A book about belonging, prejudice and family, told via a decade-long friendship between the author and a 97 year old Holocaust survivor.
Homelands tells the story of Chitra’s friendship with Holocaust survivor, Henry Wuga. Now in his late 90s, Henry arrived in the UK with the Kindertransport aged 15, followed a few months later by his future wife, Ingrid. They went on to found the biggest Jewish catering company in Glasgow, and – much later – travel the world sharing their story of flight, internment and survival.
Chitra was born in London, the daughter of Indian immigrants and, despite their very different stories, found a surprising amount in common with Henry: both have complex relationships to the UK and the ‘home country’; both share a desire to belong, while being true to their cultural identities; both have a family history involving loss, resilience, immigration and prejudice; both have a strong emotional connection to food, family and community.
Generous and deeply moving, Homelands contrasts two very different life stories to find their similarities – offering a new perspective on nationality, prejudice, community, family, immigration and the desire to belong.
Chitra Ramaswamy has over fifteen years' experience as a journalist, out of which this book and her friendship with Jewish refugee Henry Wuga grew.
Their stories resonate strongly to our current moment; they speak to issues including Brexit and the rise of anti-Semitism, racism and far-right ideology.
Henry gave Chitra full access to his archive for the writing of this book, including a wealth of photos and documentation.
Chitra Ramaswamy is an award-winning journalist and author. Her first book, Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy, won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize. She has contributed essays to Antlers of Water, Nasty Women, The Freedom Papers, The Bi-ble and Message from the Skies. She is a TV critic for the Guardian, the restaurant critic for The Times Scotland, a columnist f`or the National Trust for Scotland and broadcasts regularly for BBC Radio Scotland. She lives in Edinburgh with her partner, two young children and rescue dog.
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