Audio file
Object
Audio file
Object number
2026.138
Physical Description
Audio Recording of oral History interview of Mohamed Kamara.
1 x .mp4 audio file recording interview with Mohamed Kamara. Total length of file: 9 minutes 47 seconds.
1 x .mp4 audio file recording interview with Mohamed Kamara. Total length of file: 9 minutes 47 seconds.
Description
[00:00:11] Family and personal background.
[00:01:31] Likes and dislikes about school.
[00:02:07] How long Mohamed has lived in Hackney and where he lived before Hackney, Sierra Leone.
[00:02:26] Time in Sierra Leone, his family home.
[00:03:42] Explaining a local game he used to play.
[00:04:39] School in Sierra Leone, and experience of the war when he was younger.
[00:05:32] His likes and dislikes about school in Sierra Leone, being beaten by school teachers.
[00:06:57] War in Sierra Leone.
[00:07:11] Leaving Sierra Leone to come to England, climate differences and feeling sad about leaving.
[00:08:00] The journey to England, being on planes.
[00:09:15] Likes and dislikes about living in Hackney.
[00:01:31] Likes and dislikes about school.
[00:02:07] How long Mohamed has lived in Hackney and where he lived before Hackney, Sierra Leone.
[00:02:26] Time in Sierra Leone, his family home.
[00:03:42] Explaining a local game he used to play.
[00:04:39] School in Sierra Leone, and experience of the war when he was younger.
[00:05:32] His likes and dislikes about school in Sierra Leone, being beaten by school teachers.
[00:06:57] War in Sierra Leone.
[00:07:11] Leaving Sierra Leone to come to England, climate differences and feeling sad about leaving.
[00:08:00] The journey to England, being on planes.
[00:09:15] Likes and dislikes about living in Hackney.
On display?
No
Inscription
BEGINNING OF INTERVIEW [00:00:04]
Teacher. Before we start, you've got to sit back, I'm not going to talk at all, it's just going to be you and Claire [Claire Adler] okay?
Interviewer [I]. Is that alright?
Mohamed Kamara [MK]. Yeah, okay.
I. First of all, can you tell me your full name? [00:00:11]
MK. Mohamed Kamara.
I. Mohamed Kamara? [00:00:14]
MK. Yeah.
I. And how old are you? [00:00:16]
MK. Nine.
I. How many brothers and sisters do you have? [00:00:19]
MK. I got two sisters, one brother.
Interviewer. Keep your feet still, that's it.
I. How old are your brothers and sisters? [00:00:28]
MK. First one is four, I do not know the last one.
I. When was the last one born? [00:00:37]
MK. Born in November.
I. This year? [00:00:41]
MK. No, November.
I. So he is a year old or one month old? [00:00:46]
MK. Do not know.
I. So how old is the other one? [00:00:52]
MK. The big one is 13.
I. Which schools do they go to? [00:01:00]
MK. Malam go Shacklewell, Ibraham go Homerton and I go Shacklewell.
I. What do your parents do? Do they live here? [00:01:14]
MK. Yeah
I. What do they do? [00:01:15]
MK. My mum takes care of the little baby and my dad goes to work.
I. Doing what? What does he do? [00:01:24]
MK. Building houses.
I. Ah excellent. Can you tell me what you really, really like about school? [00:01:31]
MK. Playing…
I. Playing what? [00:01:36]
MK. Football.
I. Football, okay. What do you really not like about school? [00:01:40]
MK. Warnings
I. Why? [00:01:43]
MK. Because you need to stay in and can’t play football
I. Ah, that makes sense [chuckle]. What do you like doing when you are outside of school, not in school? What do you like doing? [00:01:53]
MK. Still playing.
I. Playing what? [00:01:56]
MK. Games, like tennis thats it.
I. How long have you lived in Hackney? [00:02:07]
MK. 2 or 3 years.
I. Ok. And where does your family come from? [00:02:14]
MK. Where I come from.
I. Which is? [00:02:18]
MK. Sierra Leone
I. Ok. And can you tell me anything about your home in Sierra Leone? Where you came from? [00:02:26]
MK. There's one like that, 1 house that my dad built and there’s a little one here that my grandpa built and now they break it, the little 1 just like that, and the big like that is the 1 that is left.
I. Okay. Can you tell me what you could see inside your home? [00:02:54]
MK. You can see my things, my brother’s things, my room, my grandpa’s room, my auntie’s room, that’s it.
I. Okay, what would you see in each of these rooms? [00:03:11]
MK. Carpet
I. Sorry? [00:03:13]
MK. Carpet.
I. Carpet, anything else? [00:03:15]
MK. No, clothes, mmmm bed, shoes, underpants, that’s it
I. Okay, what did you like best about your home? What's the best thing about your home in Sierra Leone? [00:03:42]
MK. Playing in it, like… playing them games. that we have there… six cups.
I. How do you play that? [00:03:58]
MK. You see like, you got 10 of them, no 6, no. There would be 5 here,1, 2, 3 here, 2 there and another one at the top.
I. And what do you do? [00:04:19]
MK. You make a little ball and you throw it and [scare at it] we run away, if the ball hit you you’re out and the next team comes.
