Women who cross borders

I am working on a book of compelling narratives drawn from interviews I have carried out over the past 15 years as a researcher and ethnographer, mainly in the UK. All narratives are those of women from diverse backgrounds. As far as possible the narratives are in women's own voices and tell life story (usually in part) about migration across borders. What links them all is gender,diversity and the fact that they have migrated across borders either voluntarily or by force. The borders they cross are physical, emotional, intellectual and of belief. The sample includes Polish, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, African and White British women.

The interviews were with 'ordinary' women and the narratives demonstrate the extraordinary in the ordinary. They are inspiring tales of ordinary women's resistence and survival, as far as possible told in their voices. I have picked only on accounts from interviews I actually carried out and mainly where I met the interviewees on more than one occasion. They are narratives from interviews where I have a sense of the person's presence and of their voice.