I just made the mistake of getting into a bit of a tit for tat discussion on someone's facebook wall about the proposed new legislation in the UK requiring non-nationals married to UK citizens to take a basic language proficiency test BEFORE being granted entry to the UK. You can read about it on a related blog here.
My concern is that this is the latest in a long line of laws and policies that make it harder and harder for non-UK nationals to move to the UK. These include not only spouses of UK nationals but also asylum seekers and economic migrants. The result of these policies is that immigration is seen as a problem that needs to be curbed. This isn't helped by newspapers such as the Daily Mail publishing spurious stories about the harm that immigrants are doing to UK society.
The UK is a nation of many different ethnicities and this is not a recent development. 500,000 Belgians emigrated to Britain during World War One alone. That is not even to speak of the earlier arrival of Vikings, Celts, Normans, Saxons or the links between the Royal family and other Royal families elsewhere in Europe. Immigration has made the UK the place it is today. It is something that should be celebrated and encouraged, not attacked. I'm not suggesting an 'open-gate' policy, which would be a logistical error. However, it's time for these media attitudes and government polcies to alter, so that immigration shakes off it's negative image and people start to embrace it more widely.
Immigration didn't start in 1900, or 1918, or 1945 or 1960... There is a view that, "this is our country" but a long view of history is often over-looked. No-one has been in the UK since the beginning of time. There was no cut-off point where those who are there get to stay and those who want to go there can't. I hope that history, geography and citizenship education can encourage children to see that and learn about the influences from all over the world that have created the country they live in today.
The next time someone at work, in school or online comes out with some sweeping statement about immigration, challenge them. I haven't lived in Ireland since 2005. I am a cosmopolitan citizen. The fact that I'm white and was born in a 'developed' country shouldn't make that easier for me than it is for others.
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Well, I consider myself an ethno-nationalist, so this could be an interesting discussion.
ReplyDeleteDiscrimination: the cognitive process whereby two or more stimuli are distinguished.
I see nothing wrong with it, actually I see it as beneficial and preferable. People used to compliment an individual by describing them as someone of taste and discrimination. It seems now though, that the connotation of the word is wholly negative. Its a shame. Are we now expected to associate with anybody, regardless of their character? Do we not have the right of freedom of association anymore?
Immigration is not a priori good or bad. You make it sound like a it's an unquestionable benefit, whenever and wherever it occurs. I think the above English language legislation sounds like a great idea.
As for indoctrinating children with "citizenship education" to adhere to your political philosophy, well, let me say that I'm glad you're not in charge. It sounds like something from a totalitarian communist state.
I would be interested to know your thoughts.