I. Excellent. Very good indeed. What was your school like in Sierra Leone? [00:04:39]
MK. Big, there are things outside but they bombed the first school.
I. Who bombed the first school? [00:04:53]
MK. Don’t know.
I. Okay and how many people went to- can you tell me about the other children that were in school? [00:05:04]
MK. They were not in the schools, the schools were closed, and they needed to build a new school just like, with the chairs that stick on to the ground. And when they finished building the new one we go to that one that they built first. That is it.
I. Okay. Excellent. So what did you like best about the new school when you went there? [00:05:32]
MK. Hmm. Doing maths. Good maths. Like 1+1, that is 2. 6+6, that is 12. Easy maths.
I. Easy maths. [chuckles]
MK. Well not here, they got harder maths. 100 x 2. Hmm. 200. That's it.
I. Ok. What did you really not like about school when you were in Sierra Leone? [00:06:04]
MK. Whipping.
I. Oh, tell me about that? [00:06:07]
MK. If someone- if we made noise he said [makes crying noises] go cry and whip, whip, whip all of the class.
I. Oh. Did you get whipped? [00:06:18]
MK. Yeah.
I. Lots? [00:06:19]
MK. When I would fight.
I. Okay. Excellent. Now, why did your family leave Sierra Leone? [00:06:28]
MK. War.
I. What happened? [00:06:31]
MK. First my dad left because he wanted to start a new business, so the second one was my mum left because of the war and we left because of the war too.
I. Excellent. And what can you, what is the main thing you can remember about the war? [00:06:57]
MK. Shooting. Bombing. Killing. Fighting. That is it.
I. Ok. How did you feel about leaving Sierra Leone? [00:07:11]
MK. Sad.
I. Why? [00:07:12]
MK. Here it is cold, there it is hot. I said here we have summer, winter, spring, hmm, autumn. And there they have one season. Dry season. You see, like rain season, when the rain drops it is cold. Dry season is when the sun comes, it is hot.
I. Excellent. So the weather is different, yeah? [00:07:42]
MK. Yeah.
I. Yeah. Ok. How did you feel when you first came to England? [00:07:45]
MK. Sad still.
I. What was your first impression of England? What did you think when you first saw it? [00:07:52]
MK. Don’t know.
I. Can you tell me anything about your journey to come here? [00:08:00]
MK. Journey?
I. How did you get here? [00:08:04]
MK. Planes. From planes to planes.
I. Where did the planes go? [00:08:10]
MK. First you take a ship to Guinea. Out of Guinea we took a plane to Liberia. After there, we go to Senegal. After there we go to another place I can not remember, then we get here.
I. Excellent. Did you like going on the planes? [00:08:35]
MK. Yeah.
I. Why? [00:08:37]
MK. Because you go up and it is going to be woo [making plane noises], scary.
I. Excellent. And where did you first live when you came to England? [00:08:50]
MK. [Pause] Ask my dad. I need to ask him.
I. Can’t remember. Ok. And what do you like about living in England? What do you like best about living in Hackney? [00:09:15]
MK. They have got some parks where kids go to play. That is it.
I. And what do you really dislike about Hackney? What do you not like about Hackney? [00:09:26]
MK. No. Nothing
I. Nothing? Is there anything else you want to tell me? [00:09:33]
MK. No.
I. Have you got any questions, Miss? [00:09:23]
MK. No.
I. Haha, no. Well, I think you have done incredible.
END OF INTERVIEW [00:09:47]
Teacher. Before we start, you've got to sit back, I'm not going to talk at all, it's just going to be you and Claire [Claire Adler] okay?
Interviewer [I]. Is that alright?
Mohamed Kamara [MK]. Yeah, okay.
I. First of all, can you tell me your full name? [00:00:11]
MK. Mohamed Kamara.
I. Mohamed Kamara? [00:00:14]
MK. Yeah.
I. And how old are you? [00:00:16]
MK. Nine.
I. How many brothers and sisters do you have? [00:00:19]
MK. I got two sisters, one brother.
Interviewer. Keep your feet still, that's it.
I. How old are your brothers and sisters? [00:00:28]
MK. First one is four, I do not know the last one.
I. When was the last one born? [00:00:37]
MK. Born in November.
I. This year? [00:00:41]
MK. No, November.
I. So he is a year old or one month old? [00:00:46]
MK. Do not know.
I. So how old is the other one? [00:00:52]
MK. The big one is 13.
I. Which schools do they go to? [00:01:00]
MK. Malam go Shacklewell, Ibraham go Homerton and I go Shacklewell.
I. What do your parents do? Do they live here? [00:01:14]
MK. Yeah
I. What do they do? [00:01:15]
MK. My mum takes care of the little baby and my dad goes to work.
I. Doing what? What does he do? [00:01:24]
MK. Building houses.
I. Ah excellent. Can you tell me what you really, really like about school? [00:01:31]
MK. Playing…
I. Playing what? [00:01:36]
MK. Football.
