My father was born and raised in Jaffna, a small Tamil town in northern Sri Lanka. And like many Tamils of his generation, he was determined to leave from an early age, not just for a better life, but for a safer one too. He first came to the UK in 1970, armed with his suitcase and £50 in his pocket. And after an initially tricky period adapting to a new culture, a new environment, and pretty much a new everything, he landed an assistant teaching role at the University of Bath.