outside of City Hall to commemorate the 79th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence day.
The atmosphere was jubilant and proud as many people from Bristol’s Pakistani community came to celebrate their heritage and culture as well as their lives in Bristol.
The Pakistan flag raising ceremony was held on College Green
The event began with speeches from Green Party councillor Abdul Malik, deputy lord mayor Andrew Varney, leader of the Pakistan Association Bristol (PAB), the Pakistan Women’s Welfare Organisation and many other key figures in the community.
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The event then fed into readings from the Quran, poetry and singing of Pakistan’s national anthem.
Poetry was read at the ceremony.
Abdul Malik said: “They raise the flag on the August 14 but we thought we’d be able to add a bit of culture on it and show that we have a very large community of Pakistanis in Bristol and they come form all walks of life.”
There are approximately 9,103 Pakistani people living in Bristol, which makes up 1.9 per cent of the Bristol population.
Adbul continued: “For me, as a city councillor it’s a huge honour and I feel quite proud that I’m able to bring the community here and we are able to celebrate with the leader of the council, the deputy lord mayor and the international team.
“That’s my role as a city councillor, I build that bridge and then hopefully inspire people to do more.”
Bristol City Councillor, Abdul Malik, spoke and organised the Pakistan flag raising ceremony
The inspiration Abdul spoke of could be felt throughout the speeches made; there was a consistent theme of aspiration towards improvement.
The PAB spoke of recruiting members and electing a new team who have a proven track record of delivering on commitments.
The PAB also spoke of amalgamating with the Bristol Kashmir Association to strengthen the community and work together and using Abdul’s office as a temporary headquarters.
The chairman of the PAB added:“I have been here for 55 years and this is my home, but a lot of our elders still call Pakistan home.
“But they have started to realise that home is here, like it is for the second generation and going into the fifth generation.”
The International team of the City Council regularly hold flag raising events.
The values of community and collaboration were mirrored by the representative of the Pakistan Women’s Welfare Organisation, who donated a cake to the ceremony and gave a speech.
“One of the things we want to do with the Pakistan Women’s Welfare Organisation is to work in collaboration with all the other Pakistani organisations in Bristol, so hopefully this is a firsthand extension to make that work.
“So, we’ll be working together in the future without any politics involved and without any arguments of any issues either.
“We want to be in harmony, in unity, inclusive diverse and supportive of each other.”
The Deputy Lord Mayor attended the ceremony
Arshad Mahmud, a senior trustee at Easton Jamia Masjid Mosque, St Mark’s Road, highlighted the difficulty of retaining cultural and familial ties with Pakistan whilst living in the UK.
“Because we are British Pakistanis there’s always a link from your origins and a second tradition we to keep.”
He also expressed frustration that Pakistan’s contribution to European countries hasn’t been fully appreciated.
“Western countries owe a lot to Pakistan, but unfortunately it hasn’t been more appreciated to a great extent.”
The Pakistan Women’s Welfare Association contributed a cake to the ceremony
After the ceremony, delicious food and drink were given out to the attendees and warm smiles and dancing created celebratory atmosphere around College Green.
All photos: Joanna Stopford
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