I. Football, okay. What do you really not like about school? [00:01:40]
MK. Warnings
I. Why? [00:01:43]
MK. Because you need to stay in and can’t play football
I. Ah, that makes sense [chuckle]. What do you like doing when you are outside of school, not in school? What do you like doing? [00:01:53]
MK. Still playing.
I. Playing what? [00:01:56]
MK. Games, like tennis thats it.
I. How long have you lived in Hackney? [00:02:07]
MK. 2 or 3 years.
I. Ok. And where does your family come from? [00:02:14]
MK. Where I come from.
I. Which is? [00:02:18]
MK. Sierra Leone
I. Ok. And can you tell me anything about your home in Sierra Leone? Where you came from? [00:02:26]
MK. There's one like that, 1 house that my dad built and there’s a little one here that my grandpa built and now they break it, the little 1 just like that, and the big like that is the 1 that is left.
I. Okay. Can you tell me what you could see inside your home? [00:02:54]
MK. You can see my things, my brother’s things, my room, my grandpa’s room, my auntie’s room, that’s it.
I. Okay, what would you see in each of these rooms? [00:03:11]
MK. Carpet
I. Sorry? [00:03:13]
MK. Carpet.
I. Carpet, anything else? [00:03:15]
MK. No, clothes, mmmm bed, shoes, underpants, that’s it
I. Okay, what did you like best about your home? What's the best thing about your home in Sierra Leone? [00:03:42]
MK. Playing in it, like… playing them games. that we have there… six cups.
I. How do you play that? [00:03:58]
MK. You see like, you got 10 of them, no 6, no. There would be 5 here,1, 2, 3 here, 2 there and another one at the top.
I. And what do you do? [00:04:19]
MK. You make a little ball and you throw it and [scare at it] we run away, if the ball hit you you’re out and the next team comes.
I. Excellent. Very good indeed. What was your school like in Sierra Leone? [00:04:39]
MK. Big, there are things outside but they bombed the first school.
I. Who bombed the first school? [00:04:53]
MK. Don’t know.
I. Okay and how many people went to- can you tell me about the other children that were in school? [00:05:04]
MK. They were not in the schools, the schools were closed, and they needed to build a new school just like, with the chairs that stick on to the ground. And when they finished building the new one we go to that one that they built first. That is it.
I. Okay. Excellent. So what did you like best about the new school when you went there? [00:05:32]
MK. Hmm. Doing maths. Good maths. Like 1+1, that is 2. 6+6, that is 12. Easy maths.
I. Easy maths. [chuckles]
MK. Well not here, they got harder maths. 100 x 2. Hmm. 200. That's it.
I. Ok. What did you really not like about school when you were in Sierra Leone? [00:06:04]
MK. Whipping.
I. Oh, tell me about that? [00:06:07]
MK. If someone- if we made noise he said [makes crying noises] go cry and whip, whip, whip all of the class.
I. Oh. Did you get whipped? [00:06:18]
MK. Yeah.
I. Lots? [00:06:19]
MK. When I would fight.
I. Okay. Excellent. Now, why did your family leave Sierra Leone? [00:06:28]
MK. War.
I. What happened? [00:06:31]
MK. First my dad left because he wanted to start a new business, so the second one was my mum left because of the war and we left because of the war too.
I. Excellent. And what can you, what is the main thing you can remember about the war? [00:06:57]
MK. Shooting. Bombing. Killing. Fighting. That is it.
I. Ok. How did you feel about leaving Sierra Leone? [00:07:11]
MK. Sad.
I. Why? [00:07:12]
MK. Here it is cold, there it is hot. I said here we have summer, winter, spring, hmm, autumn. And there they have one season. Dry season. You see, like rain season, when the rain drops it is cold. Dry season is when the sun comes, it is hot.
I. Excellent. So the weather is different, yeah? [00:07:42]
MK. Yeah.
I. Yeah. Ok. How did you feel when you first came to England? [00:07:45]
MK. Sad still.
I. What was your first impression of England? What did you think when you first saw it? [00:07:52]
MK. Don’t know.
I. Can you tell me anything about your journey to come here? [00:08:00]
MK. Journey?
I. How did you get here? [00:08:04]
MK. Planes. From planes to planes.
I. Where did the planes go? [00:08:10]
MK. First you take a ship to Guinea. Out of Guinea we took a plane to Liberia. After there, we go to Senegal. After there we go to another place I can not remember, then we get here.
I. Excellent. Did you like going on the planes? [00:08:35]
MK. Yeah.
I. Why? [00:08:37]
MK. Because you go up and it is going to be woo [making plane noises], scary.
I. Excellent. And where did you first live when you came to England? [00:08:50]
MK. [Pause] Ask my dad. I need to ask him.
I. Can’t remember. Ok. And what do you like about living in England? What do you like best about living in Hackney? [00:09:15]
MK. They have got some parks where kids go to play. That is it.
I. And what do you really dislike about Hackney? What do you not like about Hackney? [00:09:26]
MK. No. Nothing
I. Nothing? Is there anything else you want to tell me? [00:09:33]
MK. No.
I. Have you got any questions, Miss? [00:09:23]
MK. No.
I. Haha, no. Well, I think you have done incredible.
END OF INTERVIEW [00:09:47]
