Multiracial Britain

Recently, there have been many waves of immigration into Britain and movement within the UK. For example, many people from Wales, Scotland and Ireland have settled in England; and Jews, Russians, Germans, and Poles have come to Britain (particularly London) during political changes in the rest of Europe.

Commonwealth citizens were allowed free entry into Britain until 1962. Before the Second World War these immigrants were mostly white people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In the 1950s, people from the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong were encouraged to come and work in Britain. Today, 2 million British people are of West Indian or Asian origin and over 50 per cent of them were born in Britain.

The new immigrant communities are concentrated in the following towns and cities: London, Slough, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Luton, Bradford, Coventry, Bedford, Reading and Sandwell. The main languages of the Asian immigrants are Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Cantonese (Chinese). Nowadays the policy is to encourage these communities to continue speaking their own languages as well as English. The children of immigrants are often taught their own languages in school, and there are special newspapers, magazines, and radio and television programmes for the Asian community. The West Indians, of course, arrive speaking English, but they do have their own culture which they wish to keep alive. They also have their own newspapers, and radio and television programmes.

This latest wave of immigration has of course caused problems. There is certainly racial tension and racial prejudice in Britain today. In spite of laws passed to protect them, there is still discrimination against Asian and black people, many of whom are unemployed or in low-paid jobs. However, the atmosphere is improving and the different races are slowly learning to trust one another. In a wide educational programme white school-children, teachers, policemen and social workers are learning about the problems and customs of their new neighbours. There are many areas in Britain now where racial harmony is a reality.

British culture is being enriched through its contact with other cultures. For example, the British are becoming more adventurous in their cooking and eating habits, and Chinese, Indian and Pakistani restaurants are very popular. Another example can be found in the pop music scene where West Indian reggae music has become very influential.

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 3 f.

Are there any immigrants in your country? Have there been any problems associated with immigrants? If so, what should be done to solve these problems?

Do many people from your country go to live and work in other countries? Are they treated well?