It is usual
practice of male social circles of Indian subcontinent. I was looking for a
folk dancer for an Asian community event in Manchester and have asked many friends
neighbours about any person willing to perform on the stage. It is city centre
of Manchester .
There used to be one Asian restaurant on the Oldham Street . I went to that restaurant
and asked the owner if he knows anyone. He asked me what type of dance you are
looking for. I told him Pakistani/Punjabi folk dance. He repeated the question
again with bit of smile on his face. I told him folk dance? Then he asked me
again (“pher kidaan da dance”?) but what kind of dance. I have told him as far
I know there is only type of dance like folk dance or dance like dance on film
songs in films. He told me that you know everything don’t try to be so innocent.
I assured him and asked if he could shed some light on the dances of Indian sub
continent. He started bit cautiously by saying that locally (England ) two types of dances are
performed one is ordinary dance and other is naked dance. I became bit more
interested to know this type of information. I have asked him how it works and
all procedure of it to arrange one. He told me a group of people get together
and share the cost of the event. This event usually includes food drinks
(alcoholic usually) dance and sex. He continued explaining more that if
expenditure is say 600 quid’s and 10 people in the group, each person
contribute 60 quid’s towards the cost of the event. If there is one dancer then
she should expect queue of 10 or two dancers have 5 each. Other interesting
thing he told me that girls or woman from Manchester
goes to other cities and from other cities comes to Manchester . I told him I thought alcohol is
prohibited for Muslims of all countries and then how come alcoholic drinks? He
told me that yes it is in books but if you want to see it practically come to
my restaurant on Friday nights and go to the basement and you will find mostly
Muslims drinking alcohol. He also pointed out that you are talking about
alcohol is prohibited for Muslims but what about sex out of marriage. Is it
allowed? I told him certainly it is not.
It doesn’t
mean that all people are like this. There are lots of good people in the UK . I have now some information about these
dances and thought I better research about groups involved in these types of
activities. There are two or three types of groups in most big cities involved
in these type of activities. Some groups have their own flats or houses only
for this type of activities called “Dera”. Basically word dera is of Punjabi
origin which is a place where friends neighbours and other people of village
come for chat, gossip or just to pass time on hooka. The dera is also used to
be a last hope for travellers for water and food and pass time when temperature
is too hot. These deras used to be a meeting point for villagers. On the other
hand these deras in uk
you find all types of drinks food and even drugs. These dera holders always
look for new recruits for their following. I have been to two or three deras in
London and Manchester .
It is London
where I have visited one dera. The dera holder was one Pakistani taxi driver at
that time who was on asylum with whole his family. He took me to one house
seems empty with lots of alcohol empty bottles. I think he brought one refuse
bag into the house and put all bottles and rubbish for disposal. I have asked
him about who lives in this house. He told me uncle it is my dera. Iam not sure
who was paying rent for that house or someone was claiming rent for that house.
It was my first meeting and on subsequent meetings I have found out about his other
activities which were mostly dodgy. Someone told me when he visit Pakistan
police car or officers are always at his resident.
The second
visit to the dera was in Manchester .
It was Rusholme area of Manchester
and I went there with someone by chance. It was terraced house and three men
sitting there and drinking brandy. The dera holder started telling me about him
I should call it his biography which includes robbery and drugs dealings etc.
Few minutes latter his phone started ringing. I heard some other people coming
from Birmingham or Leicester .
They arrived while I was there and were two men and three white girls. The men
previously present in the house asked these girls for massage and then they
started rubbing their shoulders. They started smoking hashish and the cigarette
started passing one by one to each other. When it came to me as my turn I took
one puff of the cigarette and as soon as person who came with me saw it
suddenly asked me to go. While we were coming out that dera holder told me that
one person is doing business is not good as two people partnership. When
property was very cheap he bought many houses and rented to unemployed people.
We left that dera and that person with me told that cigarette I took puff off
was filled with drug that’s why I asked to go. He was new recruit to the dera
at that time and later on he became permanent member of the dera.
It
astonished me that the both dera holders from London
and Manchester
knew each other. It means that these type of people they work as group or chain
on national basis or even in some cases international.
Few days
later after visiting this dera in Manchester
I went to Rusholme to buy some sweets. As soon as I have parked my car that
dera holder was there and came to me. He said that if we work together we can
increase our business more. I told him it is good idea but how we could
cooperate. He told me I will bring fake bank cards and you keep getting money
from the cards by selling goods. After transaction is complete we can share the
money 50/50 basis. I told him that I don’t need money anymore because I don’t
want to go in dodgy dealings for money.
These dera
holders and their members bring dancers as well not only from uk but from Pakistan too. It is my second time
on the dera in Manchester
the person who took me first time there he is now living there. He lost his
family and business due to this dera activities. He is now on benefits and he
begged for helping him to get out of that situation. On the other hand he was
trying to involve me in the dera as recruit by saying that if you want to buy
anything from the chain stores they can buy it for me at half price.
While I was
sitting there he had telephone call from the dera holder and got all updates
about the dera. Few minutes later another call from him and he instructed him
to come to another dera and bring me as well. While I was driving him there he
told me that during these type of meetings they consumes 500-600 quids per
night worth of drugs only. I took him to his desired place which was in Hulme
area. I dropped him off there and again he tried to persuade me to go with him
in that meeting by saying that they have many girls there. Anyway I left him
there.
One of
these types of dera holder was living in the Manchester ’s tallest new building in the city
centre. I presume rents and prices of the flats in that building are not cheap.
How do they afford this type of living? According to one source his daily
income is about 5000k per day. He always looks for people trying to recover
money from others. He is in other words debt collector as well and all
recovered money goes into his pocket instead of the real person.
There are
one more group in this category that has no fixed space like dera and look for
people with empty flats or houses. They use these flats or houses for one or
two nights by asking the owner that he has some guests and use his flat / house
for one or two nights.
It is a Massage parlour on Barlow moors Road Chorlton
Manchester near Wilbraham Road traffic
lights. One of the dera members asked me to give him lift to this place. I
brought him there and he told me stay here while he comes back. He went out and
came back after 45 minutes. I asked him why it took so long time. He told me
that he went to massage parlour for massage. He told me that they use the name
massage parlour but in reality these are British brothels open 24/7 hours.
According to him it is not only Chorlton but these are in all areas of the city
and other cities as well. These are mostly advertised in local papers as
massage parlour open 24 hours. It is not only Britain most muslim countires have
these type of places where prostitution is practiced freely.
Few years
ago it was harbanse pura of Lahore pakistan
where one of my host arranged this type of function. I have been told by the
host we are going somewhere surrounding area. We arrived in a house where there
was a young man, a bit older man, 3 years old girl and pregnant young women.
One of the members of our group talked something to the young man of the house.
He went out on his motor bike and came back with one young Pakistani woman. As
soon she entered the room she introduced her self by shaking hand with each of
us. After few minutes we came out in the front yard of the house which called
“vairah” or in urdu “sehen”. They asked me to go first in the room to start the
function. I have told them we just came out of from the room. They smiled and
told me to go inside for cooling down you. I have told them Iam not interested
in it. All of them were looking strangely at me and then two of them went in
one by one. Third one became bit shy due to me and refused to go. They paid
couple of thousand rupees? to the young man and then we left the house. These
people have told me you can find these types of brothels on demand everywhere
in Pakistan .
If things get wrong sometimes leads to reporting to the police as gang rape
like it has been reported in many places. Next day I have told them Iam in the
hotel although I was staying with one of my nephew. They asked me to give them
address they will bring Pakistani girls there but I have told them my nephew is
with me.