MARTIN

I came from Poland. In communist times. My dad came first, my mother came afterwards. It was very difficult at first, it was a difficult time to come to the UK. I was brought up with my sister in very much the cultural neighbourhood. When I went to Poland I was the Swede when I went to Sweden I was the Pole, which kind of is difficult sometimes. The only job I ever got I got through contacts, not through the application. And I was working nights so at the time I saw very little daylight which I think is how the depression grew. And, uh, one day I just got tired and thought I have to leave, if I leave and I come back, either way it’s for the better so I just went on my own, and travelled around for a while. And I think seeing other people in a worse situation, like, I visited these people in Cambodia. And it was after the tsunami, and worked with people. And I thought about my depression and thought why am I having this. Like one day I saw this guy, I went to a war museum in Cambodia, where there were a lot of landmines through history. And I went through the exhibition feeling really down. So I came out and I see this guy, right, on a skateboard, without legs, and very dirty, but he was happy. He saw me, I don’t know whether he had a couple of years of walking round, I don t know, anyway he’s very happy to see me, not because he wanted any money from me because he didn’t, he was just like “heeey, white guy, heey!” Like he was having fun, and I thought well shit, all of this stuff is wrong with him, his body, his legs, he has nothing, but he has a smile. I’m from a country with everything you know, very good social standards you know. I guess that changed a lot of things for me. I don’t know. I continued to travel. I went to Siberia all over. I came to the point where I have to do something with my life.