Inspirational and wise community pioneer mourned

MIDDLESBROUGH is mourning the death of one of its earliest Asian residents and most respected community figures.

- By DAVE ROBSON

Haji Mohammed Bashir, who has died aged 95, came to the UK when he was just 14. Leaving behind a life of poverty in Azad Kashmir, he arrived in Middlesbrough from Pakistan with little more than hope and determination.

Like many others from former British colonies, he was part of a generation invited to Britain to help rebuild the nation during a time of post-war labour shortages.

He became one of the first Asian men to settle in Middlesbrough a town that would soon become his lifelong home.

He found work in Teesside's steel industry, helping to manufacture some of the key structures that shaped the industrial North East. It was a time of hardship and solitude, but he never let the challenges weaken his resolve, working tirelessly to support his family back home and to contribute to the community he now called his own.

In the 1970s, Haji Bashir was instrumental in the founding of Jamia Masjid Al-Madina, the first mosque in Middlesbrough. And whether it was feeding the homeless or offering support to struggling families, Haji and his fellow pioneers believed in uplifting the entire community.