‘T’ Kidane

This is ’T’ Kidane. I couldn’t help but notice him sitting in Cafe Nero in Clapham Junction as his tracksuit and jewellery really stood out in the gloomy interior. T is originally from Eritrea. A country to the East of Africa on the Red Sea. Since coming to the UK, T worked for London Underground as a Station Manager. He is now 73 and retired. 

T speaks fluent Russian. As a youth, he won a scholarship to study in Moscow where he obtained a masters in Mechanical Engineering. It was here that he met his wife, a fellow student, who was studying Architecture. She's a native Russian and comes from Khabarovsk - a town so far to the East of the country that it’s much closer to Japan than to Moscow. 

Once T’s studies were finished he wasn’t allowed to stay in the Soviet Union. He couldn’t return to Eritrea as the country was in the middle of a civil war. They had compulsory conscription which he needed to avoid as his wife was then pregnant with their first child.  Fortunately, the couple and baby daughter were granted refuge in the UK. 

T has lived in Battersea, South London for 40 years and loves the area - he says it’s safe, friendly and the ‘Best place to live in England if not the world’. His wife is now 64 and is a local yoga teacher. His daughter is now 41 and his son, who is 33,  is the acclaimed composer Daniel Kidane whose latest composition ‘Woke’ will open the iconic Last Night of the Proms at The Royal Albert Hall. It was a bright blue tracksuit that made me want to photograph Mr Kidane. I wasn’t expecting to then hear a story than spanned three continents, included a civil war and The Royal Albert Hall.